OFI Crete vs. Hoffenheim: UEFA Europa League live blog and preview

Hoffenheim mark their return to continental competition as they kick off the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League with a trip to Greece to face OFI Crete on Thursday (kick-off: 6.45pm CEST).

Hoffenheim enjoyed their best campaign since 2017/18 as Christian Ilzer guided the Sinsheim club to fifth place last season, falling just a point short of UEFA Champions League qualification but securing a return to European competition for the first time since 2024/25.

They go into this fixture having picked up their first three points of the Bundesliga season against VfB Stuttgart on the weekend, winning 2-1 thanks to a Adam Hložek double.

OFI end their quarter-of-a-century absence from the main stage of a UEFA competition after winning the Greek Cup for only the second time in their history by beating PAOK in extra-time. The club from the island of Crete finished sixth in the 2025/26 Greek Super League.

They won their most recent league game against Olympiacos (1-0) on the weekend, putting them joint-top of the Greek Super League having won all three of their opening games

Follow the match below!

VS

OFI

Thu, 17.09 16:45

Hoffenheim

Europa League
League phase, Matchday 1 League phase, Matchday 1 Pankritio, Heraklion

Ex-Mainz forward downs Olympiacos

Kenan Kodro, who spent part of the 2017/18 campaign with the Zerofivers, scored the only goal as OFI beat Olympiacos 1-0 to register their third win in four Greek Super League games this season.

© Martin Hoffmann

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Watch: Hoffenheim 2-1 Stuttgart - highlights

Christian Ilzer's side warmed up for their Europa League opener by registering their first Bundesliga win of the season, as Adam Hložek's double helped see off regional rivals VfB Stuttgart.

Hoffenheim managing director for sport Andreas Schicker on the UEFA Europa League draw

"This competition is a wonderful reward for us. It’s going to be a very exciting group stage. I’m looking forward to it because the opponents are very appealing."

© IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto/Memmler

Who are OFI Crete?

The biggest club on the holiday island of Crete have been ever-present in the Greek Super League since last gaining promotion in 2018, and celebrated their second Greek cup win last season after 1986/87. They also beat AEK Athens in the Greek Super Cup last month. Their smattering of past European campaigns includes facing Bayer Leverkusen in the 1995/96 Intertoto Cup, when they lost 1-0 at the BayArena.

© IMAGO/Bahho Kara

OFI's last European campaign: 2020/21

Last season's Greek cup winners are on their first European campaign in six years, when they were beaten 1-0 by Apollon Limassol in the Europa League's second qualifying round. They successfully saw off CSKA Sofia 5-0 on aggregate in the play-off round for this season's league phase.

© IMAGO/IPA Sport/ABACA

Hoffenheim's last European campaign: 2024/25

Hoffenheim took two wins and three draws in eight league phase matches in the UEFA Europa League two seasons ago, with their nine points leaving them in 27th and just a few spots outside of the play-off positions.

© Alex Grimm

Welcome!

Follow all of the build-up and live action as Hoffenheim kick off the league phase of the UEFA Europa League away at OFI on Thursday (kick-off: 6.45pm CEST).

About the clubs

Hoffenheim

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