Fulham kicked off their pre-season preparations in the United States with an eventful 3-2 victory over Brentford, courtesy of goals from Harry Wilson, Bobby Decordova-Reid and Carlos Vinicius.
However, the Cottagers endured a disappointing end to the Premier League Summer Series, suffering a 2-0 defeat against Aston Villa before losing to Chelsea by the same scoreline last time out.
It is also worth noting that Fulham registered a solitary attempt on target against Aston Villa and Chelsea, underlining the importance of key striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has not featured in pre-season as he attempts to engineer a move.
After gaining promotion from the Championship in 2021-22, Fulham enjoyed a hugely impressive comeback campaign in the Premier League, finishing seven points inside the top half and nine points shy of the European places.
With Mitrovic seemingly heading for the Craven Cottage exit and Marco Silva attracting interest from Saudi Arabia, it could be difficult for the West London outfit to build on last season’s achievements
Hoffenheim, meanwhile, started their pre-season groundwork with a 3-1 victory over Astoria Walldorf before suffering successive 2-1 defeats against Elversberg and French side Strasbourg.
Die Kraichgauer returned to winning ways with a 4-2 victory over Feyenoord, dispatching the reigning Dutch champions before playing out a 2-2 draw with Rangers last Saturday.
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Having recorded their lowest Bundesliga ranking since 2015-16 last term – finishing only three points clear of the bottom three in 12th place – Hoffenheim will be determined to hit the ground running in 2023-24.
Die Kraichgauer endured a mammoth 14-game winless run in the league between October and March, suffering 12 defeats along the way, with Pellegrino Matarazzo replacing Andre Breitenreiter as manager in February.
Matarazzo eventually guided the club to safety, overseeing five wins, two draws and three losses across the final 10 matches, but Hoffenheim must improve if they are to avoid another relegation scare this season.
