1860 Munich want to bounce back and beat Meppen | OneFootball

Manuel Veth –

1860 Munich vs Meppen – Saturday, August 17, 13:00BST/14:00CEST – Grünwalder Stadion, Munich, Germany

Matchday 4 was a disaster for 1860 Munich. The Lions were hammered 4-0 by promoted Waldhof Mannheim, in a game that was a fallback to the worst periods of last season.

The game was especially disappointing as 1860 were fantastic the week earlier against FSV Zwickau. That game, in particular, highlighted the potential the Lions have in their squad. Unfortunately, head coach Daniel Bierofka has simply not been able to take that potential on the road.

As a result, Bierofka rotated the side heavily in the 6-1 victory over FT Schweinfurt in the Bayerische Toto Pokal. The lineup and the result, however, will have very little bearing on the formation that Bierofka will produce against Meppen.

It is likely that the likes of Aaron Berzel, Stefan Lex and Timo Gebhart could rotate into the side. Meanwhile, Felix Weber, Marius Willsch and Dennis Dressel might be given some time to think on the bench.

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Meanwhile, Meppen want to recover from their disappointing result against 1.FC Magdeburg. That 3-1 defeat means that the former Bundesliga 2 side is even on points and goals with 1860 in 15th place.

Unlike 1860 Meppen have reacted and signed Lennard Maloney from Union Berlin. The club wanted to test the new centre-back midweek against BV Cloppenburg but the match had to be cancelled. Perhaps good for 1860, who had some time to test new tricks in the easy Toto Pokal fixture and need the three points to stay above the dropzone.

1860 Munich vs Meppen – Players to look out for:

Timo Gebhart #10 – 1860 Munich

Timo Gebhart could finally be handed his first start of the season. The creative midfielder played the full 90 minutes against Schweinfurt and produced one assist. One major problem for 1860, like it was the case for most of last season, has been producing goals and while Gebhart is not a natural striker the attacking midfielder could produce the sort of opportunites 1860 need to score more goals.

Willi Evseev #14 – SV Meppen

Willi Evseev was once one of the brightest talents in German football. The product of the Hannover 96 academy, however, never completely fulfilled his potential. Instead the 27-year-old has had a typical journeyman career with stints at various clubs in the lower divisions in Germany. That said Evseev can be an important player on his day and could have an impact in the game against 1860 on Saturday.

1860 Munich vs Meppen – Match Stats

Futbolgrad Network Prediction: 1860 Munich vs Meppen – 2-0

1860 Munich vs Meppen – Lineups

1860 Munich:

Formation: 4-3-3

Bornmann – Paul, Berzel, Erdmann, Steinhart – Bekiroglu, Wein, Gebhart – Lex, Mölders, Kindsvater

Head Coach: Daniel Bierofka

SV Meppen:

Formation: 4-1-4-1

Domaschke – Ballmert, Puttkammer, Komenda, Amin – Egerer – Guder, Piossek, Evseev, Kremer – Undaev

Head Coach: Christian Neidhart

Manuel Veth is the owner and Editor in Chief of the Futbolgrad Network. He also works as a freelance journalist and among others contributes to Forbes.com and Pro Soccer USA. He holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in History from King’s College London, and his thesis is titled: “Selling the People’s Game: Football’s transition from Communism to Capitalism in the Soviet Union and its Successor States,” which is available HERE. Manuel has lived in Amsterdam, Kyiv, Moscow, Tbilisi, London, and currently splits his time between Victoria, BC and Munich, Germany.  Follow Manuel on Twitter @ManuelVeth.