FC Schalke 04 goes into the second half of the 2nd Bundesliga as league leaders. Behind them, Elversberg, Darmstadt and Paderborn, are three teams within striking distance, while Hanover, Kaiserslautern and Hertha BSC still have their hopes up. We take a closer look at the teams.
FC Schalke 04 – 1st place / 37 points / 22:10 goals
After many coaching changes, Miron Muslić seems to be the right man for FC Schalke. The showpiece is the defense with only ten goals conceded, and the signing of goalkeeper Loris Karius a year ago also seems to have been a stroke of luck.
Schalke don’t need much at the front to score goals. A standard situation is often enough. The team scored nine of its 22 goals from them. In nine of its twelve victories, the Royal Blues only had a one-goal lead in the end – that’s probably efficient.
Before the winter break, however, there was a surprising 1:2 defeat at Eintracht Braunschweig. Against this background, the start of the second half of the season at Hertha BSC on Saturday (8.30 p.m.) is trend-setting.
SV Elversberg – 2nd place / 34 points / 31:15 goals
Before the season, SV Elversberg didn’t necessarily have to be on the list when it came to promotion. But a major personnel change and the move of successful coach Horst Steffen to Bremen did not affect the team. So the SVE goes into the second half of the season as the first runner-up.
The showpiece is the offensive, 31 hits are the league’s best. Under coach Vincent Wagner, the team is still undefeated at home. But whether it will stay that way is questionable. Younes Ebnoutalib, who leads the top scorer list with twelve goals, moved to Eintracht Frankfurt in the winter – a bitter loss. It remains to be seen whether David Mokwa from TSG Hoffenheim can follow in his footsteps.
SV Darmstadt 98 – 3rd place / 33 points / 29:17 goals
SV Darmstadt has quietly and secretly pushed its way forward from midfield. The “Lilien” have been unbeaten in seven games and are only one point short of second place. There were only two defeats in 17 games – a record. The main responsible for this is defense chief Aleksandar Vukotić, who is considered extremely strong in duels.
Just like Elversberg, the Hessians are still undefeated at home. But what sets them apart from the SVE is the fact that they were able to keep their top scorer. Isac Lidberg scored eleven goals – just one fewer than the former Elversberger Ebnoutalib.
SC Paderborn – 4th place / 33 points / 28:18 goals
More was possible for Paderborn in the first half of the season. Three defeats in a row in November and December put coach Ralf Kettemann’s team out of step. The start of the season with just one win from four games was mixed.
In between there was also a series with a whopping eight wins in a row. Even before the winter break there were points again. So the team – just like Darmstadt – is only one point behind Elversberg. Nevertheless, more consistency is required in the second half of the season if promotion is to happen. Paderborn’s strength on the road speaks for itself: 17 points away from home are the league’s best.
Hannover 96 – 5th place / 29 points / 30:22 goals
Hannover is one of three teams that is already a few points behind, but can still hope for promotion: five points are missing from second place, four from relegation place.
In terms of statistics (57 percent ball possession and 86.7 percent pass rate are both top values in the league), Hannover is a top team. With Benjamin Källman (ten goals) they have the third best goalscorer in their ranks. 96 has the second best offense in the league with 30 goals.
But the problem is the home record – no candidate for promotion has a worse one. The top games against Hertha, Schalke and Darmstadt were also lost at home.
Hertha BSC – 6th place / 28 points / 21:16 goals
Hertha BSC will soon know what it is. The team starts the second half of the season with the top game against Schalke 04. Shortly afterwards there will be games against Darmstadt 98 (February 1st), at SV Elversberg (February 7th), against Hannover 96 (February 14th) and at SC Paderborn (February 22nd) and thus against all four other teams that, like Schalke, are still ahead of the Berliners in the table.
After an up-and-down first half of the season, Hertha is in sixth place, five points behind in third place. If the Berliners actually start to catch up, everything is still possible. But: There wasn’t a single win in the last three games before the winter break.
1. FC Kaiserslautern – 7th place / 27 points / 29:21 goals
Kaiserslautern also messed up a better starting position shortly before Christmas with a defeat against Magdeburg – they are now six points short of the relegation place.
Just like in Berlin, it will quickly become clear where the journey is headed. The first opponents are Hannover, Schalke, Elversberg and Darmstadt. Only victories help.