Bundesliga side Heidenheim will hope to defend their 2-1 first-leg advantage on Thursday at Voith-Arena where they will face Swedish side Hacken in the second leg of the Europa Conference League's fourth and final qualifying round.
Despite having considerably less of the ball, Heidenheim managed to secure victory thanks to Leo Scienza's winner in the 65th minute.
Match preview
![Sirlord Conteh of Heidenheim against FC St. Pauli on August 25, 2024 [on August 27, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/35/sirlord-conteh.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Sirlord Conteh of Heidenheim against FC St. Pauli on August 25, 2024 [on August 27, 2024]")
© Imago
The hosts' fairytale success continued on August 22 when they beat Hacken in their first ever game in European competition.
Heidenheim opened the scoring with a goal from Sirlord Conteh in the 31st minute after he took advantage of an error in the Hacken backline.
Leo Scienza's winner was an outstanding piece of individual skill, with the winger producing an excellent finish from a difficult angle inside the box.
Heidenheim only had 34% possession and scored twice from their five shots, but only the result will matter to long-term manager Frank Schmidt.
Schmidt's side won 2-0 on August 25th against St Pauli in their opening Bundesliga game of 2024-25, and the victory left them third in the table after one matchweek.
Heidenheim come into the second leg having won their last nine games, although they have lost four times in their last eight competitive matches at home.
![Mikkel Kaufmann (left) of Heidenheim competes with Marius Lode (right) of Hacken during Thursdays Conference League qualifier, on August 22 [on August 23, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/34/mikkel-kaufmann.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Mikkel Kaufmann (left) of Heidenheim competes with Marius Lode (right) of Hacken during Thursdays Conference League qualifier, on August 22 [on August 23, 2024]")
© Imago
Opponents Hacken levelled the scoreline in the first leg in the 36th minute thanks to a powerful strike from the edge of the box by Mikkel Rygaard.
The visitors will be frustrated by the fact they lost 2-1 considering they had 66% possession, produced 18 shots and created four big chances.
Boss Pal Arne Johansen's side followed up this result with a disappointing draw on August 25 against Varnamo, who are currently third last in 14th place in the Allsvenskan.
Johansen's team are eighth in their domestic league with 31 points, five points from third-placed Hammarby, who occupy the division's final Conference League playoff spot.
Hacken have only won once in their last four games, and they have a mixed record away from home in recent matches considering they have won three times and drawn twice in their last five away fixtures.
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Team News
![Head coach Pal Arne Johansen of Hacken during the UEFA Conference League between Hacken and Paide Linnameeskond on August 7, 2024 [on August 20, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/34/pal-arne-johansen.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Head coach Pal Arne Johansen of Hacken during the UEFA Conference League between Hacken and Paide Linnameeskond on August 7, 2024 [on August 20, 2024]")
© Imago
Heidenheim will be without Julian Niehues and Thomas Leon Keller due to knee injuries, though Keller might return sometime next month.
The hosts could name Luca Kerber, Jan Schoppner and Mathias Honsak as a midfield three in front of centre-backs Tim Siersleben and Patrick Mainka.
As for the visitors, they still have several injury absentees, including forward Amor Layouni and midfielder Isak Brusberg.
Hacken defenders Axel Lindahl, Johan Hammar, Nikola Zecevic and Valgeir Lunddal Fridriksson are also expected to miss out due to injury.
Heidenheim possible starting lineup:
Muller; Busch, Mainka, Siersleben, Theuerkauf; Schoppner, Kerber, Honsak; Conteh, Kaufmann, Scienza
Hacken possible starting lineup:
Abrahamsson; Lindberg, Hovland, Lode, Lundqvist; Rygaard, Gustafson, Amane; Agbonifo, Youssef, Inoussa
We say: Heidenheim 1-1 Hacken (Heidenheim win 3-2 on aggregate)
Heidenheim should be considered favourites given their strong form of late, as well as their resilient nature without the ball.
Hacken could generate chances once again, but if they are as wasteful with possession as they were in the first leg, it would not be a surprise if the German side punished them.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
