A constant ups and downs is the career of the Paderborn when one takes a look at the last few years. After being relegated from the Bundesliga, the East Westphalia now play in the 2nd Bundesliga and have to travel to the north of the country to kick off and prove themselves to the storks from Kiel.
Both teams may not be the favorites for promotion to the upper house of football this season. It is to be expected that the teams from Hamburger SV, Hannover 96 and Fortuna Düsseldorf will primarily position themselves there.
The KSV and the SCP should be set up well enough not to have anything to do with the relegation battle. A solid midfield position is certainly realistic for both of them. For the clash on the first day of the match, the bookmakers see the better cards on the blue-white-red side.
Kiel:
For the fourth year in a row, the storks are competing in the 2nd Bundesliga. Even if there has been a downward trend in recent years – after third and sixth place it was eleventh in the last season – the North Germans always stayed away from the table cellar.
In the new season, too, the blue-white-reds will play the role of the lucky bag. The KSV is uncomfortable for any opponent to play when the Kielers call up their optimal performance. There were one or two changes in the squad. So the two players on loan, Özcan and Iyoha, who were top performers last season, were unfortunately not kept. With Girth and Hanslik, two experienced players in the second division were signed.
The top newcomer is certainly Fin Bartels, who is returning to his training club from Werder Bremen. He was to slip into the leadership role in the team of head coach Ole Werner, alongside Serra and Lee. However, the whereabouts of the two important players is still open. Especially Lee is heavily courted by the Freiburgers.
With these three players in top form, it can be expected that the storks will be in the front midfield. In the first round of the DFB Cup, the blue-white-reds won 7-1 at 1. FC Rielasingen-Arlen. Phil Neumann, who has to serve a suspension from last season, is missing.
Paderborn:
SC Paderborn has developed into an elevator team in recent years. After the crash, which almost ended in the regional league, it went up to the Bundesliga within two years. The blue-black marched through the second and third leagues through impressive attack football.
On the first floor of German football, however, the glory quickly came to an end and in the end only eighteenth place in the Bundesliga table and thus direct relegation remained.
With Luca Kilian (Mainz 05) and Klaus Gjasula (Hamburger SV), head coach Steffen Baumgart had to cope with two painful departures this summer, which are difficult to compensate due to the new signings made so far.
The East Westphalia found it correspondingly difficult in the test matches. Only against the KFC Uerdingen was a victory. The 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund was certainly noteworthy.
In the DFB Cup, the SCP managed a sovereign performance in Wiedenbrück and the Baumgart-Elf advanced 5-0. It cannot be assumed that the blue-blacks will be able to mix in the top group, but it should definitely be enough to secure a midfield position.
When it comes to storks, the East Westphalians are initially taking on the role of outsider.
