Eyes will be fixed on both ends of the table, as Darmstadt and Elversberg aim to maintain their promotion pushes, while Magdeburg begin life under new management at the opposite end.SV Darmstadt vs. F...
Eyes will be fixed on both ends of the table, as Darmstadt and Elversberg aim to maintain their promotion pushes, while Magdeburg begin life under new management at the opposite end.
SV Darmstadt vs. FC Magdeburg
Florian Kohfeldt’s Darmstadt have enjoyed an impressive start to the campaign, losing just once in their opening eight games to sit third on 17 points. Last time out, they were held to a 1-1 draw away at Kiel, with the in-form Isac Lidberg netting his eighth goal in as many matches - the Swede will again be the key man to watch.
Magdeburg, meanwhile, are in crisis mode. With only one win all season and four consecutive defeats without scoring, the club opted to part ways with Markus Fiedler over the international break. The 0-4 home loss to Elversberg proved the final straw. U23 coaches Petrik Sander and Pascal Ibold take interim charge as they look to steady the ship.
Despite their current struggles, Magdeburg can take encouragement from last season’s double over Darmstadt (1-2, 4-1). The overall recent head-to-head remains narrowly in Darmstadt’s favour, though, with Die Lilien winning the three meetings prior to that.
Team news:
SV Darmstadt: Fabian Nürnberger, Kai Klefisch, and Paul Will remain sidelined, but Kohfeldt otherwise has a full squad available.FC Magdeburg: Herbert Bockhorn, Tarek Chahed and Mateusz Zukowski are set to miss out for the visitors.
Predicted lineups:
SV Darmstadt (4-2-3-1): Schuhen (GK) - Lopez, Vukotic, Pfeiffer, Klassen - Akiyama, Papela - Corredor, Hornby, Richter - Lidberg
FC Magdeburg (3-4-3): Reimann (GK) - Hugonet, Mathisen, Hoti - Musonda, Ulrich, Gnaka, Nollenberger - Ghrieb, Breunig, Atik
SV Elversberg vs. Greuther Fürth
After narrowly missing out on promotion last season and losing head coach Horst Steffen to Werder Bremen, Elversberg have regrouped superbly under Vincent Wagner. Their emphatic 4-0 win at Magdeburg before the break propelled them to the top of the table, boasting seven wins from eight games.
Fürth, on the other hand, have endured an up-and-down start, sitting 12th on 10 points. Moments of promise have been offset by inconsistency, though Thomas Kleine’s men will hope to build on their 2-2 draw with Hannover, in which Noel Futkeu scored his sixth goal of the campaign.
Elversberg remain unbeaten in four meetings with Fürth (2W, 2D), a record Wagner will be eager to extend as his side look to solidify their place at the summit.
Team news:
SV Elversberg: Luca Pfeiffer and Luis Seifert remain out. Lasse Günther and Jan Gyamerah have returned to training and could feature in the squad.Greuther Fürth: In addition to long-term injured players Nils Körber, Sacha Bansé and Timo Schlieck, Mathias Olesen (ankle) and Ingi Bjarnason (load management) will not be traveling to Elversberg.
Predicted lineups:
SV Elversberg (4-2-3-1): Kristof (GK) - Keidel, Pinckert, Rohr, Mickelson - Condé, Poreba - Petkov, Conté, Zimmerschied - Ebnoutalib
Greuther Fürth (4-2-3-1): Boevink (GK) - Reich, Ziereis, König, Itter - Dietz, John - Klaus, Hrgota, Keller - Futkeu
1. FC Nürnberg vs. Holstein Kiel
After a winless start of five games and mounting pressure on Miroslav Klose, Nürnberg have begun to turn things around with two wins from their last three. Although still 15th on seven points, optimism is growing around Der Club following their 3-2 away win in Düsseldorf before the international break.
Holstein Kiel, meanwhile, have been the picture of inconsistency - competitive, but unpredictable. Marcel Rapp’s side sit among a cluster of mid-table teams on 10 points, having lost just once in their last four matches.
History favours the visitors: Kiel ran out 4-0 winners at the Max-Morlock-Stadion in 2024 and have taken four of the last five meetings, unbeaten in Nürnberg since 2021.
Team news:
1.FC Nürnberg: Klose will still be without Noah Maboulou, Henri Koudossou, and Tarek Buchmann, as well as Tom Baack and Danilo Soares. Tim Janisch and Adam Markhiyev are both thought to be 50/50 for Sunday’s game.
Holstein Kiel: Mladen Cvjetinović (ankle ligament tear) is sidelined, while John Tolkin (hip) is doubtful.
Predicted lineups:
1.FC Nürnberg (4-3-3): Reichert (GK) - Drexler, Gruber, Lochoshvili, Yilmaz - Becker, Lubach, Diop - Justvan, Biron, Zoma
Holstein Kiel (3-4-2-1): Krumrey (GK) - Zec, Johansson, Komenda - Bernhardsson, Davidsen, Knudsen, Niehoff - Kaprálik, Skrzybski - Harres
Category: General Sports
