It seems like a lifetime since we've had club football and after the international break it's a pleasure to welcome it back with the 2.Bundesliga. Germany's second tier is throwing one hell of a welcome back party and on the menu there are some mouth watering ties. So grab your drink of choice, take a seat and look all the drama unfold.
Matchday 10 Fixtures:
Friday 17:30
Bochum - Darmstadt 98
Heidenheim - Kaiserslautern
Friday 19:30
Nürnberg - RB Leipzig
Saturday 12:00
Eintracht Braunschweig - Greuther Fürth
Union Berlin - Sandhausen
Sunday 12:30
Karlsruher SC - Aalen
FSV Frankfurt - Ingolstadt
Erzgebirge Aue vs 1860 München
Monday 19:15
Fortuna Düsseldorf - St. Pauli
Bochum - Darmstadt 98:
These two surprise packages start the weekend off, Bochum have dropped off in form over the last few weeks and now sit in 8th place, while the visitors sit two places higher in 6th. Bochum managed to draw with Nürnberg before the break, after a disappointing 5-0 loss to Heidenheim the week before, they'll be glad to have a full squad to pick from this weekend. Darmstadt will have a full squad to pick from as well and they'll be looking to bounce back from their first home loss of the season against Düsseldorf.
Prediction:
This will be a tight match up with both teams looking to get back to winning ways. Bochum have won just the once in their last five games, three draws and a heavy loss, Darmstadt have won two of their last five games, drawing one and losing two. Both have quality up front in the shape of Simon Terodde and Dominik Stroh-Engel. All of Bochum's home games have been 1-1 draws, they'll hope to get their first home victory in the league. Bochum 2-1 Darmstadt 98.
Heidenheim - Kaiserslautern:
The other 17:30 game sees newcomers Heidenheim host Kaiserslautern, the home side have made a terrific start to the season and thanks to their consistent form they find themselves in 5th place. Kaiserslautern are living up to expectations so far this season and the title challengers are sat in 2nd place with 17 points. Heidenheim almost a full squad to choose from, they'll be missing Adriano Grimaldi, Patrick Mayer and Tim Göhlert for this weekend's game. Kaiserslautern are still without Steven Zellner who's been out for almost a whole year, Markus Karl is one booking away from picking up a suspension.
Prediction:
Heidenheim go into this game on the back of a 1-1 draw with RB Leipzig, they've won three and lost once in the last five games. Kaiserslautern have also won three of their last five games, however they've also picked up two losses. This will be hard to call Heidenheim showed against Bochum that they can compete with those at the top and a similar performance will be required on Friday. Heidenheim 2-2 Kaiserslautern.
Nürnberg - RB Leipzig:
With no Friday Bundesliga game this weekend, the 2.Bundesliga will step up and the late evening game sees Nürnberg hosting RB Leipzig. Like fellow 2.Bundesliga newcomers Darmstadt and Heidenheim, RB Leipzig have also started the season very well and currently sit in 4th place. Their hosts on Friday evening haven't started the season as well as they would've liked, Nürnberg struggling to adapt after their relegation from the Bundesliga. Nürnberg will be without Danny Blum who'll return in April 2015, Alessandro Schöpf and Timo Gebhart, RB Leipzig also have a few injuries to deal with - Henrik Ernst and Fabian Franke won't return till the end of the year, Niklas Hoheneder is out of action, while Fabio Coltorti could return next week. One positive for RB Leipzig is that Terrence Boyd is ready to make his first appearance of the game, this is bad news for Nürnberg.
Prediction:
Nürnberg are once again up against a tough opponent and in their last five games they suffered three defeats, however their last two games have seen them pick up a win and a draw. RB Leipzig's form is better, their last five games has produced two wins, two draws and just the one loss. Nürnberg 1-3 RB Leipzig.
Eintracht Braunschweig - Greuther Fürth:
Eintracht Braunschweig like Nürnberg have struggled after their relegation, however Braunschweig are doing the better of the two, they sit in 11th place, four behind their opponents on Saturday. Greuther Fürth have made a decent start to the season and their currently in 7th place. There's no new injury concerns for Braunschweig, they're still without Jan Hochscheidt, Torsten Oehrl, Jan Washausen and Mohammad Baghdadi. Greuther Fürth have quite a long injury list, on that list is Mark Flekken, Thomas Pledl, Zhi Gin Lam, Wolfgang Hesl, Florian Trinks, Johannes Wurtz, Florian Mohr and Ilir Azemi, another concern is that Goran Sukalo is one booking away from a suspension.
