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

Greuther Fürth vs. Hannover 96

Fürth have made an inconsistent start to the campaign, winning three and losing four of their first seven matches. With head coach Thomas Kleine overseeing his first full season in charge, a transitional period was always likely, and their current tally of nine points from seven games still leaves a broadly positive feeling around the club.

Last weekend’s 1-0 defeat away at Schalke, however, was one of their weaker showings. Though solid defensively, Fürth lacked bite going forward, registering just 10 touches in the opposition box compared to Schalke’s 57. Facing one of the league’s most dangerous attacks on Sunday, Kleine has urged his side to show greater threat in transition: “We had a better box defense against Schalke and were better defensively. Our goal is to exploit our strengths with our transition play to repeatedly pose threats in front of goal.”

After wobbling with a defeat at home to Hertha and a draw in Dresden, Hannover bounced back in style last week, beating Arminia Bielefeld 3-1. That win kept Christian Titz’s side level on points at the top of the table and underlined their status as promotion contenders heading into matchday eight.

A key factor in their strong start has been attacking efficiency. Ahead of matchday eight, H96 had the joint-best scoring record with 13 goals and led the league in xG (1.76). They have found the net in all but one game so far and will look to extend that run against a depleted Fürth.

Hannover hold the upper hand in recent meetings with two wins, two draws, and one defeat across the last five clashes. Fürth, meanwhile, have only won once at the Sportpark Ronhof this season, while Hannover are yet to lose away from home in the league.

Team news:

Greuther Fürth: Timo Schlieck, Nils Körber, and Sacha Bansé are still out due to injury. Brynjar Ingi Bjarnason and Juan Cabrera, as well as Luca Itter, are unlikely to be fit enough to play by Sunday. Aaron Keller remains a question mark, but there is hope that he will be available again by Sunday.

Hannover 96: Mustaphu Bundu, Benedikt Pichler and Ime Okon are all unavailable for the visitors.

Predicted lineups:

Greuther Fürth (4-2-3-1): Boevink (GK) - Dehm, Ziereis, König, John - Olesen, Green - Klaus, Hrgota, Keller - Futkeu

Hannover 96 (3-4-3): Noll (GK) - Ghiță, Tomiak, Blank - Matsuda, Aséko Nkili, Leopold, Neubauer - Chakroun, Källman, Rochelt

FC Magdeburg vs. SV Elversberg

Magdeburg head into match day eight bottom of the table, having lost six of their opening seven games. The departures of head coach Christian Titz to Hannover and last season’s top scorer Martijn Kaars to St. Pauli have left their mark, and new boss Markus Fiedler is under early pressure to turn things around.

Their latest setback came in Karlsruhe, where they fell 1-0 despite a much-improved display. Once again, however, they failed to take their chances and were punished by a late set-piece. Fiedler remains optimistic ahead of Sunday: “Our focus remains on our performance. We know that we have the quality and want to take home the three points this weekend.”

In similar fashion to their hosts, Elversberg also lost their manager - Horst Steffen to Bremen - over the summer but have shown no signs of slowing down their momentum from last season under new head coach Vincent Wagner. They currently sit 2nd with only goal difference separating them from top spot, thanks to a remarkable five wins, one draw and one loss from their opening seven games.

Elversberg also changed head coach in the summer, with Horst Steffen departing for Bremen. But under Vincent Wagner they have carried on seamlessly, sitting second in the table with five wins from seven. Last week’s 1-0 victory over Holstein Kiel, secured by a 95th-minute Otto Stange penalty, was the fourth time this season they have struck in stoppage time to claim points. Wagner insists his side will maintain that high intensity in Magdeburg: “Our players are working extremely focused and with high intensity. The atmosphere is very good - so we’ll give it our all on Sunday to keep it that way.”

The head-to-head record is evenly balanced across four previous meetings (one win each, two draws). Elversberg have impressed on the road with three wins in four away games this season, while Magdeburg are still searching for their first home victory at the Avnet-Arena.

Team news:

FC Magdeburg: Herbert Bockhorn, Tarek Chahed, Daniel Heber and Mateusz Zukowski will not be available for the game against Elversberg. The availability of Alexander Ahl-Holmström and Magnus Baars is currently questionable.

SV Elversberg: There are no fresh injury concerns from last week’s game. Luca Pfeiffer and Luis Seifert are expected to remain unavailable.

Predicted lineups:

FC Magdeburg (3-4-3): Reimann (GK) - Geschwill, Hugonet, Mathisen - Nollenberger, Ulrich, Gnaka, Musonda - Atik, Breunig, Ghrieb

SV Elversberg (4-2-3-1): Kristof (GK) - Gyamerah, Le Joncour, Rohr, Keidel - Poreba, Condé - Petkov, Conté, Zimmerschied - Ebnoutalib

Arminia Bielefeld vs. Schalke 04

Arminia Bielefeld began their return to the 2. Bundesliga brightly, losing just once in their opening five fixtures. However, back-to-back defeats have stalled momentum, leaving Mitch Kniat’s side in mid-table with 10 points.

Last weekend they went down 3-1 at Hannover, a game in which they took the lead but were second best for long periods. Kniat, though, has urged patience: “We planned this from the beginning. We did this in the third division. In the second division, we have only a few very experienced players, so this process is especially important. We stay calm and work step by step to move forward.”

Schalke, meanwhile, are gathering momentum under Miron Muslic. Two straight wins have lifted them to fourth on 15 points, just one off the automatic promotion places. Their 1-0 home win over Fürth last weekend could have been more emphatic given their dominance, and Muslic is demanding further improvement: “We’re on the right track and we’re proving that week in, week out. But at the same time, we’re also showing that we can still take things up another level. We need to find that next gear if we want to come out on top in Bielefeld.”

The recent head-to-head favours Arminia, who have won three of the last five meetings. However, the sides have not met since 2021, adding an extra layer of intrigue.

Team news:

Arminia Bielefeld: Stefano Russo is unavailable for the foreseeable following his medial ligament tear, as are Noah Sarenren Bazee, Tim Handwerker and Roberts Uldrikis. Marvin Mehlem will also miss out due to suspension.

Schalke 04: Timo Becker, Emil Højlund, Max Grüger, Peter Remmert, Zaid Tchibara and Christian Gomis are all sidelined for the visiting team.

Predicted lineups:

Arminia Bielefeld (4-3-3): Kersken (GK) - Lannert, Großer, Felix, Hagmann - Schreck, Wörl, Corboz - Young, Grodowski, Momuluh

Schalke 04 (3-4-2-1): Karius (GK) - Ayhan, Katic, Kurucay - Gantenbein, Schallenberg, El-Faouzi, V. Becker - Porath, Karaman - Sylla