2. Bundesliga Friday Konferenz: Previews, team news and predicted lineups | OneFootball

Arminia Bielefeld vs FC Magdeburg

Mitch Kniat’s side head into the weekend in a strong position, sitting fifth in the table and just two points off second place after four matches. Although their blistering start has cooled slightly with one defeat and one draw in their last two outings, Arminia would have gladly taken this start before the season began and still have plenty of reasons for optimism.

Before the break, Arminia salvaged a draw away at Eintracht Braunschweig thanks to Isaiah Young’s 89th-minute equaliser. Kniat was quick to highlight his team’s mentality afterwards: “It was a passionate game in which we fought hard until the very end and were rewarded with a 1-1 draw. On a day like this, you have to accept a point. The team's mentality is simply very good; no matter the score, they always push themselves to the limit."

By contrast, Markus Fiedler’s tenure at Magdeburg has started slowly. With just one win and three defeats in their opening four games, they find themselves 15th in the table.

Their last outing was a chaotic 5-4 defeat at home to Fürth. Despite clawing back a two-goal deficit with ten men, defensive lapses allowed Marco John to snatch all three points for the visitors in the 98th minute. That result prompted late transfer action, with Ado Onaiwu, Mateusz Żukowski and Maximilian Breunig all joining to strengthen the squad and help steer them away from early danger.

The head-to-head record between the sides is fairly even, though Magdeburg can take confidence from their emphatic 4-0 win back in 2023. Arminia, however, boast a formidable home record, losing only once at home since February 3rd. Magdeburg’s sole victory this season did come on the road, at Dynamo Dresden, and they will be desperate for another away boost to generate some good feeling.

Team news:

Arminia Bielefeld: Roberts Uldrikis is still sidelined, while Christopher Lannert remains suspended after his appeal was rejected by the DFB. Noah Sarenren Bazee, Benjamin Boakye and Tim Handwerker are also unavailable. New signing Thaddäus-Monju Momuluh is expected to be in contention.

FC Magdeburg: Kandet Diawara, Samuel Loric, Herbert Bockhorn, Tarek Chahed and Magnus Baars are out. Alexander Nollenberger is suspended after his second yellow against Fürth. New arrivals Onaiwu, Zukowski and Breunig are all available.

Predicted lineups:

Arminia Bielefeld (4-3-3): Kersken (GK) - Hagmann, Schneider, Großer, Sicker - Mehlem, Corboz, Russo - Young, Grodowski, Wörl

FC Magdeburg (3-3-2-2): Reimann (GK) - Müller, Hugonet, Mathisen - Dzogovic, Hyryläinen, Gnaka - Ulrich, Atik - Holmström, Onaiwu

SC Paderborn vs VfL Bochum

Ralf Kettemann’s Paderborn have endured a mixed start to the season, collecting one win, two draws and one defeat from their opening four matches, leaving them 11th in the standings. They head into this fixture on the back of a high-intensity 0-0 draw away at FC Nürnberg. New signing Steffen Tigges after the game vowed that the team are fighting hard to get where they need to be: “We're working hard and trying to establish a clear identity in our game. We have a very, very young and hungry team that's desperate to achieve something."

Late transfer activity saw Adriano Grimaldi depart for Nürnberg, while a long-term injury to Marcel Hoffmeier forced defensive reinforcements. Jonah Sticker arrived from Viktoria Köln, while Niklas Mohr joined from Sonnenhof Großaspach, though he is expected to be with the reserves for the time being.

Bochum have made a poor start to their campaign, languishing in 16th place with only one solitary win from their opening four games. In their most recent league outing, they fell to a disappointing 2-1 home defeat to Preußen Munster, prompting head coach Dieter Hecking to call for improvements across the board from his side: “The opponent then played with everything they had. We haven't posed enough of a goal threat, and that's what we're lacking right now. We have to improve significantly. It's a tough road, but we will and must take it."

Like their hosts, Bochum were also active at the end of the transfer window, seemingly answering Hecking’s calls for more attacking threat by bringing in Michael Obafemi from Burnley and Farid Alfa-Ruprecht from Leverkusen, both on loan.

The visitors haven’t won in Paderborn since a 1-0 victory back in 2015. To break that run, Hecking will hope someone can replicate Janik Haberer’s match-winning display from that day and finally give Bochum’s season the lift it needs.

Team news:

SC Paderborn: Marcel Hoffmeier joins David Kinsombi, Anton Bäuerle, Joel Vega Zambrano and Ruben Müller on the injury list. Tjark Scheller remains suspended. New signings Jonah Sticker and Niklas Mohr are available.

VfL Bochum: Ibrahima Sissoko, Moritz Broni-Kwarteng, Philipp Strompf, Kacper Koscierski and Koji Miyoshi remain unavailable. New loanees Michael Obafemi and Farid Rufa-Alprecht are in contention.

Predicted lineups:

SC Paderborn (3-4-2-1): Seimen (GK) - Brackelmann, Götze, Sticker - Obermair, Castaneda, Engelns, Curda - Baur, Bilbija - Tigges

VfL Bochum (4-1-4-1): Horn (GK) - Passlack, Morgalla, Vogt, Wittek - Lenz - Wätjen, Bero, Onyeka, Holtmann - Hoffmann