On Thursday evening, two young national talents will meet in the Europa League as Tottenham Hotspur travel to Hoffenheim on matchday seven of the league phase.
Both teams have been hit hard by injuries this season and currently sit 15th in their respective league tables. After parting ways with Pellegrino Matarazzo in November, Hoffenheim’s form has only worsened and they are well in the relegation battle.
However, they got their fourth win of the Bundesliga season at the weekend. They beat one of the few teams that have performed worse this season, Holstein Kiel, 3-1. Perhaps that will inspire Thursday’s hosts, who still have a lot of work to do to secure a play-off place in this competition.
Tottenham are four points and 18 places clear of Hoffenheim in the league stage table, with Ange Postecoglou’s team likely to go into the final matchday with a place in the top eight should they secure a rare win on Thursday.
Spurs have won just three of their last 15 games in all competitions and another defeat in the Premier League at the weekend means they are just eight points clear of the drop zone.
Here is 90 minutes Guide to the Europa League duel on Thursday.
Head-to-head record between Hoffenheim and Tottenham
This is the first competitive game between Hoffenheim and Tottenham.
Current form (all competitions)
Hoffenheim | Tottenham |
|---|---|
Holstein Kiel – Hoffenheim 1:3 – 18.01.25 | Everton 3-2 Tottenham – 19/01/25 |
Bayern Munich – Hoffenheim 5:0 – 01/15/25 | Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham – 01/15/25 |
Hoffenheim – Wolfsburg 0:1 – 11/01/25 | Tamworth 0-3 (AET) Tottenham – 12/01/25 |
Hoffenheim – Borussia Mönchengladbach 1:2 – 12/21/24 | Tottenham 1-0 Liverpool – 08/01/25 |
Borussia Dortmund – Hoffenheim 1:1 – 12/15/24 | Tottenham 1-2 Newcastle – 01/04/25 |
country | TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
United Kingdom | Discovery+, Discovery+ App, TNT Sports 2 |
United States | Paramount+, fuboTV, TUDN.com, TUDN App, TUDN USA |
Canada | DAZN Canada |
Hoffenheim, like their guests, was badly affected by injuries this season.
Among those absent is the experienced midfielder Florian Grillitsch, while the hosts are also missing Grischa Promel, Ihlas Bebou and Marius Bulter. Former Liverpool defender Ozan Kabak is suffering from a long-term knee injury but is expected to return next month.
Tom Bischof is the star to keep an eye on in midfield, having recently agreed to join Bayern Munich on a Bosman in the summer. Andrej Kramaraic and Adam Hlozek are Hoffenheim’s biggest attackers.
Predicted line-up of Hoffenheim against Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Baumann; Gendrey, Chaves, Akpoguma, Prass; Bishop, Stach; Kaderabek, Kramaric, Hlozek; Mörstedt.
Cristian Romero trained ahead of Thursday’s game, but the Argentine will not feature in Hoffenheim as he was sidelined for weeks with a groin injury. Micky van de Ven will return to the training pitch next week.
Radu Dragusin should be fit and Rodrigo Bentancur has traveled with the team. The Uruguayan will start in the lower midfield, Yves Bissouma recently suffered a thigh injury. Pape Sarr is also likely to miss out.
January arrival Antonin Kinsky cannot be registered until after the league phase, while Djed Spence was also not included in Postecoglou’s initial squad for the competition.
Dominic Solanke, Destiny Udogie, Guglielmo Vicario, Wilson Odobert, Brennan Johnson and Timo Werner are all missing.
Predicted line-up for Tottenham against Hoffenheim (4-3-3): Austin; Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Davies; Bentancur, Bergvall, Maddison; Kulusevski, Richarlison, Moore.
Despite another defeat at Everton on Sunday, the struggling Tottenham side have not yet given up on their manager. They are eager to remedy the situation and face a team that has struggled with similar issues this season.
Hoffenheim are also plagued by injuries, but could get back into the swing of things after Saturday’s triumph. They have attacking profiles that could hurt Tottenham and Ilzer’s side should aim to take advantage of a Spurs team that simply doesn’t win away from home.
There should be goals on Thursday night, and the spoils may well be shared when all is said and done.