I don't think that Hoffenheim can maintain their claim for the title until the end of the season. However Freiburg and Dortmund actually can. We saw how great Freiburg were last season. Maybe they missed their chance of ending in top 4 by a small difference but they were consistent most of the time. This time they have a bigger chance for top 4 as it seems.

We shouldn't overlook Union Berlin also of course. But their end might be similar to Hoffenheim also. I think they will also finish under Freiburg and Dortmund both. Bayern Munich's recovery phase will play a huge role in seeing interesting rankings in the league at the end of the season.