Prediction:
Greuther Fürth travel to Braunschweig with two wins, two losses and a draw in their last five games, Braunschweig meanwhile have picked up two wins and three losses in their last five matches. Braunschweig may struggle to break down this Fürth defence, which is the third best defence in the league so far this season, conceding just nine goals. Eintracht Braunschweig 0-1 Greuther Fürth.
Union Berlin - Sandhausen:
Struggling Union Berlin aren't having the start they would've liked, they currently sit second from bottom, Sandhausen haven't been that impressive enough, however they've improved in recent weeks and that sees them in 12th place. The home side are missing three players for this game, Oliver Oschkenat and Bajram Nebihi are out injured, while Björn Jopek is suspended after picking up a red card in the game against St. Pauli. Toni Leistner (4), Christopher Trimmel (5) and Baris Özbek (4) are all close to suspensions. For Sandhausen they'll be without Robert Zillner, Nicky Adler, Manuel Riemann and Ranisav Jovanovic, while Kevin Kratz could make his return from the sidelines.
Prediction:
Union Berlin will be looking to get their season started this weekend, the last five games have seen them lose three, drawing once and winning once, that win came against RB Leipzig and was their first and only win of the season. Sandhausen have picked up three wins in their last five games, however those wins were followed by two losses. Union Berlin 0-2 Sandhausen.
Karlsruher SC - Aalen:
Karlsruher have started the season with three wins, three draws and three losses, they're currently in 9th place and they'll be aiming to make it a fourth win of the season and climb up the table. Aalen will be hoping they can achieve another mid-table finish this season, however they'll need to start picking up more wins if they're going to achieve that aim. Sascha Traut is out of action for Karlsruher, Gaetan Krebs may be okay to return to action, while the influential Manuel Torres will miss the game after his red card against Kaiserslautern. For the visitors Robert Lechleiter is out till the start of November, Leandro Grech could return at the end of the month and Dominick Drexler is serving a suspension after getting his marching orders against Greuther Fürth in week 7.
Prediction:
Karlsruher will be looking to end their losing streak after a draw and a win they have suffered three straight defeats, Aalen have also suffered three defeats in their last five games, they've draw once and their last outing saw them pick up their second victory. Karlsruher 3-1 Aalen.
FSV Frankfurt - Ingolstadt:
FSV Frankfurt picked up their second win of the season before the break and it will be a tough ask to make it two wins in a row with the league leaders coming to town. FSV find themselves in the relegation play-off spot after nine games, Ingolstadt as I just are the league leaders and they're currently the only unbeaten side in the league with five wins and four draws. FSV are without six players for the visit of Ingolstadt, Mohamed Aoudia, Chhunly Pagenburg, Fabian Burdenski, Odise Roshi, Zafer Yelen and Marcel Kaffenberger who is close to returning. Ingolstadt are without Ralph Gunesch, Almog Cohen, Christian Eigler and Leon Jessen.
Prediction:
In their last five matches FSV have suffered three losses, which has seen them respond with a draw and a victory. It will a tough game for the home side they've conceded the most goals this season and Ingolstadt arrive having won three times and drawn twice in their last five games. FSV Frankfurt 0-3 Ingolstadt.
Erzgebirge Aue vs 1860 München:
Both sides have struggled this season and this could be an entertaining scrap between two sides in the bottom four, 1860 are in 15th place, while Aue are bottom. The home side have a full squad to pick from for Sunday's game something which they'll hope will give them a slight edge, 1860 are without Stephan Hain, Edu Bedia and Dominik Stahl.
Prediction:
Despite their poor starts, they've both picked up some positive results in their last five games, Aue have won twice, lost twice and drawn the once, 1860 have secured the same results as their hosts in their five games. Both lost last time out and they'll be looking to bounce back in what could be a vital win if these two are fighting at the bottom come the end of the season. Erzgebirge Aue 0-1 1860 München.
Fortuna Düsseldorf - St. Pauli:
The last match of the weekend sees a tasty Monday evening game as the inform Düsseldorf welcome St. Pauli to town. Düsseldorf have found their form and now sit in 3rd place, while their guests are in 10th place after a poor start of the season saw them change their coach early on and now things are starting to look bright bright for the Hamburg club. The home side will be missing Ihlas Bebou, Heinrich Schmidtgal and Andreas Lambertz, while Oliver Fink could return. The only player missing for St. Pauli is left back Daniel Buballa.
Prediction:
As previously mentioned Düsseldorf head into the in fine form, however as we've often found the international break can disrupt any form a team has going into it. Düsseldorf have won three times and drawn twice in their last five games, St. Pauli have won twice and drawn once after two losses. Fortuna Düsseldorf 3-2 St. Pauli.