With the 2. Bundesliga season well under way, Hannover 96 have established themselves as one of the favourites to win promotion to the Bundesliga, but their opposition for this week will prove no easy task.
Die Roten welcome Dynamo Dresden to the HDI-Arena this week, and the East German side have surprised many a fan this season with their convincing performances.
Dynamo are on the back of a 1-0 win against St. Pauli, with Andreas Lambertz bagging an early goal in the 7th minute to seal Dresden’s first league win of the season, and the game prior to that saw Dynamo knock out Bundesliga side, RB Leipzig, in the DFB-Pokal on penalties in a dramatic match that initially ended 2-2.
Whilst Dynamo’s form has been impressive, Hannover’s form going into the international break has been just as good. The former Bundesliga side sit second in the 2. Bundesliga table with seven points, whilst Dresden sits in sixth place with five points.
Hannover claimed a 1-1 draw with VfL Bochum after two quick fire goals in the 73rdd and 74th minute from Johannes Wurtz of Bochum and Hannover defender Salif Sane saw the two sides share the points.
However, two wins in their first two games of the season have seen Die Roten start the 2016/17 2. Bundesliga season in flying form.
Injuries and suspensions
Both sides go into matchday four with no new injuries or suspensions, meaning we can expect full strength squads from the two teams on Saturday. Defender Giuliano Modica is not expected to be back until next week for Dresden due to a calf injury.
Sebastian Maier is a doubt for Hannover after the midfielder had to sit out Thursday training after picking up a knee problem during training. However, reports suggest the 22-year-old midfielder will be fit for the clash on Saturday.
Past meetings
This will be the third times the two sides meet, however this will be the first time both Hannover and Dresden encounter one-another in a league match. The sides last met in 2011 in the DFB-Pokal, where, after the score level at 1-1 after 120 minutes of football, Hannover progressed to the next round of the competition with a 4-3 win in the penalty shootout.
Police presence is set to be higher than expected as well after Dynamo Dresden supporters made headlines across the football world when they threw a bull's head at Leipzig supporters during their DFB-Pokal clash.