FC Heidenheim - MSV Duisburg

Heidenheim to continue their unbeaten home run

TEAM NEWS

Heidenheim have no important injuries worries and Denis Thomalla is their only absentee due to injury concerns.

Duisburg will have to do without the long-term injured Zlatko Janjic, Tim Albutat and Branimir Bajic who all missed the game against Heidenheim.

Heidenheim

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Denis Thomalla (unspecified)

Duisburg

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Zlatko Janjic (knee), Tim Albutat (ankle), Branimir Bajic (unspecified)

MATCH PREVIEW

MAIN PREDICTION: HOME WIN

Heidenheim started the season with a 2-0 loss at Braunschweig but managed a 2-1 win against Aue last Wednesday with their match having been rescheduled. The cup match against third-tier team Unterhaching was tougher than expected – but only in the first half, with the team thrashing their opponents 4-0 by the time the final whistle was blown. Having registered two competitive wins in a row, they will have momentum on their side as they go into this match and they will be high in morale.

Newly-promoted Duisburg have had an average start to the season, having claimed just one point against Bochum in their first two games, but they have been producing good performances – and this will let them hope for better results in the upcoming weeks. However, they will need to address their apparent lack of chances to score goals quickly.

This game will come too soon for Duisburg. I’ll back a home win.

SECOND PREDICTION: HALF TIME HAD – DRAW

With neither of the teams producing many goals, having scored just three in their combined four matches so far, I expect a close match with only a small number of goals finding the back of the net and I tend towards a draw at half time.

HEAD TO HEAD

Duisburg have not claimed a victory against Heidenheim in recent years and have lost the last two league games without scoring.

FC St. Pauli - Dynamo Dresden

St. Pauli set to win first home match of the season

TEAM NEWS

St. Pauli are still missing Ryo Miyaichi and Philipp Ziereis, but they have no suspension concerns.

Dresden were dealt a big blow as striker Pascal Testroet suffered a knee injury while the team are also still without midfielder Niklas Hauptmann.

St. Pauli

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Ryo Miyaichi (knee), Philipp Ziereis (muscle)

Dresden

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Pascal Testroet (knee), Niklas Hauptmann (unspecified)

MATCH PREVIEW

MAIN PREDICTION: HOME WIN

St. Pauli got the season off to a good start and showed a lot of potential in their first game of the campaign at Bochum. They controlled the match, particularly in the first half, and had momentum on their side, registering a narrow 1-0 win. The team were very active in the first part of the game and created excellent attempts on goal without managing to convert them. The second half saw them sit back and wait for fast counterattacks, with one of them leading to the winning goal from Christopher Buchtmann, who – assisted by Sami Allagui – scored with a nice shot outside the box. In the end it was impressive team work by all players involved that secured St. Pauli’s first win of the opener.

As expected, Dresden experienced a tough start to the campaign when hosting Duisburg last weekend, but they managed to clinch a win, with new signing Lucas Roser scoring the match winner two minutes from time with a header after getting on the end of a great cross from Niklas Kreuzer. Although the team had more good attempts on goal they were not able to beat Duisburg’s ‘keeper Mark Flekken who had an incredibly good day. However, Dresden gained no joy from winning as their striker Pascal Testroet suffered a serious injury and will be out for the upcoming match. 

Both teams registered a 1-0 win in their season opener, but St. Pauli have so far never lost or even drawn against Dresden at home in 2.Bundesliga and I think their excellent home record against this weekend’s opponents should be enough to hand them another home win.

SECOND PREDICTION: ODD/EVEN – ODD

Although the last meeting between St. Pauli and Dresden ended 2-0 for this weekend’s hosts, overall six of their eight 2.Bundesliga encounters have seen an odd number of goals – and this could quite well be the case again here.

HEAD TO HEAD

St. Pauli’s all-time home record against Dresden in the 2.Bundesliga consists of four wins in four matches, with the team keeping one clean sheet in the most recent encounter in February.

