Bochum-Aue preview

It’s 12th against 11th in the 2. Bundesliga tomorrow afternoon, as the division’s most Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde-like sides go head-to-head. Although one might not have expected tomorrow’s visitors to be much higher in the league than they are right now (that is, on 17 points, like their hosts – five ahead of the relegation zone, 19 behind the promotion play-off spot), Bochum were one of the pre-season favourites to secure their place – lost in 2010 – back in the top-flight. After all, they had only just been edged out in the play-offs in May by Borussia Mönchengladbach, who came into this round of fixtures in second place in the Bundesliga.

But, despite little change to the playing staff over the summer, Bochum took several months to get it together at the start of the current season; the squad seemingly not ready to start the 2011/12 campaign back in July, and a bit of lethargy seemingly having set in.

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Freiburg 1-1 Hannover

The formations and players that contested the opening half-hour.

Two of the Bundesliga’s best strikers made their mark as Hannover and Freiburg played out a 1-1 draw that keeps the latter in the relegation zone. For nearly 70 minutes, it had looked as though the class of Mohammed Abdellaoue was going to settle a not particularly memorable tie in the visitors’ favour. They were the better team in the first half, and took the lead through an own goal after great work by the Norwegian international. Yet, despite demonstrating on a number of occasions that they offered more edge, technical ability, penetration and pace than Freiburg, Hannover – in an unusual-for-them 4-3-1-2 system – still had to endure one or two nervy moments. Nevertheless, Mirko Slomka’s centre-back pairing of Karim Haggui and Emmanuel Pogatetz did a fantastic job of nullifying dangerman Papiss Demba Cissé on the whole, keeping Freiburg’s chances to a bare minimum. However, it was the same two defenders who were at fault positionally for Freiburg’s equalizer, failing to step out quickly enough, thereby allowing Cissé to head home the sort of chance he never misses. The hosts then finished the match as the stronger of the two teams, but Hannover defended solidly, ensuring they took at least a point having squandered the other two.

Match preview here.

Hannover instantly attacked down the left-hand side, looking to exploit Freiburg’s inexperienced right-back Jonathan Schmid (who was standing in for the injured Mensur Mujdža). Some slick one-two football allowed the visitors to get a few balls into the box, but Freiburg sat deep, defended doggedly, and weathered the – slight – early storm. However, when the home side got the chance to take the ball down in the midfield in the fourth minute, Hannover’s banks stood high, eliminated the corridors, and barely had to press – the lack of room in itself was enough to break the hosts’ moves down.

Freiburg-Hannover preview

Struggling Freiburg host hit-and-miss Hannover in the Bundesliga this afternoon. Despite being second-bottom in the league, the hosts have actually scored more goals than their eighth-placed guests, who are still battling on two fronts this season given their participation in the Europa League (both sides, however, have already been dumped out of the DFB-Pokal). Nevertheless, Hannover’s line-leader Mohammed Abdellaoue has as many goals (eight) as the highly sought-after Freiburg man, Papiss Demba Cissé, and the away side have a better head-to-head record against today’s hosts than any other side in the division. And, when the sides last met in Freiburg back in April, Hannover won 3-1.