After qualifying for the league phase of the Conference League on Thursday, Heidenheim are set to host Augsburg at Voith-Arena on Sunday in their second game of the 2024-25 Bundesliga season.
The home team won 2-0 on August 25 against newly-promoted St Pauli, and are currently third in the table, while the visitors are eighth with one point after they drew 2-2 against Werder Bremen on August 24.
Match preview
Since being promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history at the end of 2022-23, the hosts have experienced remarkable success and have now qualified for the league stage of a European competition at their first ever attempt.
Their 5-3 aggregate win against Hacken in the Conference League's fourth and final qualifying round was a closely fought tie, but Heidenheim progressed thanks to their resilience without the ball given they had just 34% possession in the first leg and 36% in the second on August 29.
After their 3-2 win against Hacken in the second leg on Thursday, Frank Schmidt's side have now won all four of their competitive fixtures in 2024-25.
Last time out in the league, Schmidt's team beat St Pauli 2-0 thanks to goals from Paul Wanner in the 66th minute, and Jan Schoppner in the 82nd minute.
However, Heidenheim fans might be concerned that their team only had five shots and failed to create any big chances, while St Pauli managed to produce 11 shots and three big chances.
Opponents Augsburg will be disappointed to have drawn at home in their opening game of the league season against Werder Bremen, especially as they had taken a 2-1 lead when Samuel Essende scored their second of the match in the 35th minute.
The match itself was fairly even, with both sides producing 11 shots and creating three big chances.
Manager Jess Thorup will be concerned that though his team were able to avoid defeat, they have failed to win any of their last six Bundesliga games, and this period of fixtures includes five losses.
Thorup's team's win in the first round of the DFB-Pokal on August 18 against Viktoria Berlin was also uncomfortable for large periods due to the fact they conceded first to their fourth-tier opponents.
Augsburg come into the game having lost their last four away matches in the Bundesliga, and having kept just one clean sheet in their last 31 league fixtures on the road.
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Team News
The hosts will be without midfielders Thomas Keller and Julian Niehues due to knee injuries.
Given their exploits in Europe against Hacken, Heidenheim could make several changes in attack and start Leo Scienza, Paul Wanner and Adrian Beck behind forward Maximilian Breunig.
As for the visitors, goalkeeper Finn Dahmen, defender Robert Gumny and midfielder Reece Oxford are expected to miss out due to injury or illness.
Augsburg also have doubts about the fitness of Kristijan Jakic, who has not featured since his side's win against Viktoria Berlin due to an ankle issue.
Heidenheim possible starting lineup:
Muller; Traore, Mainka, Gimber, Fohrenbach; Maloney, Schoppner; Scienza, Wanner, Beck; Breunig
Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Labrovic; Pedersen, Gouweleeuw, Schlotterbeck, Giannoulis; Rexhbecaj, Breithaupt, Maier; Jensen; Essende, Tietz
We say: Heidenheim 1-1 Augsburg
Augsburg should come into the game as favourites considering Heidenheim's tiring match against Hacken, but it is difficult to see how the visitors can win considering their poor away form.
It would not be surprising if the hosts started sluggishly but managed to get back into the game after Augsburg failed to fully take advantage of their hosts' vulnerabilities.
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