Erzgebirge Aue - Fortuna Düsseldorf

Both teams happy with a draw

TEAM NEWS

Aue are again without Nicky Adler while the rest of the squad are available for the upcoming match against Dusseldorf.

Dusseldorf will only be missing Justin Kinjo, meaning coach Friedhelm Funkel nearly has his entire squad to choose from.

Aue

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Nicky Adler (groin)

Dusseldorf

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Justin Kinjo (knee)

MATCH PREVIEW

MAIN PREDICTION: DRAW

Aue’s match in Heidenheim was aborted after 12 minutes because of a heavy thunderstorm as the waterlogged pitch became unplayable. New coach Thomas Letsch is placing his trust in the same offensive trio (Pascal Kopke, Mario Kvesic and Dimitrj Nazarov) as last season as they performed well in preseason, but he has plenty of choice when it comes to the rest of the team as Christian Tiffert, Clemens Fandrich, Dominik Wydra, Nicolai Rapp, Dennis Kempe and Fabian Kalig are all available among others. Although the results in their friendlies were only average the team will hope to get off to a good start at home here.

Dusseldorf coach Friedhelm Funkel chose a very offensive 3-4-1-2 formation in the team’s opening match against Braunschweig and two new players were given their debut on Monday. Dusseldorf took the lead early in what would become an entertaining match, but they couldn’t cope with the pressure and had conceded twice by the 60th minute. Nevertheless, they managed to equalise only 11 minutes from time, but were unable to increase their lead despite playing withnumerical advantage in the last nine minutes as Braunschweig had a man sent off. Overall, Dusseldorf deserved the draw.  

Neither of the teams will want to risk losing at this stage of the season and I expect Dusseldorf to register their second draw in a row.

SECOND PREDICTION: HALF-TIME RESULT: DRAW

Neither team are particularly efficient up front, with Aue and Braunscheig both registering 37 goals in 34 games last season. In addition, both teams will focus on their defence, which could mean a slow start to the game and I predict a draw at half time.

HEAD TO HEAD

Aue have won three times and registered one draw against Dusseldorf in their ten 2.Bundesliga encounters.

Greuther Fürth - Arminia Bielefeld

Furth set to register first win against weak travellers Bielefeld

TEAM NEWS

Greuther Furth will once again be without regulars Richard Magyar, Sercan Sararer, Philipp Hofmann, Mathis Bolly and Mario Maloca and will be looking for suitable replacements.

Bielefeld will be travelling to Furth without Christopher Nothe, Tom Schutz and Soren Brandy who are all injured.

Greuther Furth

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Richard Magyar (ankle), Sercan Sararer (groin), Philipp Hofmann (ligaments), Mathis Bolly (muscle), Mario Maloca (broken toe)

Bielefeld

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Christopher Nothe (knee), Tom Schutz (hamstring), Soren Brandy (muscle)

MATCH PREVIEW

MAIN PREDICTION: HOME WIN

Greuther Furth’s performance in their season opener at Darmstadt surprised many: The team pressed really well and made life difficult for their opponents. Coach Janos Radoki placed his trust in two youngsters in central midfield, despite the fact that the experienced Jurgen Gjasula was available too. The match was very even and neither team created many attempts on goal, while both defensive lines did an effective job. Gjasula came off the bench in the second half and gave the team’s attack fresh impetus. However, Serdar Dursun missed a huge opportunity and following this big miss Furth’s opponents scored the winning goal after a free kick, with the visitors unable to reply.   

Bielefeld got the season off to a good start with a late winning goal against Jahn Regensburg – however, their 2-1 victory was also down to a degree of luck. Regensburg took the lead with a great counter attack in the first half, but Bielefeld managed to get back into the game through a nice shot outside the box from Keanu Staude, resulting in an equaliser. The second half was more even with both teams having good opportunities to win this game. However after Nils Teixeira’s sending-off, Bielefeld focused on defending and saving the draw, but a defensive mistake from Marvin Knoll allowed the hosts to score the winner in stoppage time.

