OFI Crete host Hoffenheim in historic first meeting to open Europa League campaign
On Thursday, 17 September, OFI Crete and Germany's Hoffenheim met for the first time in history, in the opening matchday of the new UEFA Europa League league phase in Heraklion.
A first-ever meeting
On Thursday, 17 September 2026, the Pankritio Stadium in Heraklion, Crete hosted the opening league-phase matchday of the UEFA Europa League between Greek side OFI Crete and German Bundesliga club Hoffenheim. Spanish referee Javier Alberola Rojas took charge. According to Eurosport, this was the first official meeting ever between the two clubs, meaning neither coaching staff had direct scouting information on the opponent in this context. The stadium holds around 25,780 spectators, per VAVEL. Sportsgambler listed kick-off at 19:45, while Eurosport's live coverage was already tracking play by around 18:50 CEST.
Recent form
OFI arrived unbeaten in four matches without conceding a goal, including a 1-0 away win at Olympiacos in which Kenan Kodro scored the winner in the 66th minute. In the Greek Super League, OFI sit third after four rounds with nine points — three wins, one loss, per Eurosport. The club opened the season by winning the Greek Super Cup against AEK Athens and reached the Europa League by beating CSKA Sofia in the play-offs. Eurosport notes that OFI, majority-owned since 2018 by Greek-American businessman Michael Bousis, had not featured in European competition for six years, but reached the Greek Cup final in the past two seasons, winning the trophy last season for the first time since 1986/87.
Hoffenheim's start to the campaign was uneven: after a cup win, they lost two straight Bundesliga matches, squandering leads both times (including a 2-3 defeat to Cologne and a 2-3 loss to Borussia Dortmund), before beating Stuttgart 2-1 in their most recent outing, with Adam Hlozek scoring both goals. VAVEL points out that Hoffenheim's last ten matches have all produced over 2.5 goals, underlining an attacking, open style of play.
Line-ups and early play
Sources differ slightly on the confirmed starting line-ups. Eurosport's live report lists OFI as: Christogeorgos; Kostoulas, Pougouras, Krizmanic; Dickmann, Androutsos, Bouchalakis, Athanasiou; Fountas, Kodro, Aitor — with one change in defence, Krizmanic replacing Nikolaou. Hoffenheim, per Eurosport, lined up: Baumann; Coufal, Kabak, Hajdari, Rots; Avdullahu, Burger; De Cat, Hlozek, Wimmer; Lemperle, with coach Christian Ilzer bringing in De Cat and Wimmer while Conte and Daghim dropped to the bench. Pre-match previews from VAVEL and Sportsgambler had listed slightly different formations and included Cantalapiedra for OFI — a discrepancy likely explained by the timing of those reports relative to the final confirmed line-ups. In the opening minutes, Eurosport described Hoffenheim as dominating possession, while OFI looked to play more directly and vertically.
Ahead of kick-off, betting analysts at Sportsgambler favoured OFI on the Asian handicap (+1.25) and suggested a possible 1-1 final score.
