Friday evening brings a meeting of two sides stuck in very different places, with TSG Hoffenheim II U23 hosting 1. FC Schweinfurt 05 in the 3. Liga on 10 April 2026. For Hoffenheim’s young side, this is about pushing away from the lower half and turning a decent points return into something a bit more comfortable. Schweinfurt, by contrast, are fighting for survival with the sort of season that leaves little room for sentiment. They’re last, they’ve won just five league games all year, and every trip away from home has felt like a test they can’t quite pass.
There’s still plenty on the line for both managers. Stefan Kleineheismann’s Hoffenheim side are 15th on 39 points, which is hardly glamorous but does at least keep them clear of the real danger. Jermaine Jones’ Schweinfurt are bottom on 17 points, a huge 22 points adrift of their hosts. That gap says everything. A win for Hoffenheim won’t solve everything, but it would settle nerves and keep the finishing run respectable. For Schweinfurt, anything less than three points leaves the relegation cloud hanging even heavier.
The fixture also has the feel of a goals game. Hoffenheim II have been involved in some wild scorelines lately, while Schweinfurt’s season has been full of defensive meltdowns and open, messy afternoons. Their first meeting this season ended 2-1 to Schweinfurt in November, but that result doesn’t really disguise the broader picture. One team is carrying the burden of trying to control games. The other is usually just trying to survive them.
TSG Hoffenheim II U23 Form & Analysis
Hoffenheim’s recent run has been a bit of a rollercoaster, and that’s being polite. They came through a frantic 5-3 win at Erzgebirge Aue on 4 April, a match that was all action and very little restraint. Before that, they were edged out 1-0 at home by VfL Osnabrück, a result that stung because it followed a 2-4 home defeat to Rot-Weiss Essen and a 1-0 loss away to VfB Stuttgart II. The flip side? They’ve also shown they can hurt teams, with a 3-1 win at SSV Ulm 1846 and that high-scoring success in Aue giving their attack a lively edge. Their latest outing, a 1-1 draw at SV Waldhof Mannheim on 7 April, extended a short unbeaten spell to two games. Not a bad time to steady the ship.
At home, Hoffenheim’s numbers are decent enough, if not dominant. Their record at their own ground reads five wins, four draws and seven defeats, with 27 goals scored and 27 conceded. That’s almost the definition of a side living on the edge. They can score, but they don’t shut games down well enough. The 59 goals they’ve scored overall tell you they’ve got punch, and the 58 they’ve conceded tell you the other half of the story. It’s a team that usually finds the net, but doesn’t often keep a lid on things at the back.
That profile is exactly why this match should be open. Hoffenheim haven’t kept a clean sheet in a long time — the defensive record stretches back through too many games where they’ve simply let opponents hang around. Still, when you’ve got young legs and a home crowd expecting some energy on a Friday night, you’d back them to create chances. They’re not the sort of side that hides. Not at home, anyway.
1. FC Schweinfurt 05 Form & Analysis
Schweinfurt arrive in the worst possible shape for a team travelling to a ground where goals are usually part of the deal. Their last six have been a brutal mix of defeats and brief flashes of resistance. They lost 3-1 at home to Rot-Weiss Essen on 7 April, having been thumped 4-0 away at VfL Osnabrück three days earlier. Before that came a rare bright spot, a 3-1 home win over VfB Stuttgart II, but it was sandwiched between a 4-0 defeat at SC Verl and a 3-2 home win against SSV Ulm 1846. Back on 4 March, they were beaten 1-0 away to Alemannia Aachen. The pattern is plain enough. When Schweinfurt go away from home, they usually get hit hard.
That away record is grim reading. One win, no draws and 15 defeats from 16 road games is as poor as it gets, and they’ve scored just nine away goals while conceding 44. Nine. That’s the kind of number that tells you how little control they’ve had in opposing stadiums. Their only away win came at FC Ingolstadt 04 back in September, and since then the road has been almost entirely punishing. Can they keep this one tight? History says no. Their away defensive line has been breached constantly, and even their better attacking moments haven’t been enough to cover the cracks.
And yet, Schweinfurt aren’t completely inert going forward. They’ve scored in spells, and the presence of goals in their recent home matches shows they do have some threat when games open up. Jermaine Jones’ side aren’t just passive; they’re often forced into these exchanges because they concede first and spend the rest of the match chasing. That’s the danger here. If Hoffenheim score early, Schweinfurt may have to chase again, and that usually ends badly for them.
Head-to-Head
There isn’t a long shared history between the clubs, but the previous meeting this season is worth a quick glance. Schweinfurt beat Hoffenheim II 2-1 on 8 November 2025 in the 3. Liga, and that result will give the visitors a bit of belief before kick-off. Go a little further back and there’s a 2-0 Schweinfurt win in a friendly in August 2020. So yes, they’ve had the edge in the limited head-to-head record.
Still, one narrow league win doesn’t outweigh the bigger picture. Schweinfurt may have had the better of Hoffenheim last time, but the form, the table and the away numbers all point in a different direction now. Momentum sits with the hosts, and Schweinfurt’s travelling record is just too soft to lean on a past result for comfort.
We Predict: Over 3.5 Goals
We’re backing Over 3.5 Goals at 5/6 for this one. Hoffenheim II have been involved in plenty of high-scoring games, and Schweinfurt’s away matches are all too often stretched beyond repair. When a home side has scored 27 and conceded 27 at their own ground, and the visitors have shipped 44 away goals, you don’t need much imagination to see why this market appeals. It’s a blunt fit. This should get messy.
A 2-2 draw feels a live correct score, though Hoffenheim’s extra attacking balance at home nudges them slightly ahead in the eye test. Schweinfurt can nick a goal if the game opens early, but they rarely defend well enough to protect any lead. If you wanted a second angle, Hoffenheim to score over 1.5 goals looks viable too, though the goals line is the cleaner play.
