Serhou Guirassy knows the road to goal in Sinsheim almost by muscle memory now. Four away trips, four times on the scoresheet. This ground suits him.
Last season he struck late here on Matchday 30, dragging Borussia Dortmund level in the 87th minute. It felt like a classic BVB escape. Then Andrej Kramaric ripped up the script. Two handball penalties, one in the 27th minute, the other deep into stoppage time at 90+8, turned the night and delivered Hoffenheim their first home win over the Black and Yellows since December 2019.
Kramaric has made a habit of tormenting Dortmund. Eleven goals in 18 Bundesliga meetings tell their own story, from his four-goal demolition job in June 2020 to that ice-cold penalty double last season. Only against Hertha BSC has the Croatian scored more often in the league.
Dortmund, though, rarely arrive in Sinsheim quietly. They have scored in each of their last 14 visits, a run that underlines their attacking weight. The problem lies at the other end. Across 18 away games here, they have managed a clean sheet just twice. Goals come. So do chances. For both sides.
History between these clubs rarely simmers; it boils. Thirty-six Bundesliga clashes have already produced nine red cards. The numbers tilt slightly in Dortmund’s favour – 16 wins, 11 draws, nine defeats – but even that edge feels fragile when you see the goal difference: 58 scored, 52 conceded. Their “biggest wins” in this fixture? Three separate 3-1 victories. Nothing like a rout. Almost always a contest.
All of which sets up the 37th meeting with a familiar sense of tension – and perhaps a different route to goal. On the opening matchday, only SC Freiburg fired more shots from outside the box (11) than Borussia Dortmund (nine) and Hoffenheim (seven). Both sides are clearly willing to pull the trigger early.
Dortmund’s long-range efforts against HSV brought no reward. Hoffenheim’s did. Adam Daghim marked his first Bundesliga appearance with a crisp strike from distance to make it 1-0 in Cologne, even if the night ultimately belonged to the hosts in a 3-2 win for FC.
So the pattern is set: a stadium where Guirassy scores, where Kramaric lives for the big moment, where defences bend and tempers flare, and where the next decisive touch might come not from six yards, but from 25.
