Heidenheim are languishing in the relegation playoff spot after winning three, drawing one and losing seven of their 11 league matches. Frank Schmidt’s side have taken just one point from six matches since they recorded their most recent league win over Mainz at the end of December. Heidenheim threatened to end their winless run in last Saturday’s away meeting with Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen. Niklas Dorsch and Mathias Honsak grabbed a goal apiece to give Heidenheim an early two-goal lead at the BayArena. However, Leverkusen netted two quickfire goals to level the scoreline in the first period, before they scored three second-half goals to condemn Heidenheim to a 5-2 defeat.
They fell to another loss in Thursday’s Conference League home clash against Chelsea. Christopher Nkunku and Mykhailo Mudryk grabbed a goal apiece as Chelsea secured a 2-0 victory, leaving Heidenheim to reflect upon their first defeat of the league phase. They will now turn their focus back to league matters as they look to end a four-game winless home run in the league. Having scored just one goal in those four home matches, Heidenheim will be desperate to find a cutting edge in Sunday’s fixture.
Heidenheim are unable to call upon Julian Niehues and Marvin Pieringer due to knee and ankle injuries respectively.
Frankfurt will head into Sunday’s fixture in a confident mood after winning each of their last six matches to extend their unbeaten run to eight matches in all competitions. Three of those six victories have taken place in the league, including a narrow 1-0 victory in last Saturday’s home meeting with Werder Bremen, leaving Frankfurt in second place in the standings.
Die Adler enjoyed more success in Thursday’s Europa League outing against Danish side FC Midtjylland. Hugo Larsson and Omar Marmoush scored a goal apiece to secure a 2-1 victory in Denmark, ensuring Frankfurt finished matchday five in third place and level on points with Lazio and Athletic Club in first and second place respectively.
Dino Toppmöller’s side will fancy their chances of claiming another victory on Sunday after winning both of their league meetings with Heidenheim last season. Frankfurt recorded a 2-0 home win in October 2023, before they claimed a narrow 2-1 win in March’s trip to Voith-Arena.
Frankfurt defender Aurèle Amenda will be out until February after he sustained an ankle injury while he was on international duty with Switzerland.
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