2. Bundesliga Saturday Konferenz preview | OneFootball

SC Paderborn vs. SV Elversberg

Ralf Kettemann’s Paderborn have won plenty of plaudits this season, lighting up the league during a nine-match unbeaten run and spending several weeks at the top of the table. That momentum has stalled recently though, with back-to-back defeats dropping them to second place.

Their loss last weekend was particularly tough to take. Schalke ran out 2-1 winners at the Veltins-Arena to move above Paderborn and hand Kettemann’s side a second straight defeat. A strong reaction is needed here, with yet another promotion rival coming to town. Anything less risks further ground being lost to the teams chasing from behind.

Elversberg arrive in a similar situation. They too made a flying start, leading the league for much of the early season, but a dip in form has halted their progress. Just one win from their last five games leaves them in third place.

A goalless draw at home to Darmstadt last time out underlined their current issues. Albeit facing strong opposition, their usually dangerous attack lacked sharpness, with top scorer Younes Ebnoutalib passing up several chances. He has now blanked in four of his last five league matches and Elversberg will need him back at his best if they want to stay in the promotion picture.

Paderborn edge the recent head-to-head with two wins from the last four league meetings, and took four points off Elversberg last season. Historically, Elversberg have never won away in Paderborn, although they have picked up four wins from seven away fixtures this campaign.

Team news: 

Paderborn: Laurin Curda is suspended while Marcel Hoffmeier remains out injured. 

Elversberg: Luca Pfeiffer and Luis Seifert are still unavailable. 

Predicted lineups: 

Paderborn (3-4-2-1): Seimen (GK) - Scheller, Götze, Brackelmann - Obermair, Castaneda, Baur, Müller - Bilbija, Klaas - Tigges 

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

1. FC Kaiserslautern vs. SG Dynamo Dresden

Kaiserslautern have hit a rough patch. After a strong start and several weeks staying close to the promotion pack, Torsten Lieberknecht’s side have managed just one win from their last five league matches. They have failed to capitalise on other teams dropping points and now sit seventh.

It has been a disappointing week overall for FCK. A 2-0 defeat at struggling Braunschweig undid their good work in the win over Kiel, and things got worse in midweek as they were thrashed 6-1 at Hertha in the DFB-Pokal. Their season risks sliding off course and only a home win on Saturday will be viewed as acceptable.

Dresden, meanwhile, had been among the league’s biggest early-season strugglers, winning just once in their first 12 matches. Thomas Stamm’s side never lost belief though and have now pieced together back-to-back wins to climb out of the relegation zone into 15th place.

A 2-1 victory over Düsseldorf last weekend, sealed by Vincent Vermeij scoring for the second week running, has injected new confidence. With Kaiserslautern wobbling, Dresden will sense an opportunity to make it three wins on the spin for the first time since December 2024.

Dresden will likely have revenge on the brain, given that the last time these two sides met competitively was in the 2. Bundesliga 2022 relegation playoff, with FCK coming out on top and staying in the division. They are also unbeaten at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion since 2016, although Kaiserslautern have only lost one home game so far this season. 

Team news: 

Kaiserslautern: Paul Joly is a doubt, while top scorer Ivan Prtajin is set to miss out with a muscle injury. Kenny-Prince Redondo, Simon Asta, Mahir Emreli and Ji-Soo Kim remain sidelined.

Dresden: Lennart Grill, Sascha Risch, Tony Menzel and Jacob Zickler remain unavailable. 

Predicted lineups: 

Kaiserslautern (3-4-2-1): Krahl (GK) - Sirch, Gyamfi, Robinson - Joly, Şahin, Kunze, Haas - Skyttä, Ritter - Hanslik 

Dresden (3-4-2-1): Schreiber (GK) - Pauli, Boeder, Müller - Faber, Amoako, Herrmann, Rossipal - Lemmer, Hauptmann - Vermeij 

VfL Bochum vs. Arminia Bielefeld

Bochum are enjoying a mini-revival under Uwe Rösler, who has won four of his first six matches in charge to lift the club from the relegation zone to 12th place. They remain a work in progress but are clearly trending upwards after a difficult start under Dieter Hecking.

Bochum were ruthless in the opening 20 minutes at Fürth last weekend, scoring three times on the way to a comfortable 3-0 win that included an Ibrahima Sissoko double. Their midweek DFB-Pokal outing was less positive, falling 2-0 at home to Stuttgart after a disastrous first half from Pascal Strompf, who conceded an own goal and was then sent off.

Bielefeld’s return to the second tier has been a mixed story. Mitch Kniat’s side made a bright start but have struggled for consistency, often raising their game against stronger opponents – as seen in wins over Elversberg and Karlsruher – yet stumbling against struggling teams. Recent defeats to Nürnberg and Münster leave them 11th.

Last week’s 2-1 loss to Münster was a bitter one. After taking an early lead through Joel Grodowski, Arminia failed to build on their dominance and were punished by an 89th-minute own goal from Leon Schneider. It was their fourth home defeat of the campaign.

Bielefeld have won three of the last five meetings between the sides but have not claimed victory in Bochum since 2018. They have also won just once away from home this season.

Team news: 

Bochum: Gerrit Holtmann, Kevin Vogt, Matúš Bero and Koji Miyoshi are unavailable. 

Bielefeld: Top scorer Joel Grodowski is a doubt, while Jeredy Hilterman and Roberts Uldrikis remain sidelined. 

Predicted lineups: 

Bochum (4-2-3-1): Horn (GK) - Morgalla, Loosli, Strompf, Wittek - Sissoko, Lenz - Alfa-Ruprecht, Onyeka, Wätjen - Hofmann 

Bielefeld (3-4-3): Kersken (GK) - Schneider, Großer, Felix - Lannert, Russo, Corboz, Handwerker - Momuluh, Wörl, Sarenren Bazee