Furth may have lost their first game, but generally speaking, their defence isn’t that bad and that makes me think that they can beat a weak travelling team like Bielefeld. Home win.

SECOND PREDICTION: TOTAL GOALS: ONE

Greuther Furth’s home games haven’t seen a lot of goals recently, with only one of their last seven matches ending with more than one goal. Combined with the fact that Bielefeld are not the most proficient travellers, I think this could be a very low-scoring game too.

HEAD TO HEAD

Greuther Furth have registered five wins, one draw and three defeats at home against Bielefeld in 2.Bundesliga, with the team scoring 11 and conceding 8 goals.

Jahn Regensburg - 1.FC Nürnberg

In-form Nurnberg set for their next win

TEAM NEWS

Regensburg are still missing Oliver Hein, Bastian Lerch and Sven Kopp who are all out injured.

Nurnberg won’t have Lukas Muhl, Dennis Lippert and Philipp Forster at their disposal.

Regensburg

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Oliver Hein (knee), Bastian Lerch (arm), Sven Kopp (muscle)

Nurnberg

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Lukas Muhl, Dennis Lippert, Philipp Forster (all knee)

MATCH PREVIEW

MAIN PREDICTION: AWAY WIN

Jahn Regensburg coach Achim Beierlorzer included two new players in the starting line-up against Bielefeld in the season opener, but despite these changes the team arrived at the North Rhine-Westphalian club with a lot of confidence and played a brave game. Although Regensburg gave their opponents’ attack a lot of space they managed to take the lead with an excellent counterattack in 24^th minute. Regensburg’s captain and top striker Marco Gruttner passed through for Jann-Christopher George who finished with a low shot. Following that goal, it looked as if everything went in the visitors’ favour, but they were unable to withstand the pressure and conceded an equaliser in the first half. Both teams had good attempts on goal in the second part of the game, but didn’t manage to score until Regensburg’s central defender Marvin Knoll made a big mistake, resulting in Bielefeld’s very late winning goal.

Nurnberg, on the other hand, claimed an impressive 3-0 victory at home against Kaiserslautern in their first game of the game. They dominated the game throughout and their home win was never in jeopardy as a result of Kaiserslautern’s unimpressive performance. Captain Hanno Behrens and Kevin Mohwald both found the back of the net while the third goal was an own goal from Kaiserslautern’s ‘keeper Marius Muller. The convincing win means Nurnberg are currently at the top of the 2.Bundesliga rankings.  

Nurnberg were dominant and free-scoring against Kaiserslautern and I think that form is likely to continue against newly-promoted Regensburg. The hosts produced a good performance against Bielefeld, but they will still struggle away from home against Nurnberg. Away win.

SECOND PREDICTION: TOTAL GOALS: THREE

Jahn Regensburg and Nurnberg have not met in league action since 2004, but they have played each other in three friendlies since, and three of their last four games overall have seen exactly three goals, with Regensburg winning 2-1 on every occasion. Although I don’t expect the hosts to claim the three points here, I still predict three goals.

HEAD TO HEAD

Regensburg and Nurnberg last played each other competitively in April 2004, with the match ending in a 2-1 for hosts Regensburg.

1.FC Kaiserslautern - SV Darmstadt 98

Darmstadt to beat hapless Kaiserslautern

TEAM NEWS

Kaiserslautern won’t have Kacper Przybylko, Marcel Correia and Gervane Kastaneer at their disposal for this encounter.

Darmstadt will be traveling to Kaiserslautern with an almost full squad, but they will be missing Jan Rosenthal with a knee injury.

