Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe believes that the upcoming weekend will be a tough test for his side.
The Cherries will square off against Cardiff City on Friday and Hoffenheim on Saturday as part of their pre-season preparations and Howe is expecting a difficult challenge for his side as they continue to work towards the August 8 Premier League opener at home against Aston Villa.
Howe told the Daily Echo: "It will be a really tough weekend.
"Hoffenheim are a really top side and Cardiff will be one of the favourites to go up from the Championship. It will be a good test for two XIs.
"To get good quality opposition we had to travel. German sides by nature are very competitive so it will be a good test.
"We have to realise we are going into an incredibly difficult league and need to prepare the players for that. Nantes did that job in the sense that it was a really tough challenge for us to come out with a positive result and Hoffenheim will be no different."