Hinrunde draws to a close in Braunschweig

Focus on the hosts

Braunschweiger Turn- und Sportverein Eintracht von 1895 e. V., more commonly known as Eintracht Braunschweig, were one of the founding members of the Bundesliga in 1963, even winning the top division for the side’s first, and to this date only, major trophy in 1967. Based near Hannover in the state of Lower Saxony, Eintracht have had to play second fiddle to their more successful neighbours and bitter rivals Hannover 96, Volkswagen-backed VfL Wolfsburg having also entered the picture since the 1990s. Having been relegated from the Bundesliga in 1985, BTSV have spent the majority of their recent existence in the second and third tier, save for a one-year spell in the Bundesliga from 2013-14. Relegation from the second tier in 2017/18 almost resulted in back-to-back relegations, but Eintracht fought back admirably to avoid relegation and last season to secure promotion back to the 2. Bundesliga with a win over Waldhof Mannheim on the penultimate matchday.

Manager Marco Antwerpen was surprisingly relieved of his duties after promotion as part of a summer of upheaval at the Eintracht-Stadion, replaced by former Erzgebirge Aue manager Daniel Meyer. 14 players arrived at the club and 15 departed, as Braunschweig looked to rebuild and stabilise themselves in the second tier. The team and manager Meyer have failed to click just yet, heading into Matchday 17 on 14 points in the relegation play-off spot, one in front of St. Pauli, yet also level on points with 15th-placed Sandhausen. The Eintracht-Stadion pitch has not fared well in the winter weather and with more use than normal, the surface unlikely to suit the kind of passing play that Daniel Thioune prefers. 

Complacency unwelcome for HSV after Osnabrück victory

HSV’s unbeaten run stretched to six matches on Monday night with the 5-0 thrashing of VfL Osnabrück at the Volksparkstadion, heading back to the top of the 2. Bundesliga standings on 33 points, one ahead of Bochum and three ahead of Tuesday night’s opponents, Fortuna Düsseldorf. The visitors certainly weren’t at their best on Monday, exposed by a ruthless home side, but manager Daniel Thioune didn’t want to get carried away with the scoreline at Thursday’s pre-match press conference: "The 5-0 on Monday also offers a risk, because the expectations after such a result are naturally very high. But we have to differentiate between the two games, we should see the result against Osnabrück as motivation." The 45-year-old may be able to name an unchanged starting line-up for the third match in a row, with no fresh injuries and no need to change a winning formula. Jan Gyamerah and Rick van Drongelen were able to take part in training again this week but aren’t ready for competitive action just yet, whilst Klaus Gjasula is still sidelined with a knee injury.