Heidenheim will hope to take advantage of struggling hosts Istanbul Basaksehir when they face them in the Conference League at Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadyumu on Thursday.

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The Turkish hosts have drawn their two most recent games in the competition, though they have been rather open defensively given they have already conceded 10 goals, the joint second-worst record in the tournament.

Manager Cagdas Atan will undoubtedly feel that his side should have taken all three points against CS Petrocub considering his team took the lead in the 42nd minute but conceded a 96th-minute equaliser.

Istanbul Basaksehir are seventh in their domestic league with 22 points after 14 matchweeks, but they are only four points from fourth-placed Eyupspor, who occupy the division's Conference League qualification spot.

The Grey Owls have won their two most recent games but prior to those two victories they lost five and drew five of the previous 10.

To their credit, the hosts' record at home is strong given they have only lost once in their last 12 outings at Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadyumu, though they have been held to a stalemate in four of their last six.

Opponents Heidenheim have perhaps surprisingly performed well in Europe despite their struggles domestically.

The away side sit third last in 16th place in the Bundesliga with just 10 points from 13 games and have failed to win any of their eight most recent league outings, losing on seven occasions.

However, when including qualifiers, boss Frank Schmidt's side have triumphed in five of their six fixtures in the Conference League this term and are level on points with ninth-placed Lugano, who occupy the final automatic qualification spot to the round of 16.

Schmidt's team should not be too disheartened by the performance against Chelsea considering they created four big chances and were ultimately defeated by a high-level and high-spending opponent.

The visitors' record on the road has been underwhelming given they have lost four of their last five away matches, though one match was against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen and another against giants Bayern Munich.

Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:

Sengezer; Duarte, Ba, Opoku, Sahiner; Kemen, Ergun, Pelkas; Keny, Piatek, Figueiredo

Heidenheim possible starting lineup:

Muller; Traore, Mainka, Gimber, Fohrenbach; Dorsch, Maloney, Schoppner; Wanner, Breunig, Scienza