Our next opponents: Close ranks for change in fortune

Position

FC Heidenheim have not won any the last five Bundesliga matches. Four defeats and just one draw: Nobody at the club is satisfied with the recent record. And the exit in the second round of the DFB Pokal away to Bundesliga 2 side Hertha Berlin (1-2) hurt. That's after the season started so well. FCH won all of their first five matches including the two convincing wins with clean sheets in the league away to FC St. Pauli (2-0) at home to FC Augsburg (4-0). Heidenheim were at the top of the table after two matches and on Matchday 5 they were sixth on nine points after a 2-0 win against Mainz 05. Since then, the team led by Frank Schmidt, in his eighteenth season as the coach at Heidenheim, have not won in the league again. Before the international break, they suffered a 3-0 defeat at home to VfL Wolfsburg. "It's an absolutely difficult situation we're in now," said goalkeeper Kevin Müller. "There are always phases where you have to close ranks as a team to achieve a change in fortune. This defeat won't put us off course but obviously we are aware of the difficult situation."

Last season Heidenheim picked up ten points in ten games and were thirteenth in the table at that point. With the same number of points they are one place worse off. Last season's newly promoted team ended the league campaign in eighth place and qualified for the UEFA Conference League. So the current situation should not be a reason to feel unsettled. The team from Baden-Württemberg are going from one win to the next on the European stage and increasingly gaining in confidence. Three games, three wins: FCH clearly feel at home in the Conference League. The first outing in Europe saw the club secure a 2-1 victory over Olimpija Ljubljana and that was followed by a 1-0 win away to AE Pafos in Cyprus. And finally, Heidenheim beat the Scottish club Hearts 2-0. The first really tough game is on Matchday 4 on 28 November when Chelsea visit the Voith Arena. The Premier League club are leading the table in the Conference League also on nine points.

Personnel

How FC Heidenheim has been able to deal with the loss of three absolute key players in their first phenomenal season in the Bundesliga was also difficult for the club to assess. In Tim Kleindienst (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Jan-Niklas Beste (Benfica) and Eren Dinkci (SC Freiburg) FCH lost their three best scorers and providers. The details: Kleindienst (12 goals, 5 assists), Dinkci (10/6) and Beste (8/13) played a decisive role in Heidenheim success. And Kevin Sessa (3 goals), who moved on to Hertha Berlin, has recently established a place in attacking midfield. Losing so much quality has to be compensated for. That the management led by CEO Holger Sanwald have succeeded in building a competitive squad for the double commitment of Bundesliga and Conference League campaigns, deserves even greater recognition. Of the new signings, the number ten Paul Wanner (on loan from Bayern Munich), the holding midfielder Niklas Dorsch (FC Augsburg), winger Leo Scienza (SSV Ulm 1846) and centre forward Maximilian Breunig (SC Freiburg) have proved to be valuable additions to the squad. As is Mathias Honsak from Darmstadt 98. The left winger has provided three assists in 13 games and also scored a goal. Also new are Sirlord Conteh (SC Paderborn) and Mikkel Kaufmann (1. FC Union Berlin).

The backbone of the defence is made of the experienced players like goalkeeper Kevin Müller (33), the captain Patrick Mainka (30), Benedikt Gimber (27), Jonas Föhrenbach (28) and Omar Traoré (26) – all players seen as mainstays last season. The same applies in central midfield to Jan Schöppner and Lennard Maloney, who now have competition from Niklas Dorsch. Up front, Marvin Pieringer has proved to be a worthy successor to Tim Kleindienst. Pieringer is currently the top scorer with four goals. And, after ten games this term, he has already scored one more than in 31 appearances last season.

Problems

Heidenheim were on top for large stretches of the game in the 3-1 defeat against VfL Wolfsburg but only managed to create a few chances. "We had so much space – a surprisingly large amount of space," said Frank Schmidt. "But we weren't good enough in the penalty area. We could have punished Wolfsburg. In attack we have to create even more clear opportunities from the many situations otherwise it's not enough as we saw today." With the few chances on goal there was a lack of penetration and cleverness. That was also evident in the goalless draw against TSG Hoffenheim. FCH definitely have room for improvement in terms of converting chances. In the next matches it will be about being more clinical. The next few weeks brings difficult opponents. The match in Leverkusen is followed by games against Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart. "It couldn't be better, could it?", said keeper Kevin Müller. We'll have to wait and see…

Performers

Heidenheim have the eighth best defence in the league with 15 goals conceded. FCH have kept a clean sheet in seven matches this season. One reason for the solid defence is the ball-winning ability of the Red, Blue and Whites. No team has had as many duels per game as the side under coach Frank Schmidt (112). And the rate of successful challenges of 53% puts FCH in the top three in Germany. Strong physical presence, the desire to compete and intensive play against the ball sums up the approach of Heidenheim who are less susceptible to counter-attacks having only conceded one goal from opponents’ fast breakaway moves. Together as a team and full of courage, the club want to turn things round in the games coming up against Bayer 04, Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart. And Frank Schmidt knows: "We showed last season we can get a result against teams where we aren't expected to get anything. If there is fear about then you need courage to make that fear disappear really quickly."