BUNDESLIGA: SURVIVAL BATTLE BETWEEN HEIDENHEIM AND ELVERSBERG

← Back

 



May 22, 2025

1. FC Heidenheim 1846 vs. SV 07 Elversberg 

Voith-Arena, Heidenheim

On Thursday, May 22, 2025, the relegation playoff for the German Bundesliga begins, with 1. FC Heidenheim facing SV 07 Elversberg in the first leg. The clash between the Bundesliga newcomer and the second-place team from the second division promises a dramatic encounter with many interesting statistical insights.

  1. FC Heidenheim and SV 07 Elversberg have met in competitive matches only twice before – in the 2013/14 third division season, FCH won 1-0 at home, while the away match in Elversberg ended in a 1-1 draw. The teams will now face each other after almost 12 years.

In the last 12 seasons, a second-division team has prevailed in the Bundesliga relegation playoff only once: Union Berlin in the 2018/19 season against VfB Stuttgart. In the last five cases, the Bundesliga team has always succeeded – last season it was VfL Bochum, who after a 0-3 home defeat in the first leg won 6-5 in a penalty shootout.

Interestingly, Bundesliga teams have lost three of the last four first legs against second-division opponents in the relegation playoff – that's the same number of defeats as in the previous 17 first legs combined. The only victory in a first leg as a Bundesliga team in the last six years was celebrated by VfB Stuttgart in the 2022/23 season with a 3-0 result against Hamburger SV.

  1. FC Heidenheim is participating in the Bundesliga relegation playoff for the second time – in the 2019/20 season, as a second-division team, they lost to Werder Bremen (0-0 away, 2-2 at home). Only two clubs have lost both of their first appearances in the playoff: FC St. Pauli (1987 and 1991) and Holstein Kiel (2018 and 2021).

SV 07 Elversberg was playing in the fourth division just three years ago – since the introduction of the unified 2nd division, only two clubs have managed to rise from the fourth division to the Bundesliga within four years – Blau Weiß 90 Berlin (promotion to Bundesliga 1985/86) and RB Leipzig (promotion to Bundesliga 2015/16). Elversberg is thus on the verge of an extraordinary achievement.

  1. FC Heidenheim won only one of their last nine Bundesliga home games and finished this Bundesliga season with just 11 points as the weakest home team. Their 12 home defeats were also the highest in the league – SV 07 Elversberg lost only three away games in the second division season, which is the best record in the league along with SC Paderborn.

SV 07 Elversberg has won their last three second division games in a row – a tied club record, which SVE had previously achieved only in September 2023. The eight consecutive unbeaten games in the second division is even a new club record (5 wins, 3 draws) – in both top German leagues, currently only Werder Bremen is unbeaten in the same number of competitive games (8), no club longer.

SV 07 Elversberg conceded only 12 goals away from home in this second division season – the best value of all clubs in the three German professional leagues. In the unified 2nd division, only one club previously conceded fewer away goals in a single season: VfL Bochum in the 2005/06 season (11).

Elversberg's Fisnik Asllani collected the most goal contributions of all players in this second division season (26 – 18 goals, 8 assists). Since the 2006/07 season, only two players have had more direct goal contributions in their debut second division season: Hertha's Haris Tabakovic (27) and Düsseldorf's Christos Tzolis (28) in the previous season.

Heidenheim's coach Frank Schmidt and Elversberg's coach Horst Steffen met once as players – in February 2001, Horst Steffen won 4-0 with MSV Duisburg in the 2nd division against Schmidt's Alemannia Aachen. Now they meet again, but in the roles of coaches.

The relegation two-legged tie between Heidenheim and Elversberg will not only be a battle for Bundesliga survival but also a clash of extraordinary team stories. While Heidenheim tries to avoid relegation after their premiere season in the top flight, Elversberg can complete their rocket rise from the lower divisions.

Photo: source XYZ 

We thank OPTA for providing the statistical data.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DE BRUYNE'S FAREWELL TO ETIHAD FACES CHERRIES' ROAD INVINCIBILITY

Image
  May 20, 2025   Manchester City - AFC Bournemouth   Etihad Stadium, Manchester On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, Manchester City will face AFC Bournemouth in the 37th round of the Premier League. The match offers a likely farewell of the home star Kevin De Bruyne to Etihad Stadium against a team with excellent away form. Manchester City have won all seven of their Premier League home games against Bournemouth – only Arsenal (10 vs Stoke) and Manchester United (8 vs Wigan) have a better 100% home win rate against an opponent in the competition. The Citizens thus represent an insurmountable obstacle for the Cherries at their own ground. Bournemouth won the reverse fixture against Man City 2-1 in November, having been winless in their first 20 league meetings with the Citizens beforehand (D2 L18). The South England side thus achieved a historic success this season. Manchester City have won their final home league game in 10 of the last 11 seasons (D1), including each of the la...
Read more

Marks Could Be the Next Irving: NFL Draft 2025 Late-Round Gems

Image
  Bucky Irving proved last year that the fourth round can hide future stars. His 1,122 rushing yards and eight touchdowns made him the most productive rookie runner in the NFL. Now the search continues - which of this year's late picks will repeat similar success? The pattern is clear. Irving followed the path of Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City's seventh-round gem from 2022. Both had one thing in common - they weren't college superstars with astronomical numbers, but they proved efficiency and ability to maximize opportunities. Among this year's candidates, Marks from USC stands out most, selected by Houston in the fourth round. His transformation is remarkable - four years at Mississippi State never exceeded 600 yards per season, but a single season at USC brought 1,133 yards with impressive 6.8 yards per carry. Marks has an ideal situation for immediate impact. Joe Mixon ahead of him has injury history and Houston under new coordinator Nick Caley is looking for fresh b...
Read more

MAYBANK CHAMPIONSHIP 2025: PRESTIGIOUS LPGA TOURNAMENT IN MALAYSIA WITH MILLION-DOLLAR REWARDS AND STAR-STUDDED FIELD

Image
  October 30 – November 2, 2025 | Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club, Malaysia World Number One Thitikul Seeks First Victory After Two Second-Place Finishes Asia once again hosts one of the richest golf tournaments when the prestigious Maybank Championship takes place from October 30 to November 2, 2025. The third edition of this spectacular LPGA tournament will welcome the world's best players to the picturesque Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club with an incredible prize pool of $3 million ! TOURNAMENT WITH A SHORT BUT RICH HISTORY The Maybank Championship has quickly grown into one of the most significant tournaments on the LPGA Tour thanks to its combination of lucrative rewards, prestigious location, and quality field: EMERGING TRADITION Founded in 2023 when the LPGA Tour returned to Malaysia after a six-year hiatus . This was a significant event for Asian golf that signaled the LPGA's commitment to expanding its presence in a region where women's golf is...
Read more