Kaiserslautern

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Kacper Przybylko (foot), Marcel Correia (pulled muscle), Gervane Kastaneer (knee)

Darmstadt

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Jan Rosenthal (knee)

MATCH PREVIEW

MAIN PREDICTION: AWAY WIN

Despite registering good results in their preseason friendlies, Kaiserslautern started the season opener against Nurnberg nervously – perhaps due to the fact that they had never won a game at Nurnberg in 2.Bundesliga. That trend continued with a 3-0 defeat for the team, with coach Norbert Meier possibly fielding too many new players. With more than half the line-up consisting of new recruits (six), the players did not know each other well enough and it is clear that a lot of time will be required to get this team on track. They will without a doubt have to improve a lot against giants Darmstadt.

Darmstadt experienced a difficult and slow start to the season, but nevertheless they secured their first win last time out, beating Greuther Furth 1-0 in what was an important first match at home. Aytac Sulu was the hero in an even game, with the captain scoring the winning goal after a free kick from Tobias Kempe. However, with five new players in the starting line-up Darmstadt found it difficult to find their rhythm right from the beginning. They lacked creativity and ideas when it came to finding a way through Furth’s lines and they have their great morale and fighting spirit to thank for rather than their playing style. Despite the positive result, there is a lot to improve and coach Torsten Frings has his work cut out.

I can’t see Kaiserslautern turn a corner after last weekend’s heavy defeat and weak play and fully expect Darmstadt to continue their winning run. Away win.

SECOND PREDICTION: ODD/EVEN – ODD

Four of Kaiserslautern’s last five home matches have seen an odd number of goals, while this was also the case in Darmstadt’s last three away matches. Judging by this pattern, I predict a repeat of this here.

HEAD TO HEAD

Kaiserslautern have hosted Darmstadt three times in the top flight and second division, with the games ending in one win and two draws for the home team.

SV Sandhausen - FC Ingolstadt 04

Ingolstadt aiming for first points of the season

TEAM NEWS

Sandhausen have Andrew Wooten marked as doubtful and are still missing Mirco Born, Rick Wulle and Robert Herrmann.

Ingolstadt have two players on the injury list in the form of Max Christiansen and Moritz Hartmann, who are suffering from a thigh and muscle injury respectively.

Sandhausen

Suspended:

Doubtful: Andrew Wooten (muscle)

Injured/unavailable: Mirco Born, Rick Wulle (both knee); Robert Herrmann (broken foot)

Ingolstadt

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Max Christiansen (thigh), Moritz Hartmann (muscle)

MATCH PREVIEW

MAIN PREDICTION: AWAY WIN

Sandhausen were involved in a very entertaining 2-2 draw away to Holstein Kiel in their first 2.Bundesliga match of the season, with Richard Sukuta-Pasu and Philipp Klingmann registering the goals for them. However, the result was disappointing because they dominated the first half and led 2-0 at half time. In the second part of the game they missed several counter-attacks which would have allowed them to increase their lead while their opponents pressed a lot and managed to score a goal of their own in 75^th minute. Sandhausen became panicky and lost control over the game, resulting in a late equaliser in stoppage time which left them very frustrated.

Meanwhile, Ingolstadt coach Maik Walpurgis included four new players in his starting XI against Union Berlin, which came as a big surprise. Phil Neumann, Marcel Gaus, Tobias Schrock and Stefan Kutschke all started the game in the hope that the Bavarian club would register their first win. The team did indeed control the match and played well and fast at the beginning, with their opponents finding it difficult to stop Ingolstadt’s impressive attack. However, despite their superior play well into the second half, the hosts were unable to take the lead and conceded the winning goal, with Union Berlin scoring with a great shot outside the box.

Ingolstadt will have no excuses this time round and will feel the pressure, but they should manage a win here. Sandhausen’s defensive line showed some weakness against Holstein Kiel and Ingolstadt could take advantage of this to secure a victory.

SECOND PREDICTION: INGOLSTADT TO SCORE FIRST

The last four meetings between the teams have all seen the visiting side score first. Coupled with the fact that Ingolstadt are the favourites here, I believe there is a real possibility that they will take the lead here first too.

