2. Bundesliga Friday Konferenz preview: Hertha and Nürnberg still searching for first league wins  | OneFootball

Hertha BSC vs SV Elversberg

After matchday three brought a second consecutive 0-0 draw for Stefan Leitl’s side, Hertha enter Friday’s home clash with Elversberg as one of just two clubs still winless in the 2. Bundesliga. While the performance in Darmstadt showed more promise than earlier outings, Die Alte Dame remain in danger of slipping out of touch with the promotion contenders - despite starting the season tipped as one of the favourites.

Despite the goalless scoreline, Hertha offered a lot more going forward against Darmstadt with club captain Fabian Reese finally sparking into life. On another day had they taken their chances it could have ended in a routine victory for the side from the capital, which will provide hope heading into match day four that the tide may be turning for the team. Reese seemed in an upbeat mood following the final whistle: “We defended together and were dangerous in transition. We finally found our strengths, and we can build on that," Reese said. "That was a step in the right direction."

Elversberg, meanwhile, appear to be enjoying life under new head coach Vincent Wagner. The disappointment of last season’s relegation play-off under Horst Steffen already feels like a distant memory, with two wins from their opening three league fixtures plus DFB-Pokal progress underlining their strong start.

Their latest outing saw Frederik Schmahl score a 92nd-minute winner - already their second stoppage-time victory this campaign. Despite the late drama, Elversberg were good value for the points, dictating possession and creating the better chances throughout while restricting their opponents to half chances from set-pieces. Wagner will be delighted with his side’s progression so early in the season.

Both meetings last season were won by Elversberg in convincing fashion as the Saarland club dispatched Hertha 4-1 in Berlin before a 4-0 victory at home in what was only Leitl’s second game in charge at the time. Hertha need points on the board fast if they are to retain any hope of a promotion push, with the devoted Olympiastadion crowd behind them Friday’s match up seems a perfect place to start.

Team news:

Hertha’s injury list continues to grow after defender Niklas Kolbe fractured a rib against Darmstadt, ruling him out indefinitely. They remain without Pascal Klemens, John Brooks, Diego Demme, Michał Karbownik, Paul Seguin, Luca Schuler, Marius Gersbeck and Tim Goller.

There are no fresh injury concerns for Elversberg heading into Friday’s fixture. Defender Jan Gyamerah is available for selection once more after serving his suspension.

Predicted line-ups:

Hertha BSC (3-4-2-1): Ernst (GK) - Gechter, Leistner, Dardai - Eitschberger, Cuisance, Jensen, Zeefuik - Thorsteinsson, Krattenmacher - Reese

SV Elversberg (4-2-3-1): Kristof (GK) - Gyamerah, Pinckert, Rohr, Günther - Poreba, Condé - Petkov, Conté, Zimmerschied - Schnellbacher

1. FC Nürnberg vs SC Paderborn

Like Hertha, Nürnberg remain winless, but Miroslav Klose’s side are in even deeper trouble, having lost all three league matches so far and suffering an embarrassing DFB-Pokal exit to fourth-tier FV Illertissen in between. Fans are understandably concerned.

Their most recent defeat came at Preußen Münster, where they trailed 2-0 at half-time. Though Rafael Lubach pulled one back in the 74th minute, FCN lacked ideas in attack and failed to truly threaten an equaliser. In response to the poor start, sporting director Joti Chatzialexiou has been busy in the transfer market this week, signing Finn Ole Becker from Hoffenheim and Hindolo Mustapha on loan from Crystal Palace in an attempt to spark an upturn in results.

SC Paderborn come into Friday’s fixture after making a fairly steady start to the season under Ralf Kettemann. They have one win, one draw and one loss from their first three games leaving them in 9th place at this early stage.

Their last outing ended in a 1-2 home defeat to Fortuna Düsseldorf, though they were hampered by Tjark Scheller’s red card after just 11 minutes. Despite being a man down for nearly 80 minutes, Paderborn battled admirably, even reducing the deficit through an 84th-minute goal from Sebastian Bätzner, but ultimately ran out of time. Kettemann praised his side’s spirit: “The early red card obviously changed the game. We all, along with the fans, fought back from defeat. The will and conviction were palpable until the end.”

Paderborn hold the bragging rights heading into this one as they claimed victories in both of last season's meetings, winning 3-2 both home and away. Nürnberg’s last home win in the league was all the way back in March, which doesn’t bode well for Klose and his side who desperately need a result here to get their season up and running.

Team news:

Defender Ondrej Karafiat is unavailable for Nürnberg due to knee problems, as will new signing Hindolo Mustapha who is still recovering from a knock. Caspar Jander is also set to miss out as he is currently in talks about a move away from the club.

For Paderborn, captain Felix Götze and striker Steffen Tigges are both back in contention for this one after recovering from injury. After his red card last week Tjark Scheller is unavailable, whilst David Kinsombi, Ruben Müller, Anton Bäuerle and Joel Vega Zambrano are all still missing.

Predicted line-ups:

1. FC Nürnberg (4-3-2-1): Reichert (GK) - Koudossou, Gruber, Lochoshvili, Yilmaz - Lubach, Baack, Danilo Soares - Chaikhoun, Justvan - Telalovic

SC Paderborn (3-4-2-1): Seimen (GK) - Hoffmeier, Götze, Brackelmann - Curda, Engelns, Castaneda, Obermair - Bätzner, Bilbija - Grimaldi