Europa League | League Stage

Sep 25, 2024 at 8pm UK

MCH Arena

Midtjylland vs Hoffenheim

Match preview

The hosts qualified for the league phase of the Europa League after they lost 4-3 on aggregate against Slovan Bratislava in the fourth and final qualifying round of the Champions League.

Midtjylland's 3-2 loss in the second leg on August 28 will be particularly disappointing given they had taken a 2-1 lead in the 50th minute after Franculino Dju scored his side's second of the game, but Slovan Bratislava managed to equalise in the 82nd minute and find a winner in the 86th minute.

The Wolves last competed in the Europa League in the 2022-23 season and finished second in their group with eight points from six games, but they were eliminated from the competition in the knockout round playoffs when they lost 5-1 on aggregate against Sporting Lisbon in February 2023.

Manager Thomas Thomasberg's side are currently first in the Danish Superliga with 21 points from their first nine league games and are the only unbeaten team left in their division.

Thomasberg's team have only lost once in their last 21 competitive matches, winning 13 times and drawing on seven occasions.

Midtjylland's record at home is impressive given they have won eight and drawn three of their last 11 competitive games at MCH Arena, and to their credit they have won three, drawn three and lost just one of their seven most recent Europa League fixtures at home.

Opponents Hoffenheim's seventh-placed finish last term only secured them a spot in the Conference League, but Bayer Leverkusen's DFB Pokal win meant the cup competition's Europa League qualification spot was transferred to the Bundesliga.

The visitors last competed in the Europa League in 2020-21, a campaign in which they topped their group unbeaten with 16 points from a possible 18, before being eliminated by Molde in the round of 32 after losing 5-3 in February 2021.

Hoffenheim had taken a 2-0 and 3-1 lead against Molde in the first leg on February 18, but they went on to draw 3-3 thanks to second-half goals from Eirik Andersen and David Datro Fofana.

Though boss Pellegrino Matarazzo will have been pleased with his side's seventh-placed league finish in 2023-24 considering they had finished 12th in 2022-23, he will be concerned that his team are currently 15th and have lost three and won just one of their four Bundesliga matches so far this season.

Of the 18 teams in the division, Die Kraichgauer have created the 13th fewest big chances and conceded the second most xG.

Hoffenheim lost their last match 2-1 against Union Berlin on September 21, and have lost their last three competitive matches by a cumulative score of 9-3.

To add to this, the visitors have been poor on the road for some time, and have lost 11 of their last 16 games away from home.

Recent Performance

FC Midtjylland form (all competitions):WLWWWD

Hoffenheim form (all competitions):WWLLL

Injuries and suspensions

FC Midtjylland

29 Paulinho

15 Christian Sørensen

8 Kristoffer Olsson

38 Marrony

10 Gue-sung Cho

Hoffenheim

5 Ozan Kabak

19 David Jurásek

11 Florian Grillitsch

6 Grischa Prömel

20 Finn Ole Becker

23 Adam Hlozek

9 Ihlas Bebou

Possible starting lineups

FC Midtjylland(4-4-2)

16Elías Ólafsson(GK)

6Joel Andersson(DL)

22Mads Bech(DC)

4Ousmane Diao(DC)

43Kevin Mbabu(DR)

20Valdemar Byskov(ML)

21Denil Castillo(MC)

5Emiliano Martínez(MC)

11Darío Osorio(MR)

7Franculino(FW)

25Jan Kuchta(FW)

Hoffenheim(3-5-2)

1Baumann(GK)

2Hranác(DC)

4Drexler(DC)

25Akpoguma(DC)

3Kaderábek(DMR)

22Prass(DML)

27Kramaric(MC)

16Stach(MC)

7Bischof(MC)

21Bülter(FW)

10Berisha(FW)