2. Bundesliga Promotion Permutations for Elversberg, Hannover and Paderborn

2. Bundesliga Promotion Permutations for Elversberg, Hannover and Paderborn

Elversberg, Hannover and Paderborn are competing for an automatic promotion place and the playoff spot in the last matchday of 2. Bundesliga. All three teams are tied with 59 points, but there is a considerable gap between them in terms of goal difference.

Elversberg (59 points, 22 GD, vs. Preußen Münster (H))

Die Elv have the best chance out of all teams, considering their lead in goal difference and the challenges on Sunday. Vincent Wagner’s men will get promoted if they beat already-relegated Preußen Münster, barring ludicrous scorelines in Hannover and Paderborn’s games.

After missing out on a promotion last term following a heartbreaking defeat to Heidenheim in the playoff, they now have the opportunity to automatically secure a first-ever Bundesliga campaign. It’s a remarkable turn of events after they had to replace their long-serving coach Horst Steffen with the former Hoffenheim II boss.

Hannover (59 pts, 16 GD, vs. Nürnberg (H))

Including games against every top-five side, Hannover are unbeaten in the last eight matchdays. However, they have only managed to beat Darmstadt from their direct rivals in this run. Furthermore, draws with Münster and Bochum reduced their chances of a direct promotion in the last couple of weeks.

Christian Titz’s side would need to beat Miroslav Klose’s Nürnberg by a seven-goal margin if Elversberg took care of their own fixture against the league’s bottom-placed team. Finishing in third place would secure a playoff spot against the team that will finish 16th in Bundesliga.

Paderborn (59 pts, +12 GD, vs. Darmstadt (A))

The odds are against Paderborn after they failed to win any of their last four games. Ralf Kettemann’s side will be the only one playing away from the promotion chasers, while ending their winless streak might not be enough on Sunday afternoon.

However, it must be noted that none of the three clubs had won their respective matches in the penultimate weekend. Paderborn finished second in both of their promotion seasons under André Breitenreiter (2013/14) and Steffen Baumgart (18/19).