Not only is the Bundesliga returning this weekend after a two-month lay-off, but Germany’s second tier is also kicking off again.
In total, there are nine games for us to look forward to in 2. Bundesliga across Saturday and Sunday. But Sunday’s clash between Arminia Bielefeld and VfL Osnabruck is arguably the tie of the round.
Bielefeld are the runaway leaders at the top of the German second division this season - six points clear of second-place Stuttgart.
Uwe Neuhaus’ side have only lost two of their 25 league games in 2019/20 and also boast both the best goalscoring and defensive record in the division.
Furthermore, Bielefeld striker Fabian Klos is the league’s top scorer with an outstanding record of 16 goals and eight assists in 24 matches.
Bielefeld were flying before the season was put on hold. The Blues were unbeaten in seven games - winning five and drawing two - and had only lost one of their previous 17. They have also lost just once at home all season.
By contrast, Osnabruck were on a poor run. The Lilac-Whites were without a win in eight and had taken just three points from a possible 24 during that time.
In fact, Osnabruck’s most recent game was a 6-2 thrashing at the hands of SV Wehen, so they’ll need to come out fighting when the campaign resumes this weekend.
Daniel Thioune’s side currently sit twelfth in the table but are only four points clear of the bottom three. With Sandhausen and Nurnberg level on 29 points below Osnabruck, Thioune’s men could easily be dragged into a relegation battle.
Only four sides have scored fewer goals than Osnabruck this term, so it’s clear that they need to start finding the back of the net more frequently.
Bielefeld claimed a 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture back in October, and they also hammered Osnabruck 4-0 in their most recent meeting before that game.
To make matters worse for Osnabruck, they’ve managed just one win over Bielefeld in their previous 12 encounters. It’s going to be extremely difficult for them to buck that trend this time around.
Brian Behrendt, Nils Quaschner, and Andreas Voglsammer were all injured before the break, so it’s unclear whether Bielefeld manager Neuhaus will be able to select the trio on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Osnabruck are likely to be without Etienne Amenyido, Konstantin Engel, and Thomas Konrad this weekend, as all three player continue to recover from long-term injuries.
Ultimately, the head-to-head record between these two teams looks grim for Osnabruck, while Bielefeld have been immense all season.
Forebet predicts that Bielefeld will score over 1.5 goals on their way to victory. A clean sheet is also on the cards for the home side.