In need of a morale-boosting victory, out-of-sorts Crystal Palace welcome Hoffenheim to Selhurst Park for their latest League Phase fixture in the Europa League on Thursday night.

The Eagles sit 15th in the 36-team standings, while their German counterparts are eight places further back in 23rd spot after the first three rounds of fixtures.

Match preview

After nine Premier League games, Crystal Palace find themselves languishing in the relegation zone having posted two wins, one draw and a joint division-high six defeats, leaving head coach Pierre Sage under increased pressure.

The Eagles, who have also conceded the most goals in the league (21), suffered their third straight top-flight loss last weekend as they were beaten 2-0 by Tottenham Hotspur, a result impacted by the 13th-minute dismissal of striker Jean-Philippe Mateta.

“A problem with performance” is what Sage clearly needs to address, and the Frenchman – appointed in June to succeed Conference League winner Oliver Glasner – now has two important home games against Hoffenheim and Liverpool to potentially save his job in South London.

Palace’s form in their maiden Europa League campaign has been mixed thus far; they thrashed Lech Poznan 4-0 at home on matchday one before losing 3-2 against Lyon and drawing 2-2 with Besiktas, away displays marked by sluggish starts and spirited yet flawed comeback attempts.

The Eagles will take some comfort from having won three of their last five home matches in all competitions (L2), while they also head into Thursday’s contest unbeaten in seven European games at Selhurst Park (W5 D2).

Competing in major European competition for just the fifth time in their history this season, Hoffenheim have accumulated only three points from a possible nine available at the start of their Europa League campaign (W1 L2).

Die Kraichgauer lost their opening two matches against OFI Crete (2-0) and Besiktas (3-2), but they achieved what Palace could not against Lyon, as they secured a convincing 3-0 victory over the French side a fortnight ago to open their account in the League Phase.

This statement win was part of a three-game winning streak for Christian Ilzer’s side across all competitions, but they have since been brought back down to earth by a DFB-Pokal second-round exit on penalties to Holstein Kiel and a 2-0 Bundesliga defeat against Werder Bremen, losing to the latter last Saturday.

Although five defeats in eight Bundesliga games has seen Hoffenheim slip down to 12th place in the table, already six points adrift of the top four, Ilzer has insisted that he is “not worried” about his team and has taken plenty of positives from their spirited performances.

Returning to winning ways on Thursday is not a given, though, as Hoffenheim have prevailed in only one of their last six European away games (D2 L3) while they have lost all five of their previous meetings with English opposition (once to Spurs, twice to Liverpool and Manchester City).

Crystal Palace Europa League form:

Crystal Palace form (all competitions):

Hoffenheim Europa League form:

Hoffenheim form (all competitions):

Team News

Crystal Palace trio Ismaila Sarr (groin), Takehiro Tomiyasu (calf) and Chadi Riad (knee) all remain sidelined with injuries, but Jorgen Strand Larsen (ankle) and Quinten Timber (hamstring) may be fit to return to the matchday squad.

Despite his Premier League red card, Mateta is available for selection on Thursday and will likely lead the line for the Eagles, with Yeremy Pino, Dwight McNeil, Eddie Nketiah, Dario Osorio and Evann Guessand all battling for starts in the final third.

Cheick Doucoure and Will Hughes are contenders to start in midfield, while Anan Khalaili and Ben Chilwell could both return as wing-backs at the expense of Oscar Mingueza and Tyrick Mitchell.

As for Hoffenheim, their packed treatment room includes ex-West Ham defender Vladimir Coufal, (thigh), Bambase Conte (adductor), Patrick Wimmer (hamstring), Valentin Gendrey (broken leg), Albain Hajdari (foot), Nathan De Cat (knee) and Max Moerstedt (head).

After missing the defeat at Werder Bremen through suspension, Alexander Prass is available to return and could feature as a central midfielder alongside either Leon Avdullahu or Wouter Burger.

Andrej Kramaric contributed to all three goals in the win against Lyon (one goal, two assists) and the 35-year-old will likely be joined in attack by Adam Daghim, Tim Lemperle and top scorer Adam Hlozek (four goals).

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:

Henderson; Canvot, Disasi, Richards; Khalaili, Wharton, Doucoure, Chilwell; Pino, Nketiah; Mateta

Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:

Baumann; Abraha, Kabak, Machida, Rots; Prass, Avdullahu; Kramaric, Daghim; Lemperle, Hlozek

We say: Crystal Palace 2-2 Hoffenheim

Ten of Hoffenheim’s 13 competitive games this season have produced over 2.5 goals, while each of Crystal Palace’s three Europa League matches this term has seen at least four goals scored, so an entertaining contest could be in store on Thursday.

Both teams are desperate for a victory to boost their knockout qualification hopes, but we can envisage the spoils being shared on this occasion.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.