HEAD TO HEAD

Sandhausen have met Ingolstadt three times at home in Germany’s 2.Bundesliga, registering one win and two defeats, whilst scoring three and conceding six goals.

Union Berlin - Holstein Kiel

Union Berlin keen to keep 100% record going

TEAM NEWS

Union Berlin have a fully fit squad available, giving coach Jens Keller a lot of choice ahead of the second game of the season.

Holstein Kiel are still without Arne Sicker, Luca Durholtz and Atakan Karazor.

Union Berlin

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: None

Holstein Kiel

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Arne Sicker (unspecified), Luca Durholtz (illness), Atakan Karazor (ankle)

MATCH PREVIEW

MAIN PREDICTION: HOME WIN

Union Berlin celebrated their first win of the season away from home last weekend against relegated Ingolstadt. It was a difficult game for them, with coach Jens Keller fielding two new players, Marc Torrejon and Marcel Hartel, in the starting line-up. The team spent almost all their time defending and only managed a few counterattacks, but they eventually took the lead through an incredible shot from Christopher Trimmel outside the box and did not allow Ingolstadt to get back into the game afterwards. The club were without a doubt lucky to have taken the lead, but after scoring the goal they played very well and dominated the match.

Newly-promoted Holstein Kiel are coming off a very entertaining 2-2 draw against Sandhausen. Although they were two goals down at half time they managed to secure a point with a goal in 75^th minute, followed by another very late one from a free kick in stoppage time. After a very disappointing start in the first half, Holstein Kiel were much more present in the second part of the game and played like they did last season. They had great morale and team spirit, which pushed them to the limit, and they deserved the draw. 

Despite Holstein Kiel’s positive performance last time out, I still think that Union Berlin will win this one as they have started the season well and will be keen to build on their momentum. Home win.

SECOND PREDICTION: HALF-TIME RESULT: DRAW

Eight of the ten goals scored in Union Berlin’s last five home matches in 2.Bundesliga arrived in the second half, meaning that three of those games were level at half time. With Holstein Kiel scoring late in their opener too, I predict a draw here after 45 minutes.

HEAD TO HEAD

These teams meet for the first time in 2.Bundesliga.

Dynamo Dresden - MSV Duisburg

Strong hosts face newly-promoted team from Duisburg

TEAM NEWS

Dresden have lost three important key players in the form of Marvin Stefaniak, Akaki Gogia and Stefan Kutschke. It will be hard to replace them as only new arrivals Soren Gonther (St. Pauli) and Rico Benatelli (Wurzburg) have the same level of experience and are available immediately. The other arrivals are only squad players like midfielder Patrick Moschl (Ried), midfielder Sascha Horvath (Sturm Graz) and forward Rosner (Grossaspach).

Duisburg are placing their trust in their successful team from last season. They have been quiet on the transfer market and there will only be a small number of new players to strengthen the team, including goalkeeper Daniel Davari (Bielefeld), defender Gerrit Nauber (Lotte), midfielder Lukas Frode (Wurzburg), midfielder Cauly Oliveira Souza (Wurzburg), forward Borys Tashchy (Stuttgart) and midfielder Moritz Stoppelkamp (Paderborn).

Dresden

Suspended: None

Doubtful: Soren Gonther (unspecified)

Injured/unavailable: Aias Aosman (thigh), Niklas Hauptmann (groin), Florian Ballas (ankle)

Duisburg

Suspended: None

Doubtful: Branimir Bajic (unspecified)

Injured/unavailable: Tim Albutat (ankle), Zlatko Janjic (knee)

MATCH PREVIEW

MAIN PREDICTION: AWAY WIN

Dresden are known for their home fortress and their support is absolutely great. It is not always easy to play there as their fans make a lot of noise and if the team are rolling they are very hard to stop while they can overcome their opponents easily. For newly-promoted Duisburg, this is by no means an ideal start to the new season, but Dresden have a lot of absentees and must find the right mix of players for this game.

