2. Bundesliga Sunday Konferenz: Preview, team news & predicted lineups

Markus Anfang will face his former club, while the bottom two clubs face each other in 2. Bundesliga on Sunday afternoon.

2. Bundesliga’s bottom-placed teams will lock horns on Sunday. Meanwhile, struggling Fortuna Düsseldorf and Greuther Fürthhost play against high-flying Kaiserslautern and Paderborn, respectively.

Fortuna Düsseldorf vs. 1. FC Kaiserslautern

Düsseldorf showed great spirit in the second-half of their cup defeat to SC Freiburg, but Markus Anfang has now started his job with three successive losses. They will now face fifth-placed Kaiserslautern in search of their first home win of the season.

Anfang was Lautern’s coach last season before being relieved of his duties with only four matches left to play. Under Torsten Lieberknecht, the Traditionsverein are now hoping for a return to the Bundesliga. Kaiserslautern also booked their place in the DFB-Pokal Round of 16 with a narrow win over Fürth.

Team News

Matthias Zimmermann will miss the game after suffering a serious injury in midweek. There are no new injuries in Kaiserslautern’s camp. Kenny Prince Redondo and Simon Asta are the only players currently on the sidelines.

Predicted Lineups

Düsseldorf: Kastenmeier ©; Heyer, Daland, Oberdorf, K. Schmidt; El Azzouzi, Breithaupt; Rasmussen, Muslija, Iyoha; Itten

Kaiserslautern: Krahl; Gyamfi, Sirch, Kim; Joly, Kunze, Sahin, Kleinhansl; Ritter ©, Hanslik; Prtajin

SC Paderborn vs. Greuther Fürth

Both teams were eliminated from the cup at home in matches they finished with ten players, but the manner of their exits is very different. Fürth lost to fellow 2. Bundesliga outfit Kaiserslautern, while Paderborn bravely fought until the end against Bayer Leverkusen.

Ralf Kettemann’s team is also in a remarkable form in the league as Paderborn won six games in a row for the first time. Speaking of six, Fürth conceded half a dozen goals a couple of weeks ago in Elversberg.

Team News

Felix Götze and Omar Sillah will be available despite their red cards in the DFB-Pokal.

Predicted Lineups

Paderborn: Seimen; Hansen, Götze ©, Scheller; Curda, Castaneda, Baur, Obermair; Bilbija, Tigges, Klaas

Fürth: Boevink; Reich, Ziereis, Itter, Abrangao; Dietz, John; Klaus, Hrgota ©, Keller; Futkeu

VfL Bochum vs. 1. FC Magdeburg

These teams were also involved in the second round of the DFB-Pokal, and they secured progress to the Round of 16. Bochum won away at Bundesliga club Augsburg, while Magdeburg got past fourth-tier Illertissen.

Magdeburg were one of the surprising packages of last season, but they lost six games in a row before picking up four points from the last two. Surprisingly, Bochum recovered from six straight defeats as well with a win over Hertha BSC and a goalless draw with Holstein Kiel.

Team News

Including Bochum’s captain Matúš Bero and Magdeburg’s star Baris Atik, five players are one yellow card away from suspension from the two squads.  

Predicted Lineups

Bochum: Horn; Morgalla, Masovic, Strompf, Wittek; Bero ©, Lenz; Onyeka, Wätjen, Holtmann; Hofmann

Magdeburg: Reimann ©; Müller, Mathisen, Heber; Musonda, Nollenberger; Michel, Ulrich; Ghrieb, Breunig, Atik