Steve Cherundolo and Hannover begin the post-Hecking era when they visit Nürnberg while Michael Bradley and the Foals will be hard pressed to contain a resurgent Werder Bremen
FC Nürnberg - Hannover 96
Steve Cherundolo is expected to get the start for Hannover on Saturday as they try win their first game of the season and end a slow start that has already cost one coach his job.
Reds coach Dieter Hecking stepped down from his post during the week, ending a three-year reign that had seen numerous struggles with consistency and no clear vision of improvement for the team.
Second-team coach Andreas Bergmann has been appointed in the interim, and will hope to lead the team to a win as they visit Nürnberg for their second consecutive game against a newly promoted team.
His job may be slightly easier in facing Nürnberg, who have found their return to the top flight a difficult one with also only a single point after two games.
The hosts are, however, benefited by having a nearly full squad, missing only striker Isaac Boyake to a groin injury.
Bergmann faces what has become the usual problem for Hannover coaches, missing a slew of players due to various injuries.
Defender Vinicius continues to be out with a back injury, strikers Mikael Forssel and Jan Schlaudraff with ankle and groin problems, plus midfielders Leon Andreasen, Altin Lala, Sergio Pinto and Jan Rosenthal for a variety of injuries.
Sal Zizzo's chances of seeing the field could be boosted by Bergmann's appointment, as Zizzo was one of his preferred starters with the second team in the previous season.
Werder Bremen - Borussia Mönchengladbach
Michael Bradley and the Foals will try to run their winning streak to two games as they face a tricky visit to Werder Bremen's Weserstadion on Sunday.
The Foals are flying after last weekend's win against Hertha, however will need to be on their toes defensively if they hope to stop Werder's lethal attack.
Bradley missed the previous game due to fatigue and swine flu exposure, however could find his way back into coach Michael Frontzeck's lineup to provide some defensive bite to the midfield.
After a disappointing opening day loss to Frankfurt, everything seems to be coming together in recent days for Werder.
Their encouraging draw in Munich over the weekend was followed by the midweek announcement that team had successfully secured the move of team and fan favorite Claudio Pizzaro from Chelsea after summer-long saga.
The team then celebrated in style, putting on a show for a national TV audience in their 6-3 baseball score victory over Kazakhstani champions Aktobe in the play-off round of the Europa League on Thursday.
Foals coach Frontzeck will still be without starting keeper Logan Bailly who is in recovery from a broken foot as well as forward Rob Friend who is still out after surgery on his calf.
He must additionally make due without defender Dante who is out with a red card suspension and defender Filip Daems due to his knee injury.
Werder coach Thomas Schaaf sees most of his starters at full health, with lanky Brazilian defender Naldo the only question mark after limping off the field Thursday night after having to slightly aggravated his previous ankle injury.
He will be without several regular bench players; defender Sebastian and forward Markus Rosenborg are both recovering from knee injuries and midfielder Daniel Jensen with a long-term Achilles issue.
Fortuna Düsseldorf - TuS Koblenz
David Yelldell will take his usual place in Koblenz's goal as they try to pull a second straight win at the expense of promoted team Fortuna Düsseldorf on Friday afternoon.
After falling behind by two goal, Koblenz posted a remarkable comeback to take their first win of the season last week, and will be looking to continue their momentum against a Düsseldorf team that fell off considerably from their opening week success, being shut out by fellow promotees Union Berlin in a largely tepid affair.
After barely escaping relegation last season, Koblenz coach Uwe Rapolder will need to keep his team looking coherent and safe through these vital first few weeks or risk finding his job at risk before the weather even cools off in September.
He heads into the game missing defenders Marko Lomic and Martin Hudec with the latter still out with a broken angle suffered in opening week. Midfielders Lars Bender and Emmanuel Krontiris are also absent with respective thigh and knee injuries.
Düsseldorf head into the game without starting keeper Michael Melka who has tendon damage and midfielder Marco Christ, who is out with a knee problem.
1860 Munich - Karlsruher SC
Kenny Cooper and the Lions will try to shake off last week's disappointing loss and beat up on already-struggling Karlsruher SC on Monday night.
Cooper and 1860 had the dream start to their season with a strong win over Koblenz in week one to already give rise to talk of promotion, however were cruelly brought back down to earth on their trip to Rostock last weekend.
They will look to get back on track against relegated team Karlsruhe, who have found their return to the second level a difficult one, as they have only taken a single point from their first two games, most recently being shut out by promotion playoff winners Paderborn.
Cooper is expected to start and will be looking to add to his first-week goal in Munich's Allianz Arena.
The Lions head into the game quite healthy and are only reported to be missing midfielder Daniel Bierofka as he recovers from back surgery.
Karlsruhe are reporting no injuries or suspensions.
Notes
Jermaine Jones is still recovering from a broken leg and is still several weeks away from suiting up for Schalke, who will travel to Hoffenheim on Friday.
Bryan Arguez will not take part in Hertha's trip to VfL Bochum on Sunday.
Matt Taylor has suffered a pulled muscle and will miss Frankfurt's date with promoted SC Paderborn 07 on Friday afternoon.
Luis Robles is expected to serve as backup keeper for Kaiserslautern when they host Aachen on Sunday. |
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