Duisburg are back in 2.Bundesliga after just one year in the third tier and they want to do a better job than two years ago. They have been working very hard at all fronts, with coach Iliya Gruev having to find solutions to get more power into the attack as they were far too ineffective up front last season. The coach stands for compactness and discipline and is adamant that he wants to see both from his team. If they can hold this game even and hold their nerves in this noisy stadium they should be able to get something out of this game.

It is always hard to start the campaign with a home game against a newly-promoted team – and especially when you have several injury worries to deal with. I think this puts Duisburg in a very good position and a win over Dresden might be the surprise of the weekend in my eyes. Away win – but only if you dare.

SECOND PREDICTION: HILO – HIGH (OVER 2.5 GOALS)

This is bound to be a tough encounter and the newcomers should be motivated, but Dresden’s home crowd might push their team all the way. I’ll go with over 2.5 goals.

HEAD TO HEAD

Dresden’s all-time home record against Duisburg is three wins, two draws and two defeats, with nine goals for and six against.

1.FC Heidenheim - Erzgebirge Aue

Heidenheim eager to overcome Aue and use their home advantage

TEAM NEWS

Heidenheim will have all their key players available for this season again, but they have strengthened the team with several players who will act as replacements if the first XI succumb to injury: Goalkeeper Matthias Kobbing (Hoffenheim), defender Marnon Busch (Werder Bremen), midfielder Kolja Pusch (Jahn Regensburg), midfielder Maximilian Thiel (Union Berlin), forward Nikola Dovedan (Altach) and forward Robert Glatzel (Kaiserslautern) have all joined the club.

Aue were one of the newly-promoted teams last season and their main aim will be to avoid the drop to the third tier once again. Two important players have left the club, but Aue have brought in several replacements, with new signings including defender Nicolai Rapp (Hoffenheim), defender Malcolm Cacutalua (Bielefeld), midfielder Tobias Kempe (Karlsruher SC), defender Moise Ngwisani (Bochum), midfielder Dominik Wydra (Bochum), midfielder John-Patrick Strauss (RB Leipzig), midfielder Arianit Ferati (Hamburg) and Michael Maria (Grossaspach).

Heidenheim

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Denis Thomalla (illness)

Aue

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Nicky Adler (groin)

MATCH PREVIEW

MAIN PREDICTION: HOME WIN

Heidenheim were underestimated by most of their opponents last season and they ended up in an impressive sixth position. However, they are now a lot better known and the other clubs will be aware of how to approach them. This could become a problem – especially if Heidenheim start the season as badly as they ended the last, and this campaign might be a lot harder for them as a result. However, if coach Frank Schmidt excels at his decision-making in the same way as he did last season, then the team have the potential to end up in a safe place in the middle of the table.

Aue’s team spirit and willingness to fight saved the club last season, but more than anything else, they will need to improve up front this time round. The team are in desperate need of more goals if they do not want to get into trouble from the start. However, they have no real goalgetter, but with Pascal Kopke, Dimitrij Nazarov, Adrianit Ferati and Mario Kvesic there are some good and quality strikers in the squad. Nevertheless, the team tend to waste too many of their chances, but if they can solve this problem, then they might be able to play in 2.Bundesliga again next season.

Heidenheim had a quiet and good pre-season and they worked hard to improve their style of play from last season. However, Aue are not in the best situation after losing their head coach and are therefore ill-prepared, having to adjust to a new coach and his playing style. I therefore think that Heidenheim will leave the pitch victorious.

SECOND PREDICTION: HILO – HIGH (OVER 2.5 GOALS)

Both teams have met each other twice so far in 2.Bundesliga, with one game seeing more and one game under 2.5 goals. However, I expect an open game here, with both teams looking for goals.

HEAD TO HEAD

Heidenheim’s overall home record against Aue is one win and two draws, with the team having scored three and conceded two goals.