MSV Duisburg - 1.FC Kaiserslautern

The West-Derby is very important for both sides as they are big involved in relegation battle. Both teams are fighting to remain in 2.Bundesliga while MSV is in a must win situation to close the gap to the other 2 teams above Paderborn and 1860 München and hold the aim alive. On the other side is Düsseldorf a big up of the red zone and can go into this game more relaxed and without big pressure. But overall they have to look forward and take an eye on the other teams like Paderborn, 1860 München and FSV Frankfurt because as the results are against them they can fall down and get really in danger. Therefore we can expect an interesting game with a big fight.

After only 1 Point after 4 matches after the winter break MSV Duisburg was almost relegated and it looks like that they have no chance anymore but they never gave up and fight back that they were able to close the gap to 3 Points to the teams above. With the surprise win in Nürnberg they got a lot of hope back but last weekend they were not able to manage the next surprise to leader Freiburg and lost deserved 0-3. Therefore this direct duel with Düsseldorf become very important for them. 

It was no surprise that Coach Gruev send out the same team against Freiburg which won to 1860 but this time he has to change according to the suspension from Hajri. The miss can be compensate with Bajic who is back from illness and absolutely ready again. He got some minutes in Freiburg already and should be hot to start. More changes are maybe not the case as the alternatives are less although the offensive play is very harmless from MSV lately. Despite this big problems Bröker comes from bench and should bring from fresh blood in.

Fortuna changes the Coach in the winter break and they had a lot of hope in Kurz but he could not bring the team back on track and after a losing run from 4 matches he was sucked. In relegation battle they trust now an experienced Coach like Funkel. He saved a lot of teams already and he knows what he has to do to avoid the worst case. He started well with a 4-3 win to Kaiserslautern but in the last 4 matches they are winless and got only 2 Points on their side what let them remain in a danger position. 

After the weakest performance against Fürth 1-3 he changed the starting lineup on 5 positions what lead to a much better performance and a good result to St. Pauli 1-1. If he count on the same eleven it is very open as with Bodzek and Fink return two experienced players which were not available to due suspension and injury against St. Pauli. Despite the good play from Sobotta and Gartner in central midfield it is very possible that both veterans return and give the team more stability. The other positions should remain unchanged according to the last performance.

This encounter includes a lot and the future of both teams stands in doubt what makes it so interesting. But overall if we compare both squads we see some advantage for Düsseldorf who knows the situation much more from past years as MSV. Also the quality is on Fortuna’s side although both sides has some problems with the offensive play. Nevertheless players like Demirbay, Pohjanpalo or Sararer can make the difference for Fortuna. We trust and believe in them and got with the HC on our side, a draw is more as possible for them here.

PICK: Fortuna Düsseldorf AHC +0,25 @ 1,76 (3 Units / Flat Stake)