Second division leaders St. Pauli face Heidenheim on matchday 10. Before that, the two pursuers Jahn Regensburg and SC Paderborn meet in a direct duel. Werder Bremen will be looking to build on their recent success and make up ground on SV Darmstadt 98.
Paderborn or Regensburg, third or second in the table? One of the two can take the lead in the standings for at least one day with a win in the chasing duel on Friday evening (18.30) in East Westphalia. For the Paderborn team, the aim is to improve their modest home record of four points from four games. Against Kiel (1:2) and Schalke (0:1), the Kwasniok team went empty-handed twice in front of their home crowd. However, Jahn have also only picked up two points from their last three matches away from home.
Terrodde on the way to becoming sole record holder
Terrodde can be happy about the direct duel between the two pursuers. With a win at Hannover 96 on Friday evening, the Knappen can climb to third place. If Schalke’s goal scorer Simon Terodde continues his streak and scores his twelfth goal in the tenth game of the season, he will dethrone Hannover 96 club legend Dieter Schatzschneider as the second league record scorer. Most recently, he equalled the former “Reds” striker with his 153rd goal in a 3-0 win over Ingolstadt. “I would also take a 2-0 win without a goal of my own. On Friday, the focus is on the game,” said the goalscorer.
Leaders challenged at Heidenheim
Then current league leaders FC St. Pauli get into the action on Saturday (1.30pm), looking to reclaim top spot at 1. FC Heidenheim depending on the outcome of Friday night’s game. “It’s nice that we’ve earned some kind of respect,” says right-back Luca Zander, but immediately assures: “There’s no one with us jumping and dancing around in the dressing room just because we’re first right now.” At the same time, Karlsruher SC host Erzgebirge Aue and FC Ingolstadt face Holstein Kiel, with new coach Marcel Rapp making his debut on the sidelines.
Great crowd in Hamburg
A traditional duel will then take place on Saturday evening (8.30 pm) at the Volksparkstadion: Hamburger SV will welcome Fortuna Düsseldorf. There have been a total of 46 encounters in the Bundesliga, only two in the Unterhaus. After a 2:1 victory for the Hanseatic League in the pre-season and a 0:0 in the return match, the Fortunas still came away empty-handed. The setting is also likely to be fitting for the prestigious duel. After a switch to 2G conditions, a full stadium would be possible in Hamburg for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic. Over 30,000 of the available 57,000 tickets have already been sold.
Bremer Trio back in Darmstadt
Werder Bremen travel to the south-west of the nation on Sunday (13.30) – to SV Darmstadt 98. A special encounter for Werder coach Markus Anfang, who was still at the helm of the Lilien last season and still maintains “good contact with many in the function team”. Nicolai Rapp, who moved to the north together with Anfang, has a similar opinion: “You’re always happy when you meet old companions. With Lars Lukas Mai, another ex-Darmstadt player is returning to his old stomping ground in green and white. The Bundesliga relegated team is still searching for consistency. Two victories were followed by two defeats and most recently a 3:0 win in Heidenheim. So it would be the turn of a three-pointer again.
At the end of the matchday, Hansa Rostock – SV Sandhausen and Dynamo Dresden – 1. FC Nürnberg are on the agenda at the same time on Sunday.