18:15
The two-pronged planning for the next season has already begun for the guests. “We are not naïve and, in addition to the 2nd division, we also deal with the professional preparation of the 3rd division,” admitted club manager Helge Leonhardt. The 63-year-old is nevertheless certain that his team will try everything to the last. “The team will end the season with their heads held high, with a lot of energy and with decency,” believes Leonhardt. And coach Pavel Dotchev has not yet ruled out the miracle before his comeback as a violet coach: “I hope that we can still do what people no longer trust us to do.”
18:09
In the Schleswig-Holsteiners, who have been unbeaten abroad since the beginning of December and who ideally end this weekend in eighth place in the table, coach Marcel Rapp has made two changes to his starting eleven compared to the 2-0 home defeat against Karlsruher SC. Thesker and Wriedt take the places of Lorenz (bench) and Bartels (thigh problems).
17:59
On the side of Lower Saxony, who won the first half of September after an early red card against Kiel goalkeeper Gelios (10th) thanks to goals from Ernst (18th), Kerks (25th) and Mainas (34th) 3-0 and who only lost one of their last six competitive games, coach Christoph Dabrowski decided not to make any changes after the 3-0 away win at FC St. Pauli. In defensive midfield, Kaiser is again preferred to Ondoua.
17:58
In Gelsenkirchen, SC Paderborn had recently convinced again in a playful manner over long stretches, but still traveled home without a point. Before the duel with the violets, Lukas Kwasniok warned that this time it has to be about the result. “Aue will do everything. Our goal is to control the opponent without dying in beauty,” said the home team’s coach. After his team failed to score in two consecutive games under his direction for the first time, Kwasniok wants to break new ground with his team: “We have to find solutions. It’s not about looking backwards in any way, but forwards.”
17:50
After 14 points in six matches last Sunday, KSV Holstein lost again for the first time since the second weekend in Advent: In the home game against Karlsruher SC, the Storks lost 0:2. In a game with few highlights, they went behind after a shot on Sunday (16th), did not work out enough clear shots and were finally defeated after conceding the second goal in the 67th minute.
17:44
Pavel Dotchev also mixes things up properly on his comeback as a violet coach and brings four new ones. Dirk Carlson is out due to a yellow card suspension while Gaëtan Bussmann, Jan Hochscheidt and Nikola Trujić are on the bench. The starting lineup today includes Malcolm Cacutalua, Ben Zolinski, Dimitrij Nazarov and Prince Owusu.
17:43
A look at the lineups: There are five changes to the SCP compared to last week. Captain Ron Schallenberg (5th yellow card) and director Philipp Klement (thigh injury) are out of necessity, Jonas Carls, Kai Pröger and Robin Yalcin rotate to the bench. Jamilu Collins, Jannis Heuer, Marco Stiepermann, Dennis Srbeny and Felix Platte are in the starting XI. Marco Schuster moves into defensive midfield and leads the team as captain.
17:40
After Hannover 96 spent the winter break just three points ahead of the relegation zone, a clear upward trend was recently recorded. The Reds followed up the 2-2 home draw against the then league leaders SV Darmstadt 98 with a 3-0 away win at FC St. Pauli, also leaders before kick-off. In the Millerntor Stadium, the hitherto weakest offensive in the 2nd Bundesliga scored three goals in one game for the second time this season.
17:40
The hope of staying up in the league has dropped to a minimum for the guests from the Ore Mountains. The 1: 3 in Düsseldorf a week ago was the fourth defeat in a row for the violets, who are now already ten points behind the relegation place. In total, Aue has been without a win for nine games. Pavel Dotchev should change that again. As of Wednesday, the Bulgarian is no longer just sporting director, but also head coach of the team and thus responsible on the sidelines for the second time after 2015-2017.
17:36
After four games without a win, the hosts from Paderborn had to bury their hopes of promotion. After losing 2-0 to Schalke last weekend, the gap to third place is already nine points. The lead over the relegation zone has already shrunk to seven points and a careful look in the rear-view mirror is definitely the order of the day at the SCP. The fact that it has come to this is mainly due to East Westphalia’s disastrous home record. Paderborn was only able to win two of twelve league games in the Benteler Arena. Finally number three should come towards Aue.
17:30
Hello and welcome to League Two on Friday night! SC Paderborn and Erzgebirge Aue open the 24th match day in the lower house at 6:30 p.m.
Hello and welcome to the 2nd Bundesliga early Friday evening! Hannover 96 welcomes KSV Holstein on the 24th matchday. Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein will face each other from 6:30 p.m. on the lawn of the HDI Arena.