Hoffenheim have beaten Bayern, Dortmund and Leverkusen this season but it hasn't all been plain sailing…

Who they signed: There was an exodus of key personnel at Hoffenheim last summer. Julian Nagelsmann - arguably the most promising young coach in the game - moved to RB Leipzig, with his former assistant Alfred Schreuder arriving in his stead from Ajax.

On the playing side, Brazilian striker Joelinton moved to Newcastle, midfielders Kerem Demirbay and Nadiem Amiri joined Bayer Leverkusen while Germany left-back Nico Schulz left for Borussia Dortmund.

The club made some shrewd acquisitions at the same time. Club legend Sebastian Rudy returned on loan from Schalke, joined in the midfield engine room by Diadie Samassekou, whom Hoffenheim fought off reported widespread interest to acquire from Red Bull Salzburg.

Robert Skov, following a 30-goal season with FC Copenhagen, was also signed, along with attackers Ihlas Bebou and Sargis Adamyan, the former spared from a season of Bundesliga 2 after relegation with Hannover, the latter joining from Jahn Regensburg.

Robert Skov (l.) and Rudy (r.) were among the headline arrivals - or returnees - at Hofenheim last summer. - imago images

What they expected: Ninth in the Bundesliga last season during a campaign in which their first ever UEFA Champions League group stage assault came to a conclusion in December, the mood was one of cautious optimism in Sinsheim. Yes, Nagelsmann and key players had left, but others had arrived and the Ajax Schreuduer had recently helped carve were well regarded.

"Immediately after Julian’s departure became known, Alfred Schreuder was already among a very small number of managerial candidates for us. I'm really pleased that it has worked out," said the club's majority shareholder Dietmar Hopp at the time.

"He has already demonstrated that he believes in a brand of football that is also a feature of Hoffenheim: courageous, fresh and attacking."

Alfred Schreuder (l.) had been Julian Nagelsmann's No.2 at Hoffenheim between 2015 and 2017. - imago images

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How it played out: In fits and spurts. An opening day 1-0 loss at Eintracht Frankfurt - in which Skov, Bebou and Samassekou were given their debuts - was not too much cause for concern, but Hoffenheim won just one of their next five games as Schreuder wrestled with his favoured system and personnel.

A 2-1 win over Bayern Munich in October was a turning point, though. The champions had been unbeaten heading into their Matchday 7 clash at the Allianz Arena, and were four days on from thrashing Tottenham Hotspur 7-1 in the Champions League. Hoffenheim threw caution to the wind, though, with Adamyan scoring twice on his first Bundesliga start to give his side a 2-1 win.

That was the first in a run of six wins from six in all competitions, in which they also claimed the Bundesliga scalps of Schalke, Hertha Berlin, Paderborn and Cologne, as well as beating Duisburg in the DFB Cup.

But Die Kraichgauer were duly beaten by Mainz, who pulled out of the relegation zone with a 5-1 thrashing on Matchday 12, and Hoffenheim have dropped 24 of a possible 39 points since, with Bayern avenging their earlier defeat in league and cup with an aggregate score of 10-3.

Watch: Highlights of Hoffenheim's 5-1 loss to Mainz

There have been further bright spots - 2-1 victories over Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen should never be sniffed at - but Hoffenheim will content themselves with being closer to the European chase than the relegation zone, with an eye on further progress for next season.

Key player: Andrej Kramaric has been Hofenheim's most potent attacking force, despite injury restricting him to just 12 starts, chipping in with seven goals and two assists; Skov has looked as versatile as he has deadly, contributing three goals and four assists despite sometimes lining up as a left-back, while Oliver Baumann's 74 saves have turned defeats into draws and draws into wins, but Rudy remains the glue that holds it all together.

The Germany international midfielder spent seven years with Hoffenheim before leaving for Bayern in 2017. Although he won the title in Bavaria, he never looked as comfortable there - or in his subsequent season with Schalke - as he did in Sinsheim, and both club and player are relieved to be reunited.

Rudy scored a wondergoal in Hoffenheim's 1-1 draw with Wolfsburg on Matchday 5, but it is his all-round midfield play which makes him so valuable. The 30-year-old wins an average of 10 challenges per game and keeps possession once winning it back, with 35 passes completed per 90 minutes, and shows no sign of slowing down after reaching his club record 219th Bundesliga appearance before the pause.

Watch: Highlights of Hoffenheim's 1-1 draw with Wolfsburg

Best game: Hoffenheim might have been overwhelming underdogs for their trip to Bayern at the best of times, but heading into the fixture last October they had also gone 15 games without an away win in the Bundesliga, and they were without the injured Kramaric…

Cue the Adamyan show. The Armenian, making his first Bundesliga start, beat the great Manuel Neuer at the near post with his left foot on 54 minutes and his right on 79 - either side of Robert Lewandowski's 11th goal of the season - to seal a richly deserved 2-1 win.

Watch: Highlights of TSG's victory at Bayern

Overnight, Adamyan had gone from an unheard of lower-league journeyman to the player who downed Bayern on their own turf, becoming just the second Armenian Bundesliga goalscorer after Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the process.

Biggest surprise: In terms of results, the Bayern game has little competition, but for players, look no further than Christoph Baumgartner. The 20-year-old Austrian has been with Hoffenheim since 2017 and after passing through the youth academy was handed his full Bundesliga debut by Schreuder in the 3-2 win over Werder Bremen on Matchday 2.

While the team have blown hot and cold since, Baumgartner has gone from strength to strength, scoring four and assisting one to give him a hand in a goal every second game he plays - not a bad return for a midfielder who only sometimes lines up in the final third.

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