FC Heidenheim vs. FC Copenhagen preview: Team news and predicted lineups
| Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images |
Despite making a number of changes, relegation-threatened Bundesliga side FC Heidenheim secured a 2-1 away win over FC Copenhagen in the first of two UEFA Europa Conference League play-off matches between the two sides last week.
The win puts Heidenheim in a strong position to progress ahead of Thursday's return leg at Voith-Arena and was a welcome one for Franck Schmidt's side, who had lost four matches in a row going into the game in the Danish capital.
However, Heidenheim were unable to build on their win at the weekend, losing 0-2 to Mainz, with Schmidt saying afterwards that his 16th-placed side are "not good enough to win games in the Bundesliga" at the moment.
FC Copenhagen, on the other hand, arrive in Germany on the back of a 2-1 win over Randers FC and sit top of the Danish Superliga.
Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt is expected to rotate once again, as avoiding relegation from the Bundesliga must be the top priority at the moment.
Niklas Dorsch remains on the sidelines for Heidenheim, while Stefan Schimmer, Paul Schernuth and Frans Krätzig are all ineligible for Europe.
As Frank Schmidt revealed at his pre-match press conference, Maximilian Breunig will miss the game too, while Leo Scienza, Omar Traoré and Sirlord Conteh are all doubtful.
FC Copenhagen will be without Nicolai Boilesen, Roony Bardghji, Oscar Buur, Oliver Højer, Lukas Lerager and Andreas Cornelius.
Click here to see our predicted FC Heidenheim vs. FC Copenhagen lineups.
