2. Bundesliga preview: Holstein Kiel vs. 1. FC Nürnberg | OneFootball

With both sides enduring difficult runs of form, Saturday’s clash in northern Germany offers a major opportunity for either Tim Walter’s Kiel or Miroslav Klose’s Nürnberg to claim three vital points and halt their respective slumps.

Kiel find themselves in serious trouble at this stage of the season. Now on their second manager of the campaign, the appointment of Tim Walter has yet to bring the desired turnaround, with the Storks winless in his first two matches in charge. Their overall run without victory now stretches to six games, dating back to Marcel Rapp’s tenure, and has seen them dragged firmly into the relegation battle - even dropping into the bottom two after last weekend’s results.

They suffered a 2-0 defeat away to second-placed Darmstadt last time out in another difficult test at the start of Walter’s reign. After reaching half-time goalless, Marcus Müller’s red card early in the second half left Kiel facing an uphill task. Goals from Isac Lidberg and Niklas Schmidt eventually sealed the points for the hosts.

Nürnberg are also struggling for momentum, entering the weekend winless in three matches and with just one victory from their last seven. Despite Miroslav Klose recently signing a contract extension, Der Club remain far from safe in the standings and need to begin collecting wins before the relegation battle tightens further. They currently sit 11th in the table, only four points above the relegation play-off place.

Their most recent outing ended in a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Fortuna Düsseldorf, marking their third loss in five matches. It was a frustrating attacking display from Klose’s side, who managed just two shots on target, while allowing the league’s lowest-scoring side to register seven efforts on target and an xG of 2.42.

Team news

Holstein Kiel: Patrick Erras, Steven Skrzybski and Carl Johansson are unavailable due to injury while Marcus Müller is suspended. 

1. FC Nürnberg: Fabio Gruber is a doubt, but otherwise Miroslav Klose has a full squad available for selection.

H-2-H record

The reverse fixture finished in a 1-1 draw at the Max-Morlock-Stadion in October, with Carl Johansson’s 84th-minute strike rescuing a point for Kiel. Nürnberg have only won once in their last five meetings with the Storks, though that victory came during their most recent visit to Kiel in 2023.

The two head coaches will face each other for the first time this weekend, although Tim Walter has historically enjoyed strong results against Nürnberg, winning five of his seven meetings with the club.

Predicted lineups

Holstein Kiel (4-1-4-1): Weiner (GK) - Nekic, Ivezic, Komenda, Tolkin - Meffert - Bernhardsson, Kelati, Tohumcu, Kapralik - Therkelsen 

1. FC Nürnberg (4-4-2 Diamond): Reichert (GK) - Koudossou, Mkrtchyan, Lochoshvili, Yilmaz - Markhiev - Lubach, Baack - Justvan - Zoma, Scobel