Arminia Bielefeld vs Fortuna Düsseldorf preview: Pokal finalists host promotion favorites in 2. Bundesliga Topspiel | OneFootball

Arminia Bielefeld

April 1st might not be universally popular, but Arminia Bielefeld took a huge step in the right direction on that day this year. The Blues knocked out defending Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal champions Bayer Leverkusen to reach a cup final for the first time in their history.

Even though they lost in Berlin to VfB Stuttgart, Bielefeld’s 3. Liga form hasn't been the same since that historic win. A 1-1 draw with fellow promoted team Dynamo Dresden was the only game (out of 8) that they didn’t win since stunning Xabi Alonso’s invincibles.

As a result, they climbed from fourth to lifting the 3. Liga trophy in front of their fans on the final matchday. In an interview with RTL/ntv, Bielefeld’s coach Mitch Knit recalled their journey when it was hard to excite fans after successive relegations.

"We had to call people, more or less begging fans to come to the stadium to buy season tickets or keep them,” Knit said about the situation in his first season with the club. The young coach starts the new season with a different mindset. On Saturday, an electric atmosphere will be expected at the 27,000-capacity stadium.

Team news

Roberts Uldrikis is the only absentee from Bielefeld for the season opener. The Lativian striker will most likely not return before the new year due to a cruciate ligament tear. Knit is expected to go with a 4-1-2-3 formation in Bielefeld's first 2. Bundesliga game since a 4-0 drubbing at Magdeburg in May 2023.

Fortuna Düsseldorf

It’s hard to find any team that will start the Zweite Bundesliga campaign as a promotion favorite before Fortuna Düsseldorf. Daniel Thioune’s team fought to secure Bundesliga status in the past three seasons, none more than the shambolic playoff defeat in 2024.

With Hamburger SV and 1. FC Köln out of the picture, the 51-year-old coach will now have to deal with even more expectations to deliver a promotion season. Fortuna came out victorious in five of their six games against newly-promoted teams last term, with their only defeat recorded at SC Preußen Münster.

That was also their first away loss of the season after starting the campaign with five successive wins. Back then, they won their opening game at Darmstadt thanks to two second-half goals. They finished the season in sixth place, however.

The last time Fortuna lost on the opening weekend was in their first season after relegation from Bundesliga in 2020. They did win each of the last four curtain-raisers. Can they extend that positive record on Saturday?

Team news

They’ll have to do that without one of their summer signings, however. Luca Raimund will not be ready for the trip to Bielefeld as the Stuttgart loanee is preparing for next weekend’s home game against Hannover.

Thioune and Co. will be hopeful to have one more key addition by then. Fortuna’s interest in Florian Neuhaus was no secret all summer, and they’re still pushing to sign him from Borussia Mönchengladbach. In the meantime, Cedric Itten could feature for the first time after joining them on Monday.

Predicted line-ups:

Bielefeld: Kersken; Lannert, L. Schneider, Großer, Handwerker; Russo; Mehlem, Corboz ©; Sarenren Bazee, Kania, Grodowski

Fortuna: Kastenmeier ©; M. Zimmermann, Oberdorf, Siebert, Lenz; Haag, Alexandropoulos; Rasmussen, Appelkamp, Iyoha; Vermeij