Nuremberg won’t want a repeat of their last result here following the 2-0 Bundesliga 2 defeat in their last game at the hands of Schalke.

In that match, Nuremberg managed 57% possession and 18 attempts at goal with 7 of them on target. Schalke 04 got 22 shots at goal with 7 of them on target. Kenan Karaman (42\') and Paul Seguin (86\') scored for Schalke.

It has been seldom in recent games that Nuremberg haven’t conceded. The facts show that Nuremberg have been scored against in 5 of their previous 6 matches, shipping 12 goals in the process.

Looking at the pre-match facts, Nuremberg:

have not been beaten in the league by SC Paderborn 07 in their previous 3 matches.

are without a home win in the past 2 league games.

In their previous game, Paderborn drew 1-1 in the Bundesliga 2 tie with Karlsruhe.

In that match, SC Paderborn 07 had 46% possession and 13 shots on goal with 3 of them on target. The only player on the scoresheet for SC Paderborn 07 was Sirlord Conteh (20\'). Karlsruher got 14 attempts on goal with 5 of them on target. Igor Matanović (26\') was the scorer for Karlsruhe.

The numbers tell their own story, and Paderborn have been scored against in 5 of their last 6 games, with opponents netting 11 goals in total. Defensively, SC Paderborn 07 seem to have a bit of a soft underbelly. Let’s see whether or not that trend can be sustained here.

Coming into this contest, SC Paderborn 07 have not won away from home in their last 2 matches in the league.

Head to head

Looking at their past head-to-head meetings stretching back to 04/04/2021 shows us that Nuremberg have won 4 of these & Paderborn 1, with the tally of drawn games being 1.

In all, 18 goals were yielded between them throughout the course of those matches, with 11 of them from Nürnberg and 7 coming from Paderborn. The average goals per game has been 3.

The last league meeting between these clubs was Bundesliga 2 match day 13 on 11/11/2023 which ended up with the score at SC Paderborn 07 1-3 Nuremberg.

That time, SC Paderborn 07 had 73% possession and 26 shots on goal with 9 on target. The scorer was Adriano Grimaldi (78\').

Nuremberg got 13 attempts at goal with 8 on target. Jens Castrop (8\'), Kanji Okunuki (39\') and Lukas Schleimer (44\') scored.

The referee was Nicolas Winter.

Team News: Nuremberg

Jannik Hofmann (Knee problems), Christopher Schindler (Metatarsal fracture), Marcel Wenig (Cruciate ligament tear), James Lawrence (surgery) and Daichi Hayashi (Achilles tendon problems) won’t be available for Nuremberg gaffer Cristian Fiél.

It’s our opinion that Nürnberg may well opt for a 4-1-4-1 system for the game, handing starts to Carl Klaus, Jan Gyamerah, Finn Jeltsch, Jannes Horn, Nathaniel Brown, Taylan Duman, Benjamin Goller, Johannes Geis, Can Uzun, Kanji Okunuki and Lukas Schleimer.

Team News: Paderborn

Paderborn boss Lukas Kwasniok has to currently contend with reduced team options. Kimberly Ezekwem (Ill), Marco Schuster (Knee problems) and Felix Platte (Internal ligament tear) are not ready for selection.

We believe Paderborn might utilise a 3-4-3 system, settling for Pelle Boevink, Marcel Hoffmeier, Visar Musliu, Laurin Curda, Raphael Obermair, Marco Pledl, Koen Kostons, Aaron Zehnter, Sirlord Conteh, Adriano Grimaldi and Filip Bilbija.

Prediction

In this match, Nuremberg must be fancied to find the back of the net against this SC Paderborn 07 team, however a single goal possibly won’t quite be enough to avoid a loss.
We therefore reckon that it will be a very close game with a 1-2 victory for SC Paderborn 07 at full-time. There shouldn’t be much in it, either way.