SV Darmstadt vs. VfL BochumThe last time Darmstadt played against Bochum, both clubs were in the Bundesliga. Similarly, the two coaches – Florian Kohfeldt (Bremen) and Dieter Hecking (Gladbach) – ...
SV Darmstadt vs. VfL Bochum
The last time Darmstadt played against Bochum, both clubs were in the Bundesliga. Similarly, the two coaches – Florian Kohfeldt (Bremen) and Dieter Hecking (Gladbach) – last met when they were in charge of Bundesliga clubs.
Kohfeldt will look to improve on last season’s 12th-place finish with Darmstadt. Having worked with him at VfL Wolfsburg, the 42-year-old signed Bartosz Białek a couple of weeks ago, but the Polish striker will miss this one because of fitness issues. Fabian Holland and Paul Will are also unavailable as they work their way to recovery from ACL injuries.
As for Bochum, Erhan Masovic and Moritz-Broni Kwarteng are the long-time absentees. Francis Onyeka, an 18-year-old midfielder on loan from Bayer Leverkusen, will also be out for an indefinite period after a muscle injury suffered in Bochum’s last friendly match. Philipp Hofmann scored a brace the last time he faced Darmstadt.
Predicted lineups:
Darmstadt: Schuhen ©; Lopez, P. Pfeiffer, Vukotic, Nürnberger; Klefisch, Akiyama; Marseiler, Corredor; Lidberg, Hornby
Bochum: T. Horn; Morgalla, Vogt, Strompf; Rösch, Ibrahima Sissoko, Wittek; Bero ©, Pannewig; Broschinski, P. Hofmann
Paderborn vs. Holstein Kiel
Holstein Kiel, who lost their Bundesliga spot on the same day as Bochum, will also start their 2. Bundesliga campaign away from home. The Storks scored a goal in every away game last season until the 3-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the final matchday.
Paderborn also lost by the same scoreline in their most recent 2. Bundesliga fixture. That was the end of Lukas Kwasniok’s four-year spell at the club as he left them for Köln, which feels like a déjà vu to Paderborn fans with what happened four years ago with Steffen Baumgart and the Billy Goats.
While the hosts are heading into the season with the inexperienced Ralf Kettemann, Kiel continue with Marcel Rapp despite relegation. The recent history of their head-to-head matches promises plenty of goals. We were treated to at least seven goals in three of their last ten meetings, including a 7-2 victory for Paderborn three years ago.
Paderborn’s newly-appointed captain, Felix Götze, will probably start on the bench after missing preseason. Kiel’s Carl Johansson is suspended due to the early red card he saw in Dortmund at the end of last season.
Predicted lineups:
Paderborn: Seimen; M. Hoffmeier, Scheller, Brackelmann; Curda, Hansen, Klaas, Obermair ©; Bätzner, Bilbija; Copado
Kiel: Weiner; Ml. Cvjetinovic, Zec, Ivezic; Porath, Davidsen, Schwab, Tolkin; Bernhardsson, Therkelsen, Skrzybski ©
Karlsruher SC vs.Preußen Münster
The two teams met in 2. Bundesliga for the first time last season. Both games ended in a 1-1 scoreline, with Karlsruhe scoring a 92nd-minute equalizer at home and taking the lead as early as the first minute in the return leg.
However, as expected, there was a big gap between them in the final league standings. Karlsruhe were in the top-half for the fourth time in six seasons under Christian Eichner, while Preußen Münster avoided relegation against all odds.
On Saturday, Münster will be without their marquee signing as Oscar Vilhelmsson sustained a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, the hosts will miss defenders Marcel Beifus and Niclas Dühring due to injuries.
Predicted lineups:
Karlsruhe: Bernat; Kobald, M. Franke, Rapp; Jung, Herold; Wäschenbach, A. Müller, Wanitzek ©; Ben Farhat, Simic
Münster: Schenk; Meyerhöfer, Jaeckel, Koulis, Makridis; Benger; Hendrix, M. Schulz; Batista Meier; Mees, Amenyido
SV Elversberg vs. 1. FC Nürnberg
Simultaneously, last season’s surprise package will host Nürnberg in one of the early Saturday fixtures. Elversberg are heading into the new campaign under a new coach after seven years with Horst Steffen. The new Werder Bremen coach joined Elversberg when they were in the fourth division, but they were very close to a Bundesliga promotion last season.
While Vincent Wagner is preparing for his debut in the hosts’ managerial dugout, Miroslav Klose starts 2025/26 with hopes of building from last season’s promises. Der Club lost both games against Elversberg in the previous campaign.
On Saturday, SVE will be without their new signing Luca Pfeiffer, though. The former Stuttgart striker is working on a return to full fitness. Similarly, Nürnberg’s Mickaël Biron is out of the game after suffering an injury in their last friendly game against Bayer Leverkusen.
Caspar Jander, who was the subject of a potential transfer to Stuttgart until the Pokal winners signed Chema Andrést, is unavailable due to a knee injury.
Predicted lineups:
Elversberg: Kristof; Gyamerah, Pinckert, Rohr, La. Günther; Condé, Sickinger ©; Conté; Petkov, Zimmerschied; Schnellbacher
Nürnberg: Reichert; Gruber, Knoche ©, Lochoshvili; Janisch, Lubach, Danilo Soares; Justvan, Yilmaz; Stepanov, Telalovic
Category: General Sports
