Nurnberg vs Hannover 96 Predictions

After stealing a very late 1-1 draw away from Werder Bremen last weekend, Nurnberg now have two points on the board from three matches. New signing Virgil Misidjan (from Ludogorets) was the man who scored their 92nd minute equaliser, having been brought on off the bench for the last half hour. He should eventually find himself integrated into their starting XI, but whether coach Michael Koellner will make that change sooner rather than later depends on the coming weeks. Last season’s top scorers Mikael Ishak (12 goals) and captain Hanno Behrens (14) remain the Bavarians’ main attacking threats for the meantime.

Hannover have also started the 2018/19 Bundesliga campaign with two points from three (D2 L1), though their results are slightly more inspiring. A valiant 3-2 defeat to RB Leipzig last weekend was one worth watching after a tight 0-0 draw at home to Borussia Dortmund the weekend before that. Another 1-1 draw away to North German neighbours Werder Bremen in the season opener was an acceptable result. Last season’s top scorer Niclas Fullkrug (14 goals) – the third highest scoring Bundesliga player in the 17/18 season – got his first of the season against RB Leipzig and coach Breitenreiter will no doubt be hoping there’s more to come from him on Saturday, especially with loanee striker Bobby Wood yet to provide much of an impact in his appearances off the bench.

So what should we look for betting-wise in this match? For us, even though these are two of the weaker sides in the Bundesliga, goals look unquestionable. Nurnberg have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their four competitive outings so far in the 18/19 campaign (three Bundesliga and one DFB Pokal) and that’s been largely against similar strength opposition to their opponents on Saturday – notably, Nurnberg have conceded exactly one goal in each. Looking back further than that in terms of top flight records, Nurnberg have actually conceded at least one goal in each of their last 16 Bundesliga outings (W1 D2 L13). Simply put, Nurnberg’s defense is yet to adapt to the higher standard of German top flight football, so an experienced Hannover should be able to find a way through.

Whether or not Hannover can get a result is another question. The North Germans have only been worse off at this stage of a season in one of their last eight Bundesliga campaigns and they are also winless in 14 Bundesliga away games (D5 L9) before this. However, it’s in their defense, not their offense where Andre Breitenreiters men have struggled – Hannover have scored at least one in 11 of those 14 (78%). Nurnberg themselves have been in reasonable scoring form, scoring at least one goal in 11 of their last 12 competitive outings (92%), and against a leaky Hannover backline, you’d have to fancy that to continue. Taking all of the above into account, there looks to be reasonable value in seeing this end deadlocked. Our prediction: a 1-1 draw.