Elversberg take on the visitors Nurnberg in the round 1 match of German Bundesliga 2. The match will be played on Saturday, August 2nd at Waldstadion Kaiserlinde (Spiesen-Elversberg).
Elversberg aim to maintain momentum. The Black and Whites were founded back in 1907. However, they only began competing at a relatively high level in recent years. From 2014 to 2022, they floated in the Regionalliga, but quickly progressed through the third division of German football. Making their 2. Bundesliga debut in 2023, they managed to stay up comfortably, finishing in 11th place. The following season saw remarkable progress, as Elversberg stayed in the title race until the final rounds, eventually finishing third — just 3 points behind Köln and 1 behind Hamburg. Unfortunately, they missed direct promotion after a dramatic play-off against Heidenheim, conceding a decisive goal in stoppage time of the second leg. To make matters more complicated, head coach Horst Steffen, the architect of their recent rise, departed for Werder Bremen in the summer. Despite that, the team has shown good spirit in pre-season and looks ready to push forward again.
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Nürnberg boast a respectable trophy cabinet. But most of those triumphs date back decades — their last major title was the DFB-Pokal in 2008. In recent seasons, they've been stuck in the lower half of the 2. Bundesliga table, struggling to mount any serious promotion challenge. Last season, under Miroslav Klose, they finished with 14 wins and 48 points, ending up in the bottom half of the top 10. This summer, the club handed the reins to young forward-turned-coach Stepanov, a rising name who's drawn early comparisons to Erling Haaland in his playing days. However, they also lost promising talent Jens Castrop to Borussia Mönchengladbach, and their pre-season form dipped after a promising start, with back-to-back 1-2 defeats.
The first three official meetings — including a 2010 cup tie and two league games in 2023/2024 — were all won by Nürnberg. But last season, Elversberg turned the tables and claimed both victories in entertaining fashion. The hosts clearly had a much stronger campaign last season. We'll take the risk and back them to win again.
Prediction for the match: Elversberg to win.
