2. Bundesliga Friday schedule preview: Preußen Münster and 1. FC Nürnberg look to get off the mark | OneFootball

Preußen Münster vs SC Paderborn

Preußen Münster head into Matchday 2 reeling from a dramatic 3-2 defeat away to Karlsruher SC. An 88th-minute winner from Lilian Egloff sealed it for KSC, despite Münster dominating possession for large spells and battling back to 2-2 with ten men following Niko Koulis’ red card in the 62nd minute. While the result was disappointing, the performance - marked by spirit and resilience - was cause for encouragement. On another day, they could easily have returned home with all three points.

To compound the loss, Münster suffered a significant injury blow, with record signing Antonio Tikvic sustaining a cruciate ligament injury just ten minutes after coming off the bench. Signed from Watford for €700,000 this summer, Tikvic is expected to be sidelined for several months, adding to an already worrying injury list.

In contrast, SC Paderborn come into this fixture buoyed by an opening day 2-1 win over Holstein Kiel. Armin Gigović’s 84th-minute equaliser looked to have earned Kiel a point, only for Filip Bilbija to fire home a 99th-minute winner and spark wild celebrations at the Home Deluxe Arena.

Head-coach Ralf Kettemann spoke afterwards, clearly delighted: “We conceded little against an individually top-class team. The fact that we defended together against a well-coordinated team was the key to success today. We are happy with our first win.”

Paderborn will also take confidence from the head-to-head record between the two sides - Münster haven’t beaten them since 2003. Their most recent meeting came in February, with Paderborn running out 2-0 winners.

Münster will be hoping their loyal supporters at the Preußenstadion can act as the 12th man and help ignite their season with a first win.

Team news:

Münster’s injury crisis shows no signs of letting up. In addition to existing absentees Mikkel Kirkeskov, Jakob Korte, Leon Tasov, and Oscar Vilhelmsson, they’ll be without Tikvic and suspended defender Niko Koulis.

Paderborn, meanwhile, have no new injury concerns but are still missing Kinsombi, Michel, Müller, and Vega Zambrano. New signing Steffen Tigges arrived from FC Köln during the week and adds further depth up front. The 27-year-old will be eager to make his mark quickly.

Predicted line-ups:

Preußen Münster (4-4-2 Diamond): Schenk (GK) - ter Horst, Jaeckel, Paetow, Makridis - Preißinger, Hendrix, Schulz, Mees - Ameneyido, Batista Meier

SC Paderborn (3-4-3): Seimen (GK) - Hoffmeier, Scheller, Brackelmann - Obermair, Götze, Engelns, Curda - Bätzner, Bilbija, Copado

1. FC Nürnberg vs SV Darmstadt

Nürnberg also suffered late heartbreak on Matchday 1, falling to a 90th-minute winner from Maximilian Rohr in a 1-0 defeat away to SV Elversberg. Though effort wasn’t lacking, Der Club struggled to find any attacking rhythm, failing to register a significant chance between the 20th minute and Rafael Lubach’s 97th-minute free-kick that rattled the crossbar.

Midfielder Julian Justvan voiced his frustrations after the game at the lack of discipline in the final third: “Defensively, we conceded little. We often got into the half-spaces and had good opportunities going forward. But in the final third, we made too many wrong decisions. We need to be more focused on finishing. Now we need to get our heads up again.”

Darmstadt, meanwhile, enjoyed a dream start, hammering recently relegated VfL Bochum 4-1 at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor. Aside from a few defensive lapses in the first half that gifted Bochum some chances, it was a statement performance from Die Lilien. The partnership of Fraser Hornby and Isac Lidberg clicked instantly, with Lidberg helping himself to a hat-trick in a red-hot display.

Darmstadt will head into Friday’s game full of confidence and rightly so, speaking ahead of the game Fabian Holland said: “We have to keep at it. Every game in this league is a 50-50 affair and somewhat dependent on the team's form on the day. But we'll take some confidence with us to Nuremberg after the first game and have to bring our qualities onto the pitch week after week.”

The head-to-head record is evenly matched, with two wins apiece and a draw in the last five meetings. This should be a thrilling encounter between two intriguing sides.

Team news:

Nürnberg boss Miroslav Klose has a full squad available and confirmed everyone trained ahead of Friday’s game. The only question mark is over Caspar Jander, who returned to training this week but remains 50/50 for inclusion in the matchday squad.

Kohfeldt doesn’t have quite the same luxury, though his side also avoided any new injuries against Bochum. Despite being back in training, Bartosz Białek and Jean-Paul Boëtius will miss out as they aim to return to full fitness. Sergio Lopez and Paul Will remain sidelined.

Predicted line-ups:

1 FC Nürnberg (3-3-3-2): Reichert (GK) - Lochoshvili, Knoche, Gruber - Soares, Lubach, Janisch - Yilmaz, Justvan - Biron, Stepanov

SV Darmstadt (4-2-3-1): Schuhen (GK) - Nürnberger, Vukotić, Pfeiffer, Riedel - Akiyama, Klefisch - Richter, Hornby, Marseiler - Lidberg