1. FC Nürnberg 2025/26 season preview: Der Club aim to build on last season’s positives | OneFootball

Entering their seventh successive season in 2. Bundesliga, Nürnberg are currently the joint long-serving club in the division alongside Hannover and Karlsruhe. The former giants of German football are now stuck in the midtable of second-tier football.

If there is one success the Club (that’s their nickname, by the way) achieved, it’s raising the value of their players to sell for huge profit in a short period of time. Nürnberg’s three most expensive outgoing transfers all happened during the 2024/25 season with three U20 players.

How was their 2024/25?

Caspar Jander, 21, was very close to changing that top three lineup before a move to VfB Stuttgart collapsed for now. The midfielder played the most minutes by an outfield Nürnberg player in what felt like a season of two tales. While only three teams scored more goals than them, Miroslav Klose’s side had the fifth-worst defense in the division.

The result was a 10th-placed finish in a highly competitive 2. Bundesliga campaign. Nürnberg collected only seven points fewer than Paderborn, who finished just outside the top three. Nevertheless, the 48 points tally is their best return since the relegation from Bundesliga in 2019.

The Coach

The big improvement on the attacking side of their game is partly expected with Klose’s hiring. The all-time World Cup top-scorer only had seven points after his seven games as a head coach in German football. Winning the next three matches, culminated with 8-3 battering of Regensberg, went a long way in steadying the ship.

The 47-year-old will start his second season with more expectations compared to his baptism. Although he could be considered as relatively inexperienced for the head coach role, Klose spent time in the coaching teams of Germany national team and Bayern Munich.

Transfers

If Jander’s move to Stuttgart went through, Julian Justvan will be the only player left at the club from their seven top-scorers from the 2024/25 season. Stefanos Tzimas will be a big miss after Brighton acted quickly to get his signing in January.

Azerbaijan international Mahir Emreli also made the most of his debut 2. Bundesliga season, but they now regret signing him for only a year since he left as a free agent to Kaiserslautern. Jens Castrop is the other major departure. The German U21 international joined Borussia Mönchengladbach after three excellent seasons at the Max Morlock Stadium.

In terms of signings, Mickaël Biron, Semir Telalovic and Noah Maboulou joined to provide competition in the final third. Apart from Telalovic, who scored 12 Zweite goals for Ulm last season, the duo will embark on their first season in German football.

There is a big chance that they will start the season with Artem Stepanov playing up front, though. The Ukrainian is a highly-rated youngster who scored 49 goals for Leverkusen’s youth teams since joining the club in 2022. With his first loan transfer, the 17-year-old will now have the opportunity to replicate that form into first-team football.

Meanwhile, Luka Lochoshvili and Tom Baack are signed to address the defensive issues. The Georgian center-back spent the last three seasons in Italy, while Baack was a solid defensive midfielder in 3. Liga.

Pre-season preparations

Like many of their 2. Bundesliga peers, Nürnberg held a high-profile friendly at their home stadium a week before the season opener. Gladbach were the opposition which meant a reunion with former players Robin Hack and Castrop.

The 2-0 defeat meant Nürnberg ended preseason with three straight defeats against Bundesliga (Gladbach), 2. Bundesliga (Bielefeld) and 3. Liga (Schweinfurt) clubs. Before that, they won their first two friendlies scoring 20 goals against amateur teams.

Predicted XI

Mathenia; Gruber, Knoche, Lochoshvili; Danilo Soares, Baack, Justvan, Lubach, Janisch; Stepanov, Telalovic

Based on recent reports, Jander’s transfer saga could go all the way into the deadline day, which could affect Nürnberg’s preparation. Biron was injured in the first-half against Gladbach, but there is a big possibility to see a very similar starting lineup in Elversberg next week.

Fixture list

After the trip to last season’s surprise package, Nürnberg’s first home game will be against Darmstadt. Including the Pokal tie against Regionalliga side Illertissen, the fixture list seems favorable in the first month of the season.

Barring the possibility of a playoff tie, Nürnberg will end the campaign with games against Schalke and Hannover.

Expectations & Prediction

With Hamburger SV finally out of the picture, there is no overwhelming favorite for promotion in this season’s 2. Bundesliga. However, since Nürnberg never finished in the top six in the last six seasons, it’s hard to expect a major revamp this term. For now, Klose would certainly like a better start than the last time.