2. Bundesliga preview: 1. FC Nürnberg vs. Hannover 96

In a meeting between two sides heading into the fifth matchday in contrasting form, Friday’s clash presents Nürnberg with an opportunity to return to winning ways and maintain their place near the top of the table, while Hannover will be desperate to claim a first away victory of the campaign and ease the growing pressure surrounding Christian Titz.

Nürnberg have made an excellent start to the new 2. Bundesliga campaign and currently sit second with 10 points from their opening four matches. Miroslav Klose’s side remain unbeaten, winning their first three games before being held to a 2-2 draw away to Holstein Kiel last weekend.

Der Club took the lead at the Holstein-Stadion, with Adam Markhiev opening the scoring before Kiel equalised on the stroke of half time. The hosts took the lead five minutes after the restart, though Piet Scobel ensured Nürnberg left with at least a point with his 56th minute strike. 

Despite dropping their first points of the season, Nürnberg remain the division’s highest-scoring side with 13 goals from four matches. They have already demonstrated an impressive level of efficiency in front of goal, scoring four against both Arminia Bielefeld and Greuther Fürth during their three-match winning run.

Piet Scobel has been one of the major reasons behind that impressive attacking output. The 21-year-old forward has established himself as an important figure in Klose’s side and has continued to make a name for himself at the start of the new campaign.

Nürnberg also remain unbeaten at the Max-Morlock-Stadion this season and will be confident of extending that run against a Hannover side who have struggled to turn promising performances into results.

Klose has been keen to ensure his players do not become complacent following their impressive opening month. The former Germany striker believes his squad have shown the right attitude despite their excellent start.

“There is a lot of humility,” Klose said ahead of Friday’s game, insisting that he has not seen any sign of his players becoming overconfident.

The Nürnberg head coach also expects a competitive encounter against Hannover and described Friday’s meeting as a “very exciting game”.

Hannover, meanwhile, have endured a frustrating beginning to the campaign and currently sit 13th with just four points from their opening four matches.

They began with a 3-1 defeat away to Cottbus followed by a 1-0 loss at home to Wolfsburg. Their only victory of the season came after that away to Darmstadt, though disappointment followed last week when Hannover surrendered a 2-1 lead to draw 2-2 with Karlsruher SC.

Lars Gindorf opened the scoring before Shio Fukuda quickly equalised for Karlsruhe. Marcel Hartel then put Hannover back in front with his first goal for the club, but Rafael Pinto Pedrosa’s 85th-minute equaliser denied Titz’s side all three points.

The result means Hannover have won just once in their opening four league matches, leaving Titz under considerable pressure despite the season still being in its early stages.

Titz, however, insists he is not concerned about his position and believes his side have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks.

“We are on matchday five. There are no finals,” Titz said ahead of the trip to Nürnberg.

“I don’t see us in a crisis. I see us in a season where we were clearly superior in the first two games but didn’t decide them in our favour. Afterwards, we had three matchdays in which we did significantly better. That’s exactly the path we want to continue.”

One of Hannover’s biggest problems so far has been their lack of attacking efficiency. They have scored just four goals in their opening four league matches despite regularly creating opportunities.

Lars Gindorf has nevertheless made an impressive individual start, with the midfielder scoring five goals in all competitions already this season. Hannover will need more players to contribute if they are to overcome a Nürnberg side that has already scored 13 times.

Friday’s fixture also brings back memories of last season’s dramatic conclusion. Hannover’s promotion hopes ended on the final day of the 2025/26 campaign when they drew 3-3 with Nürnberg, a result which ultimately saw them miss out on the promotion play-off.

The two sides also met in August during the last campaign, when Nürnberg produced a 2-1 victory at the Max-Morlock-Stadion. 

Hannover therefore face a difficult task against a Nürnberg team that has scored freely and remains unbeaten. However, Titz’s side will know that another strong performance without a positive result could increase the pressure surrounding the club.

For Nürnberg, meanwhile, victory would strengthen their early promotion credentials and ensure they remain firmly among the leading contenders.

Team news

Nürnberg: Miroslav Klose has been able to rely on an almost unchanged starting XI during the opening weeks of the campaign. Winners Osawe and Styopa Mkrtchyan are among the players dealing with injury issues, while the returning Fynn Otto has already recovered from his previous problem and started against Kiel. Klose is therefore expected to retain the majority of the side that has made such a strong start.

Hannover: Christian Titz has a largely available squad but remains without several players who have been unavailable during the opening weeks. Mustapha Bundu has struggled for a place in the matchday squad and is injured for this one, while Titz is expected to make only limited changes following the draw with Karlsruhe.

Predicted lineups

Nürnberg (4-3-1-2): Reichert; Janisch, Kalogeropoulos, Otto, Porstner; Markhiev, Becker, Fernández; Justvan; Zoma, Scobel.

Hannover (3-4-3): Noll; Allgeier, Tomiak, Ghiță; Neubauer, Hartel, Thórdarson, Oudenne; Chakroun, Taibi, Gindorf.