2. Bundesliga Saturday Konferenz Preview: Team news and Predicted lineups | OneFootball

Uwe Rösler will make his Bochum debut on Saturday in Kiel after being named as Dieter Hecking’s permanent replacement. Meanwhile, Hertha Berlin and Kaiserslautern host Preußen Münster and table-toppers Darmstadt, respectively, in their iconic stadiums.

Holstein Kiel vs. Darmstadt 98

Darmstadt finished 12th in their first season back in 2. Bundesliga. However, they could be up for the promotion race this time around. Including the last three, Florian Kohfeldt’s side started with five wins from seven matches.

Kiel’s Bundesliga memory is even more recent, but Marcel Rapp struggled to find consistency in the first couple of months. After their defeat to Elversberg, Kiel will now face the team they failed to beat on the last five occasions.

Team News

The leaders will travel to the game with their full squad since there are no injury absentees right now. Kiel’s captain, Steven Skrzybski, could return to the starting lineup after featuring off the bench in the last couple of games.

Predicted Lineups

Kiel: Krumrey; Zec, Johansson, Komenda; Bernhardsson, Knudsen, Davidsen, Tolkin; Kapralik, Therkelsen; Skrzybski ©

Darmstadt: Schuhen ©; Lopez, Pfeiffer, Vukotic, Nürnberger; Klefisch, Akiyama; Richter, Corredor; Lidberg, Hornby

Kaiserslautern vs. VfL Bochum

When Uwe Rösler’s famous Manchester City spell came to an end in 1994, he was signed by Kaiserslautern as a free agent. Rösler will now face his former club in his first game in charge of Bochum. The 56-year-old last coached Fortuna Düsseldorf in Germany before his spell at Danish outfit Aarhus GF.

Bochum are currently in 17th place after six defeats from seven matches. Kaiserslautern lost in Paderborn last week, but they’re only four points shy of leaders Darmstadt. It’ll be the first fixture between the sides since 2018.

Team News

Maxwell Gyamfi will be absent after his first-half injury-time red card against Paderborn. It’s always hard to expect the first lineup of a coach who arrived at a club during a season, but Rösler will most likely keep the three at the back system since 3-5-2 has been his favorite formation in a managerial career that started two decades ago.

Predicted Lineups

Lautern: Krahl; Sirch, Elvedi, Kim; Joly, Kunze ©, Sahin, Haas; Skyttä; Alidou, Prtajin

Bochum: Horn; Morgalla, Vogt, Masovic; Koscierski, Bero ©, Lenz, Wittek; Onyeka, Holtmann; Hofmann

Hertha Berlin vs. Preußen Münster

Similar to Fortuna Düsseldorf, Hertha Berlin are yet to score at home this season. However, they won back-to-back games on the road with 3-0 scorelines. The newly-appointed captain Fabian Reese played his best game of the young season in last week’s success in Nürnberg.

Preußen Münster also found the net three times in their victory over out-of-form Eintracht Braunschweig. Alexander Ende’s side reached double-digit points after their third win of the season. The two teams already played each other in the first round of DFB-Pokal as Hertha went through via a penalty shootout.

Team News

Midfielders Jorrit Hendrix and Marvin Schulz already picked up four yellow cards as they’re on the verge of suspension. As for the hosts, Dawid Kownacki is unfortunately ruled out until the start of the next year for an injury he suffered five minutes after scoring his second goal for the club.

Predicted Lineups

Hertha: Ernst; Gechter, Leistner, Dardai, Zeefuik; Eichhorn, Cuisance; Winkler, Thorsteinsson, Reese; Grönning

Münster: Schenk; ter Horst, Heuer, Jaeckel, Bolay; Preißinger; Hendrix ©, Schulz; Batista Meier; Vilhelmsson, Lokotsch