2. Bundesliga Sunday Konferenz: Home openers for Hertha BSC, Holstein Kiel and VfL Bochum | OneFootball

Hertha BSC vs Karlsruher SC

Hertha are coming into the Freundschaftsspiel following a hugely disappointing opening fixture - a 2-1 defeat to Schalke 04. After all the build-up and talk of a promotion push for Die Alte Dame, they suffered a rude awakening in Gelsenkirchen. Leitl’s side never found their rhythm, offering little going forward, while the back three of Leistner, Dardai, and Zeefuik looked shaky - an early concern for the fans. An impressive 89th-minute debut strike from Sebastian Grønning proved to be no more than consolation.

New club captain Fabian Reese couldn’t hide his frustration during his post-match assessment: “We completely slept through the first half and let Schalke’s football get the better of us. We didn’t implement our principles, our game plan at all. The second half was okay but nothing more. We never really got into our stride at any point in the game.”

KSC will arrive in the capital still buoyed by Lillian Egloff’s 88th-minute winner in their thrilling 3-2 victory over Preußen Münster. Head coach Christian Eichner was critical of his side’s inability to capitalise on the man advantage presented by Niko Koulis’ 62nd minute red card, but the three points will have eased those concerns somewhat.

Eichner is determined for his side to allow the good-heartedness of the ‘friendship match’ to take place in the stands rather than on the pitch, as the head coach wants nothing more than three points and a ruthless performance to go with it. When asked about the special game he went on to say: “The whole thing is only fun if you’re successful in the end!”.

Hertha will take encouragement from last season’s meetings - where they won both games 3-1 - and will hope history repeats itself as they aim to kickstart their season. Around 60,000 fans are expected at the Olympiastadion on Sunday in what promises to be a lively atmosphere.

Team news:

Hertha’s injury list has grown since the Schalke match, with Diego Demme and Michał Karbownik joining the absentees. John Brooks, Pascal Klemens, Paul Seguin, Marius Gersbeck, and Tim Goller remain sidelined. Linus Gechter is back from suspension.

On the other hand, Eichner has the pleasure of a near-clean bill of health. Only Niclas Dühring and Efe-Kaan Sihlaroglu look set to miss out, as midfielder Dzenis Burnic returns to the side after recovering from an illness.

Predicted line-ups:

Hertha BSC (3-4-1-2): Ernst (GK) - Dardai, Leistner, Gechter - Eitschberger, Jensen, Cuisance, Zeefuik - Krattenmacher - Kownacki, Reese

Karlsruher SC (3-3-2-2): Bernat (GK) - Rapp, Franke, Kobald - Herold, Müller, Jung - Burnic, Wanitzek - Ben Farhat, Šimić

Holstein Kiel vs Arminia Bielefeld

On their return to the 2. Bundesliga, Kiel would have hoped for a strong start to fuel their push for an immediate Bundesliga return - what followed was the exact opposite. Armin Gigović’s 84th-minute equaliser seemed to have salvaged a point against Paderborn, but a 99th-minute strike from Filip Bilbija broke Kiel hearts. In truth, Kiel created little from open play and managed just two shots on target in the second half, highlighting their woes in the final third.

Despite the loss, head coach Marcel Rapp is choosing to approach the upcoming game positively, eager to give their fans something to get excited about: “We’re really looking forward to our first home game. The conditions at the Holstein Stadium are great, and we're sure to have fantastic support. Now it's up to us to make something of it”.

Bielefeld, meanwhile, have carried their momentum from last season’s DFB Pokal final run and promotion from the 3. Liga into this campaign. They started with an emphatic 5-1 win over promotion hopefuls Fortuna Düsseldorf, coming from 0-1 down and making the most of Tim Oberdorf’s first-half red card.

Head coach Mitch Kniat is under no illusions about the toughness of the upcoming game, calling for his side to back up last week’s display: “There were a few issues we still needed to work on after the Düsseldorf game - especially in the area of residual defense. This weekend, we face Kiel, a team relegated from the Bundesliga. It will be a tough job. But if we can deliver a similarly good performance to our recent one against Düsseldorf, we're confident we can take home points."

Though the sides haven’t faced off since 2023, Bielefeld will hold the edge knowing that Kiel haven’t beaten them in any of the last five meetings as they look to continue their red hot form.

Team news:

Patrick Erras, Marco Komenda and Andu Kelati are all unavailable for Kiel due to ongoing injury problems. Defender Carl Johansson is still out as he serves a suspension picked up last season.

For Bielefeld, Roberts Uldrikis is the only confirmed definite absentee. Late decisions are expected to be made on Mael Corboz and Stefano Russo, both haven’t trained fully in the lead-up to the game.

Predicted line-ups:

Holstein Kiel (3-4-1-2): Krumrey (GK) - Ivezić, Zec, Nekic - Tolkin, Davidsen, Schwab, Rosenboom - Gigovic - Bernhardsson, Skrzybski

Arminia Bielefeld (4-3-3): Kersken (GK) - Handwerker, Großer, Schneider, Lannert - Russo, Mehlem, Corboz - Sarenren Bazee, Young, Grodowski

VfL Bochum vs SV Elversberg

Recently relegated Bochum got off to a nightmare start last time out, suffering a 4-1 loss away to SV Darmstadt. Dieter Hecking’s side appeared devoid of answers with Darmstadt notching their fourth goal before the hour mark, Bochum didn’t manage a shot on target throughout the whole of the second half as they limped to a toothless defeat.

Goalkeeper Timo Horn was in no mood to gloss over his side's poor performance after the game: “It's been a tough day for us today. We've come to terms with reality, and we need to stop these mistakes as soon as possible. In the 2nd division, physicality is required, and we lacked that in many situations. Darmstadt showed us how it's done. We lost our courage.” The 32-year-old will be hoping his words spark his team into life as they head into the game against Elversberg.

Elversberg put the disappointment of the promotion/relegation play-off behind them quickly, kickstarting their campaign with a 1-0 win against Nürnberg thanks to a 90th minute goal from Maximilian Rohr. In a game that could have gone either way, Vincent Wagner was delighted to snatch all three points in his first competitive game in charge.

It appears preparation for the match in Bochum has been positive so far, with the mood following the last-minute win against Nürnberg “appropriately good during the week, but also focused.” says Vincent Wagner: "It won't be any easier this weekend.” Wagner then seemingly shifted the pressure towards Hecking and Bochum by claiming: “They obviously want to start with a home win. They would have wanted that anyway, but now they'll be pushing even harder."

The only previous competitive meeting between the two sides came in the 2022/23 DFB Pokal, when Bochum won 1-0. Elversberg will be eager to even the record.

Team news:

Moritz-Broni Kwarteng, Erhan Masovic and Francis Onyeka all continue to miss out due to injury for Bochum.

As things stand, Wagner has almost the same players available as last time, with only Younes Ebnoutalib still a question mark. "Basically, everyone is fit and eager to play." Said the head coach.

Predicted line-ups:

VfL Bochum (3-3-2-2): Horn (GK) - Morgalla, Vogt, Strompf - Rösch, Ibrahima Sissoko, Wittek - Pannewig, Bero - Broschinski, P. Hoffmann

SV Elversberg (4-2-3-1): Kristof (GK) - Gyamerah, Pinckert, Rohr, Günther - Condé, Sickinger - Petkov, Conté, Zimmerschied - Schnellbacher