In their 12th Bundesliga game of the season, strugglers Heidenheim will hope to beat title hopefuls Eintracht Frankfurt when they welcome them to Voith-Arena on Sunday.
The home team are third last in 16th place with just 10 points and were comprehensively beaten 5-2 by champions Bayer Leverkusen on November 23, whereas the Eagles narrowly triumphed 1-0 against Werder Bremen on the same date and are in second place with 23 points from 11 matches.
Match preview
Heidenheim will be bitterly disappointed by their defeat against Leverkusen considering they had taken a 2-0 lead after just 21 minutes but found themselves level at half time and trailed 3-2 by the 52nd minute.
Long-term manager Frank Schmidt blamed the loss on injury issues, saying: "It all worked well until Marvin Pieringer's injury. When he was still out injured, Leverkusen had a really big chance. Then we can change and then Leverkusen manages to equalize to 2-2 in a very short time, because we didn't get into the duels quickly in that phase."
To make matters worse, the hosts also lost 2-0 against Chelsea in the Europa Conference League on Thursday, a result that left them in ninth place with nine points after four matchdays.
Heidenheim are in poor form having lost five of their last six games in all competitions and have in fact lost five and drawn one of their six most recent Bundesliga games.
The hosts have similarly struggled at home, with the team succumbing to defeat in seven of their last nine league outings at Voith-Arena.
Meanwhile, Eintracht Frankfurt are six points behind leaders Bayern Munich and are two points ahead of second-placed RB Leipzig.
The Eagles created three big chances and only faced one themselves against Werder Bremen, and they proved resilient without the ball in the second half considering the victors only mustered 44% possession in the second 45 minutes.
Head coach Dino Toppmoller praised his team's defensive work in the aftermath of the victory, saying: "The fans expected more of an attacking spectacle but both teams defended very well. There's been a lot of talk about our attack recently – today we were defensively very good."
Toppmoller will also have been delighted with his side's 2-1 win against Midtjylland in the Europa League on Thursday given the victory means they now have 13 points from five matches in the tournament and are in third place.
Eintracht Frankfurt have been outstanding in recent weeks, with the team unbeaten in their last eight games while having won their last six and scoring 16 goals in that time.
The visitors have also only lost one of their past seven away matches, winning on five occasions.
Team News
Unfortunately for Heidenheim fans, the side are missing a number of players due to injuries, including forwards Marvin Pieringer, Mathias Honsak, Mikkel Kaufmann and Sirlord Conteh.
Given the number of absentees in the forward line, Schmidt may have no other choice but to select a front three of Paul Wanner, Maximilian Breunig and Leo Scienza.
Midfielders Julian Niehues and Luka Janes are both likely to be available later in December, while Thomas Leon Keller could miss out as a result of a lack of match fitness.
Right-back Marnon-Thomas Busch will also miss out, so expect to see a back four of Haktab Omar Traore, Patrick Mainka, Benedikt Gimber and Jonas Fohrenbach.
The visitors will be without centre-back Aurele Amenda until February 2025 due to the defender suffering ligament damage, while midfielder Oscar Hojlund could return in late December.
Considering these two absences, Eintracht Frankfurt may field a defence consisting of Nnamdi Collins, Tuta, Robin Koch and Arthur Theate.
In midfield, Toppmoller is likely to start Ellyes Skhiri and Hugo Larsson in a double pivot behind forwards Hugo Ekitike and Omar Marmoush.
Heidenheim possible starting lineup:
Muller; Traore, Mainka, Gimber, Fohrenbach; Schoppner, Maloney, Dorsch; Wanner, Breunig, Scienza
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Collins, Tuta, Koch, Theate; Knauff, Skhiri, Larsson, Gotze; Ekitike, Marmoush
We say: Heidenheim 0-3 Eintracht Frankfurt
It is difficult to see how Heidenheim can threaten the away team given their poor form and their injuries in the forward line.
Additionally, Eintracht Frankfurt have been excellent in the past weeks, and it would not be surprising if they scored multiple goals on Sunday.
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