The first playoff match for a spot in the Bundesliga between Heidenheim and Elversberg will take place on May 22 at Voith-Arena. Heidenheim vs. Elversberg: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Heidenheim
In their debut Bundesliga season, the team finished 8th, but in this edition of the tournament, Frank Schmidt's side ended up 16th. Heidenheim suffered 21 defeats (8 wins, 5 draws), the worst record in the league. Additionally, the club failed to score in 14 matches this season, second only to St. Pauli (17). However, it's worth noting that in 3 of their last 4 Bundesliga games, the team kept a clean sheet.
- At least one opponent failed to score in 7 of Heidenheim's last 8 league matches.
- At home, the club lost 7 of their last 9 matches in this tournament (1 win, 1 draw).
- In 8 of their last 9 home games in the Bundesliga, the club conceded at least one goal.
Predicted lineup for Heidenheim (4-5-1)
Kevin Müller – Benedict Gimber, Omar Haktab Traoré, Patrick Mainka, Tim Siersleben – Jan Schöppner, Adrian Beck, Mathias Honsak, Paul Wanner, Niklas Dorsch – Marvin Pieringer.
Elversberg
Horst Steffen's team finished third in the Second Bundesliga, just one point behind second-placed Hamburg. At the end of the tournament, Elversberg went on an 8-match unbeaten run (5 wins, 3 draws), during which they never conceded more than one goal. Overall, the team conceded 37 goals, with only Hannover having a better defensive record (36). Elversberg also led the league in clean sheets (13).
- The team's goal-scoring streak in the Second Bundesliga is 7 matches.
- Away from home in this tournament, the club is unbeaten in 8 games (4 wins, 4 draws).
- No more than three goals were scored in 11 of Elversberg's last 13 away league matches.
Predicted lineup for Elversberg (4-5-1)
Nicolas Kristof – Elias Baum, Lukas Pinkert, Florian Le Joncour, Maurice Neubauer – Robin Fellhauer, Semih Sahin, Lukas Petkov, Muhammed Damar, Tom Zimmerschied – Fisnik Asllani.
Referee
Sven Jablonski (Germany)
Matches – 15 (Bundesliga, 2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 60;
Average yellow cards per match – 4;
Red cards shown – 3;
Average fouls per match – 21;
Penalties – 20%.
Heidenheim vs. Elversberg: Match Prediction
Frank Schmidt's side has significantly declined compared to last season, especially in terms of scoring. In this championship, Heidenheim scored just 37 goals, with most coming in away matches. At home, the team scored only 13 times in the 2024/25 Bundesliga, and in 5 of their last 7 home games in this tournament, they failed to score.
Elversberg will have the second leg in reserve, but even away, Horst Steffen's team will aim for a good result. They will rely primarily on their solid defense to achieve this goal. The last time the club conceded more than one goal in the Second Bundesliga was back in late January. Notably, away in this championship, Elversberg has conceded only 12 goals – the best record in the tournament. Even Hamburg, the tournament's top-scoring team, couldn't break Elversberg's defense in their home match.
My prediction: Heidenheim Individual Total Under 1.5
