Delaney: We have to be ready for Heidenheim

F.C. Copenhagen host FC Heidenheim in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League playoff on Thursday, and Thomas Delaney is looking forward to getting back to competitive action.

The Lions have spent the last month in their winter training camp preparing for the return to the Danish Superliga and European football this spring.

For Delaney, who has played for three German clubs in his career, facing Heidenheim is another big challenge.

"It will be great to be back to Parken. A bit cold and dark, but hopefully with good football, so I'm really looking forward to that," says the 33-year-old.

"I know about Heidenheim, but not much. They have a good recent history and have come a long way recently, and in that sense I see a bit of Union Berlin in them, without comparing them too much. They also moved up through the leagues.

"They can also play with the same direct style of football, so it's probably going to be a game with a lot of intensity, because they like games that are close and that flow back and forth. So we have to be sharp, and we have to be ready to face something different than what we're used to in the Superliga.

"I know Heidenheim are at the bottom end of the Bundesliga right now, but it's still the Bundesliga. Even Dortmund can lose to a team at the bottom of the Bundesliga, I've witnessed that a few times.

"The big question is always what they choose to do in that situation. But it's probably not every year that a team like Heidenheim plays in Europe, so I imagine they will come to win and see how far they can go.

"There are some exciting opponents waiting in the next round, but I'm not thinking about that right now. There's a job to be done over the next two Thursdays. We would of course like to take a good lead into the second leg, but the tie doesn't necessarily have to be decided in Parken."