Heidenheim are a club on the rise, fresh from finishing eighth in their first ever Bundesliga campaign. That was enough to secure a place in the Conference League play-off round this time around, and there they defeated Swedish side Hacken 5-3 on aggregate.

Chelsea will be the third club they host in European competition when we travel to Germany on Thursday 28 November. You can see the rest of Chelsea's Conference League fixtures here.

Factfile

Full name: 1. Fußballclub Heidenheim 1846

Country: Germany

Town: Heidenheim

Formation: 1846, as TG Heidenheim, 1910 as VfB Heidenheim

Honours: 2. Bundesliga (2023)

Head coach: Frank Schmidt

2023/24 league finish: 8th

Stadium: Voith-Arena

Colours: Red and blue

Rivals: VfR Aalen

European record

Five games and five wins so far. Simple!

Heidenheim beat Hacken 2-1 away in the first leg of their play-off, Leo Scienza netting the winner midway through the second half. In the return leg, Hacken came from behind to lead 2-1 with less than 10 minutes remaining, but extra-time was avoided as Heidenheim scored twice late on to secure a 5-3 aggregate victory.

In the league phase, they have beaten Olimpija Ljubljana 2-1 at home, and won away to Pafos (1-0) and Hearts (2-0), leaving them with maximum points like Chelsea. Istanbul Basaksehir (a) and St Gallen (h) are their final two opponents.

2024/25 so far…

Heidenheim lie in 15th position in the Bundesliga table. After starting the campaign with two wins, they have lost five and drawn one of their past six games. They most recently lost 5-2 to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.

They have enjoyed most success in Europe with three wins from three, but were knocked out of the German Cup by Hertha Berlin.

Current squad

Heidenheim’s most famous face is probably their head coach, Frank Schmidt. Schmidt enjoyed an unremarkable playing career in the German lower leagues that wound up at Heidenheim in 2007. A few months later, aged 33, he took over as head coach. He has stayed in the post ever since, achieving four promotions, and last September became the longest-serving manager at a single club in German football history.

Schmidt has a mostly German squad at his disposal, many of whom have been with the club since their 2. Bundesliga days, although Brazilian attacker Scienza was a summer arrival from Ulm. Club captain Patrick Mainka has played over 200 games for Heidenheim since joining in 2018, while Paul Wanner is a highly regarded 18-year-old midfielder on loan from Bayern Munich. He has already made eight appearances for the German giants and is the club’s youngest player to have featured in a Champions League game.

Stadium

The Voith-Arena, as it is now known, has been Heidenheim’s home since 1973, when it had a capacity of 8000 and was used for other sports.

It has subsequently undergone several renovations and extensions as the club have risen through the leagues, becoming a football-only stadium in 2010. It now holds 15,000 people.