Following a two-month break due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Bundesliga returns this weekend with a crucial relegation six-pointer among the upcoming round of fixtures.
Bottom club Paderborn travel to third-bottom Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday afternoon for a hugely important game at Esprit Arena.
Fortuna currently occupy the relegation play-off spot having won just five of their 25 league games in 2019/20. Seven draws and 13 defeats have prevented Uwe Rosler’s side from steering clear of the bottom three.
However, Fortuna had only lost one of their six games prior to the break in play, so it’s fair to say that the unexpected stoppage came at a bad time for Rosler’s men.
There are a handful of teams in the division with a poorer defensive record than Dusseldorf, but no club has scored fewer goals in Germany’s top flight this term.
Meanwhile, Paderborn find themselves bottom of the table on 16 points – two points behind second-bottom Werder Bremen and four points behind Fortuna.
A win for Paderborn this weekend would move them to within a point of Fortuna, but anything other than a victory would see them cast further adrift at the bottom.
Steffen Baumgart’s side have scored more goals than the two teams directly above them in the table, but they also boast the second-worst defensive record in the division.
Zum ersten Mal seit zwei Monaten: Wir wünschen Euch einen guten Start in die Heimspielwoche! #f95 | 🔴⚪️ | #F95SCP pic.twitter.com/lKY0Xnv8NT— Fortuna Düsseldorf (@f95) May 11, 2020
Zum ersten Mal seit zwei Monaten: Wir wünschen Euch einen guten Start in die Heimspielwoche! #f95 | 🔴⚪️ | #F95SCP pic.twitter.com/lKY0Xnv8NT
Still, Paderborn can take confidence from the fact that they beat Fortuna 2-0 in the reverse fixture earlier in the campaign.
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In fact, Paderborn have only lost one of their previous six meetings with Fortuna – winning four and drawing one.
It’s certainly been a struggle for Baumgart’s men in the Bundesliga this season following two promotions in two years, but they’ll be confident of taking some points from their relegation rivals.
Fortuna are still waiting for striker Dawid Kownacki to return from injury, while the fitness of Zack Steffen and Adam Bodzek remains unclear.
As for Paderborn, Baumgart will be hoping that top scorer Sreli Mamba has recovered from a tendon crack over the two-month lay-off.
Interestingly, both teams have scored in five of Fortuna previous six games, while Paderborn also have the same record during that period.
It’s difficult to predict which way this match will go. But given their recent records, both teams are likely to get on the scoresheet.
Forebet predicts that this game will end in a draw, with both teams expected to score over 1.5 goals.