Europa League: Hoffenheim vs. Spurs Match Preview
Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham team look to get all three points against their German opponents as they look to climb into the top eight in the penultimate game of the League Phase.
Match Preview:
Spurs, led by their Australian Head Coach Ange Postecoglou, are set to take on German Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim away from home at the PreZero Arena in their penultimate UEFA Europa League Phase contest. This game will be taking place on Thursday 22nd January 2025, with this contest getting underway at 17:45 in the evening UK Time.
This contest is set to be enthralling, with both clubs looking to secure their place in the competition, either by automatically qualifying for the Round of 16 via a top eight finish or by finishing in a play-off place, which would also see them continue in the tournament.
Starting with Postecoglou and Tottenham, they currently find themselves in a positive position in the current UEFA Europa League’s League Phase table. The Lilywhites are currently in 9th place, level on 11 points with Scottish Giants Rangers in 8th place. It is only goal difference that separates the North London Club from a place in the top eight.
Victory for Tottenham against Hoffenheim would see them climb into the top eight, although other results would have to go their way, as Manchester United would have to either get the better of Rangers, or draw against them at Old Trafford on Thursday evening. They are amongst the front runners for automatic qualification for the Round of 16, whilst they will at least be in the play-offs should they not get themselves a place in the top eight.
Moving on to Hoffenheim, they are currently heading out of the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League, with Die Kraichgauer sat all the way down in 26th place, 17 places and 5 points adrift of Spurs, with the club currently on 6 points from their 6 matches to date.
Victory for the German hosts would see them potentially climb as high as 18th place on goal difference should other results elsewhere also go their way this week. They still have a strong chance of at the very least qualifying for the play-off round, and positive results on Thursday and on the final matchday next week would see them progress to this specific stage of the competition.
Spurs’ most recent game in the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League saw them draw 1 – 1 at Ibrox with Scottish Premiership club Rangers in Glasgow back on Thursday 12th December 2024. The 2022 Finalists took the lead through a goal from their Moroccan forward Hamza Igamane in the very early stages of the second half (47’) before a goal from Sweden international Dejan Kulusevski restored parity whilst also salvaging a point for the visitors from North London on that day (75’).
As for Hoffenheim, their most recent League Phase Fixture saw them take on Romanian Giants Steaua Bucharest at home, in what was a 0 – 0 draw on 12th December 2024. Die Kraichgauer’s most recent win in this competition came back on Thursday 3rd October 2024, when the brace from Adam Hlozek sealed them a 2 – 0 victory against Ukraine’s Dynamo Kyiv either side of half time (22’, 60’).
Latest Europa League Victory:
The most recent win for Spurs in the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League’s League Phase saw them beat Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar 1 – 0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back on Thursday 24th October 2024.
It was a successful spot kick from Spurs’ Brazilian international forward Richarlison early on in the second half (53’) against their opponents from the Netherlands, with the Eredivisie side also going down to ten men late on in the contest when AZ’s Norwegian central defender David Moller Wolfe was sent off (85’).
You can go ahead and watch the highlights of this exciting game below:
Key Players:
Both clubs have some key players for you to watch out for in this crucial and penultimate UEFA Europa League League Phase game against German Bundesliga side Hoffenheim on the evening of Thursday 23rd January 2025.
One such key player for Spurs is Brennan Johnson. The Wales international is Spurs’ current top goal scorer in the Europa League this season with no less than three goals to his name to date. In the Premier League, the former Nottingham Forest forward is Tottenham’s joint second highest goal scorer with seven goals, level with summer signing and fellow forward Dominic Solanke. Only James Maddison has got more so far, with eight. Johnson also has two assists in the English top flight this season to date.
Another key player for Spurs is James Maddison, as mentioned previously, the English attacking midfielder is the club’s leading goal scorer in the Premier League and he also has 4 assists in the league this season as well so far.
Moving on to Hoffenheim, former Leicester City striker Andrej Kramaric is one of the club’s key players with the Croatian forward being their leading league goal scorer in the German Bundesliga this term with no less than 7 goals so far, as of the time of writing. Last season, he was their second highest goal scorer with 15 – the only players ahead of him were teammate Maximilian Beier (16), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart – 18), Lois Openda (RB Leipzig – 24), Serhou Guirassy (Stuttgart – 28), and Harry Kane (Bayern Munich – 36).
Another player from Hoffenheim to keep an eye on is their Czech Republic international forward Adam Hlozek, who has 2 goals in the Europa League, the most of any player from Die Kraichgauer so far. The former Bayer Leverkusen player also has 5 goals in the Bundesliga.
Excitement and anticipation are building rapidly ahead of this penultimate League Phase game of the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League between Christian Ilzer’s Hoffenheim and Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs at the PreZero Arena on the evening of Thursday 23rd January 2025, in what is a 17:45 kick-off.
There is no better way to watch Tottenham Hotspur play at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium than with an Eventmasters Hospitality Package. Book now to avoid disappointment!