3. Liga Englische Woche Preview
All you need to know about the dritte liga Englische Woche.
After another exciting weekend of 3. Liga action, it’s time for the division to take centre stage in Germany with their very own Englische Woche. Here’s everything you need to know about all the games over the next two days.
Tuesday’s Fixtures
SC Freiburg II vs Türkgücü München
VfL Osnabrück vs Würzburger Kickers
Waldhof Mannheim vs Viktoria Köln
Hallescher FC vs Viktoria Berlin
*1860 München vs FC Kaiserslautern has been postponed due to a covid outbreak in the 1860 squad. The match will be rescheduled for a later date.
Türkgücü travel away to 11th place Freiburg II who secured a solid point against Dortmund II last weekend. This will be a tough ask for Türkgücü to get something from this game but hope is not lost. New head coach, Andreas Heraf, will be desperate for a first win especially as it would get them out of the bottom four. They’ll take inspiration from Havelse who drew to top of the league, Magdeburg last weekend. As clubs down the lower end start to get desperate, more and more surprising results pop up. This will be a close one and worth keeping an eye on.
Würzburger have the tough task of heading to 8th place Osnabrück at the Stadion an der Bremer Brücke. Currently four points off safety, this is simply a must-win game. If other clubs around them start to pick up results then it will look begin to look like Regionalliga football next season. Osnabrück is pushing for a top-three place and with a game-in-hand are in a healthy position.
Mannheim vs V.Köln is an important game for both for completely different reasons. With one win in their last three, Mannheim needs to get back to winning ways if they’re to get into the top three. Currently in 4th, they are just two points behind Braunschweig in 3rd but have played a game more. All they can do is keep winning and hope results fall their way. V.Köln are four points clear of safety and will like a couple more wins to feel comfortable. A lot can change in an Englische Woche and they may just be even closer if they don’t get anything today.
Halle and Berlin are in a similar situation to V.Köln. Halle are just one point clear whilst Berlin is slightly better being five points to the good. Halle have been slowly dropping in down the table in recent weeks and having just sold Terence Boyd to Kaiserslautern, they need one of their strikers to step up. Berlin is just starting to look over their shoulders a bit. Their on a bit of a tightrope at the moment and could fall either way. If they get a couple more wins, however, they should be clear of any danger.
Wednesday’s Fixtures
MSV Duisburg vs FC Magdeburg
TSV Havelse vs SV Wehen Weisbaden
FC Saarbrücken vs Borussia Dortmund II
FSV Zwickau vs Eintracht Braunschweig
SC Verl vs SV Meppen
Duisburg and Magdeburg has the look of a one-sided match about it. MSV is struggling for points in the bottom four whilst Magdeburg are comfortably top. Having narrowly lost 3:4 last time out, Die Zebras will take confidence going into this game. Not to mention that the bottom side, Havelse, got a point in Magdeburg a few days ago. Magdeburg will want to bounce back immediately but this could be a potential banana skin.
Havelse is giving it a good go. A good point last time out will give them belief but the fact of the matter is that they need wins (and a good few of them). Realistically, Wiesbaden aren’t particularly playing for much. Hence why this could be the ideal opportunity for Havelse to get a much-needed win. This has the look of a possible upset. I’ll be keeping a close eye on this one.
Saarbrücken is back to winning ways and just two points off 2nd. However, they face a solid Dortmund II team who share similar ambitions of a high finish. Dortmund could go ahead of their hosts on goal difference with a win here and make the league even more congested. There will be good quality on show here and will make for a decent spectacle.
Zwickau got a fantastic win against struggling Meppen last weekend and another victory here could see them go further up the table and away from relegation. They welcome Braunschweig who are trying to get as many points as possible to escape all those seeking their second spot. Zwickau is a tough team to play against and more often than not their fixtures end in a draw. Braunschweig will have to be at their best to get all three points in this one.
Verl will be seeking to take advantage of a Meppen side who are struggling at the moment. Verl is one of the team's seeking to avoid relegation. Having played a game more than most around them, they simply must win and hope results fall their way. They’ll be confident against a Meppen team that has found it tough to get going since the turn of the year. If Meppen is serious about a promotion push, it’s games like this that they have to put to bed.
It’s set to be an interesting Englische Woche in the 3. Liga before all the team’s do battle once more this weekend. At the end of the week, the league table could look a lot different. For those watching outside of Germany, you can look at the DFB Football channel on Youtube as they will often stream one 3. Liga game each week. It's worth checking out local TV stations free live streams via their Youtube channels and websites. Some of these examples include WDR, MDR, NDR, and SWR.