Kenny Cooper will try follow up his 1860 debut with another top performance against Rostock while Steve Cherundolo and Hannover search for their season's first victory against Mainz.
Hannover 96 - FSV Mainz 05
After falling to Hertha in their season opener, Steve Cherundolo and Hannover 96 will like their chances for the full three points on Saturday when they host a Mainz team still reeling from an early coaching replacement.
Their late collapse to concede the winner to the Berliners left the Reds without a point despite having put in a solid defensive performance throughout the contest.
Their attack which had troubles to finish their numerous chances in front of goal will hope to do better against a Mainz team which gave up a pair last weekend to Leverkusen, and has looked thoroughly unimpressive through their first two competitive games this season.
Mainz has already experienced the turmoils of an early change at the top, with Norwegian coach Jørn Andersen receiving the axe immediately following the team's shocking loss to Regionalliga team VfB Lübeck in the first round of the German Cup.
New coach Thomas Tuchel already has to contend with a slew of injuries, most importantly free-scoring striker Felix Borja, who is in recovery from an ankle injury.
Additionallly, keeper Dimo Wache is out with an injury to his patella, defender Marco Rose with a foot injury, new midfielder Filip Trojan with a knee problem and strikers Chadli Amri and Srdjan Baljak are out with respective foot and collarbone injuries.
In a recurring theme which became all too familiar last season, Hannover coach Dieter Hecking sees a number of his players resigned to the sidelines.
Usual starting forward Jan Schlaudraff continues to be out with a groin injury and last weekend's starter on the right wing Jan Rosenthal is also doubtful to dress due to a pulled muscle.
Defender Vinicius continues to be out with a back problem while midfielders Leon Andreasen and Sergio Pinto will sit due to groin and knee injuries.
Squad players Altin Lala and Valdet Rama are also not expected to dress for Saturday's encounter as they rehab from earlier injuries.
Sal Zizzo is not expected to suit up for Hannover.
Borussia Mönchengladbach - Hertha Berlin
After giving up a trio of goals in an abysmal second-half performance on opening day, Michael Bradley and the Foals will need to watch their step on Sunday when they Hertha Berlin, who displayed a knack for late drama in the previous weekend.
Taking a three-goal lead into halftime in Bochum, the Foals looked well on their way to an encouraging start to the season, however a combination of comical defending and a unfortunate sending of defender Dante saw their lead evaporate, with the team counting themselves lucky to have escaped with a point.
With Michael Bradley only returning from his midweek trip to Mexico a few days before, coach Michael Frontzeck may choose to rest him from the start, paving the way for new purchase Marcel Meeuwis who comes off a suspension which had carried over from his previous season in the Netherlands.
After looking as though they would be held to a draw in their opener, Hertha managed to pull out a late winning goal last weekend against Hannover, but will hope to take advantage of the Foals' defensive frailties throughout the full 90 minutes on Sunday.
Berlin coach Lucien Favre has the advantage of a full contingent of first-team players, with only bench player Fabian Lustenberger out due to a broken foot.
Frontzeck is not so lucky, with the aforementioned Dante out on red card suspension and starting keeper Loan Bailly still sidelined with a foot injury.
Canadian forward Rob Friend is also still in recovery from a heel operation and defender Filip Daems will not dress due to a knee injury.
Bryan Arguez is currently seeking a loan deal with Belgian team Charleroi and will not suit up for Hertha.
SpVgg Greuther Fürth - FSV Frankfurt
Matt Taylor will hope to see the field again for FSV Frankfurt on Friday as they attempt to shake off last weekend's opening loss to Duisburg on their trip to Fürth.
Frankfurt were never able to effectively recover from Duisburg's fourth-minute goal and disappointingly fell at home despite trying valiantly to mount a late rally.
With a team of largely new faces they will hope to improve on their abysmal away record from the previous season where they only took a single victory in 17 tries.
After narrowly missing out on promotion last season, Fürth got off to a bad start on last weekend's trip to Kaiserslautern, dropping behind early and never fully recovering in their tough loss.
They will expect to do better against Frankfurt this weekend, with whom they twice drew in 2008-09, however will have to do it without defender Christian Rahn, who is out until early 2010 with a knee injury, and midfielder Leonhard Haas who is recovering from an ankle operation.
Frankfurt were hit with the long-term loss of midfielder Christian Müller who tore his cruciate ligament in last weekend's loss, and will likely also still be without Pekka Lagerblom.
Hansa Rostock - 1860 Munich
New 1860 Munich hero Kenny Cooper is keen to build on his spectacular debut for the Lions when they head north on Saturday afternoon for a date with Rostock.
After less than a week with the team, Cooper not only got the surprise start but scored 17 minutes into his debut last weekend, spending most of the game causing havoc around Koblenz's goal.
He will be chomping at the bit for a chance to rough up Rostock this weekend, who easily handled Bielefeld on Monday night, but could have problems dealing with the potent Lions attack fronted by Cooper and Benjamin Lauth.
The Rostockers will be without goalkeeper Stefan Wächter, who is still in long-term rehabilitation after severely injuring his knee in the spring and striker Enrico Neitzel, who is out with an ankle injury.
Midfielder Tobias Rathgeb and Finnish forward Hennri Myntti are also not expected to suit up for the hosts.
The Lions are still fairly healthy heading into the encounter, with midfielder Daniel Bierofka the only key absence, as he recovers from back surgery and is not expected to return until September.
TuS Koblenz - Arminia Bielefeld
David Yelldell and Koblenz will hope to carry on their strong home record from last season and overcome last week's tough loss in Munich when they host Bielefeld on Sunday.
The two-goal defeat at the hands of Kenny Cooper and Munich gave signs that their road woes from last season have not improved, however they return home for Sunday's game and will be hopeful that their Stadium Oberwerth will provide the same refuge for them as last season, where they were able to win nearly half of their games.
Their defense was hit with the loss of left-sided defender Martin Hudec who broke his ankle in last weekend's loss and will also feel the continued absences of midfielders Lars Bender and Emmanuel Krontiris, who are out with thigh and knee injuries.
Bielefeld, who looked poor in their season-opening loss in Rostock do have the advantage of fielding a mostly healthy squad, with only midfielder Oliver Kirch due to miss time with a knee injury.
Notes
Jermaine Jones is still recovering from a broken leg and will not suit up when Schalke try to start the season with two wins in a row against visiting Bochum on Sunday afternoon.
Luis Robles is expected to spend Sunday's away game against Rot-Weiss Ahlen on Kaiserslautern's bench as the backup to Tobias Sippel. |
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