RSC Anderlecht vs. TSG Hoffenheim preview: Team news and predicted lineups | OneFootball

TSG Hoffenheim hope to seize their slender chance of making the knockout stage of Europa League with a win on Thursday at Anderlecht. The hosts aim for a top-eight finish that would guarantee them an automatic qualification to the Round of 16.

Christian Ilzer will be confident of his in-form attackers for the trip to Belgium. Andrej Kramaric is finally back to his best after his revolting interview in Munich. Czech international Adam Hlozek doubled his season tally with three goals in the last two league games.

The weekend’s draw against Eintracht Frankfurt also saw Gift Orban open his scoring account for his new club. However, the Nigerian – who featured for Lyon in their 2-2 draw at Hoffenheim last November – will only be eligible to play in Europe if Die Kraichgauer progress from the group stage.

However, the chance of that happening is very slim. Although they showed character to appease their horrid start against Tottenham Hotspur, the defeat left Hoffenheim three points adrift of the final playoff spot.

If results elsewhere go against them, a win in Anderlecht wouldn’t be enough for Bundesliga’s 15th-ranked team. That would make Hoffenheim the first German club in five years to get eliminated from a Europa League group stage.

While Pellegrino Matarazzo was in charge, Hoffe picked four points from the first two games. They only had two points from their next five matches, however. Meanwhile, Anderlecht had an unbeaten campaign until a disastrous first-half saw them defeated by Viktoria Plzen last week.

Hoffenheim will continue to be without long-time captain and starting goalkeeper Oliver Baumann. The German international’s return from a foot injury is expected by the end of February. Furthermore, Ilzer should find solutions for injuries to key players in every department, including Ozan Kabak, Diadié Samassékou, Alexander Prass and Ihlas Bebou.

Kasper Dolberg, who only scored twice in Hoffenheim colors, is Anderlecht’s top-scorer with 18 goals in all competitions. But a knee injury denied the Danish striker a reunion with his former teammates. Hoffenheim will travel to defending champions Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.

Click here to see our predicted Anderlecht vs. Hoffenheim lineups.