Both aiming to increase fitness levels ahead of their respective second-tier campaigns, Nuremberg and Blackburn Rovers will lock horns at Kaiserwinkl Arena for a pre-season friendly on Saturday evening.
This weekend's test against English opposition will be Der Altmeister's third match of a packed summer schedule, whilst the clash in Kossen will conclude Blackburn's week-long training camp in Austria.
Match preview
© Imago
After finishing rock bottom of the Bundesliga during the 2018-19 season and suffering the grim reality of relegation from the top flight, Nuremberg have spent five straight years in Bundesliga 2, with a placement of 12th last season meaning that they have now ended up in the bottom half of the division in four of those years.
It is set to be a summer of considerable change at Max-Morlock Stadion due to the departure of an academy star and last campaign's leading goalscorer, with 18-year-old Turkey international Can Uzun being poached by German giants Eintracht Frankfurt after netting on 16 occasions during 2023-24.
Following several years of dwelling near the bottom of the Bundesliga 2 standings, Nuremberg supporters will be excited to see how Bayern Munich and Germany legend Miroslav Klose fares in the managerial hotseat, with the 46-year-old taking only his second senior head coach role after a spell in charge of Austrian Bundesliga outfit Altach.
Replacing the goals lost because of the departure of Uzun has been a clear priority for Der Altmeister during the opening half of the summer transfer window, with attackers such as Stefanos Tzimas, Michal Sevcik and free agent Florian Pick all joining the offensive ranks.
Although this stage of pre-season is all about increasing match sharpness, Nuremberg will be hoping to maintain their unbeaten record in warm-up fixtures ahead of competitive action, with Klose's charges smashing Ansbach 4-1 before drawing with 1860 Munich last Saturday.
Following two consecutive seasons of challenging for a top-six spot in the Championship under the reigns of Tony Mowbray and former AC Milan player Jon Dahl Tomasson, Blackburn Rovers suffered serious regression last season, finishing 19th out of 24 in England's second tier.
Ex-Birmingham City head coach John Eustace was parachuted into Ewood Park during the middle of February with the club in the midst of a relegation dogfight, and under the measured leadership of the 44-year-old, Rovers were able to avoid the drop zone by three points at the conclusion of the term.
Netting his 26th and 27th goals of the Championship season in the season-defining 2-0 win at champions Leicester City, Sammie Szmodics essentially carried the Lancashire club to safety last campaign, and it would be a major surprise to see him lining up at Ewood Park in August amid Premier League interest for his services.
Saturday's test in Austria versus Nuremberg will be Blackburn's second full match of a busy pre-season schedule, with Eustace's troops recording a 2-1 success over League Two side Accrington Stanley on July 6, when goals from Joe Rankin-Costello and Dilan Markanday were enough for victory.
Rovers' most recent competitive fixture against German opposition arrived during their UEFA Cup journey of 2007, when Blackburn lost a two-legged affair 3-2 to current Bundesliga invincibles Bayer Leverkusen, although the 1994-95 Premier League champions have never previously faced Nuremberg.
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Team News
Nuremberg remain without the services of Tim Handwerker, who suffered a cruciate ligament injury in March and is expected to return at some point in November.
As a result, Der Altmeister are light on options at left-back, meaning that Brazilian veteran Danilo Soares could go through more workload than he anticipated on Saturday evening.
A strong contingent of Blackburn players have travelled to Austria for a training camp and this weekend's friendly match, but young striker Harry Leonard has remains in England as he recovers from injury.
Zak Gilsenan is another Rovers star who has not made the trip onto the continent due to a fitness issue following a breakthrough season in the first team.
Eustace is likely to field separate XIs in different halves, so supporters will be able to catch glimpses of the vast majority of the squad on Saturday.
Nuremberg possible starting lineup:
Mathenia; Soares, Jeltsch, Jander, Karafiat; Flick, Pick, Goller, Castrop, Sevick; Tzimas
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Pears; Brittain, Hyam, Carter, Pickering; Tronstad, Travis, Rankin-Costello; Szmodics, Dolan, Gallagher
We say: Nuremberg 2-2 Blackburn Rovers
Nuremberg have lost a number of their top creative threats over the summer, but the attacking stars left at the club will be desperate to impress footballing legend Klose ahead of the new season.
Blackburn are set to start with their strongest XI on Saturday which could lead to plenty of goals, but we do not back Rovers to keep it tight at the other end versus credible opposition.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Nuremberg win with a probability of 39.33%. A win for Blackburn Rovers had a probability of 35.73% and a draw had a probability of 24.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Nuremberg win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.6%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.4%) and 2-0 (6.18%). The likeliest Blackburn Rovers win was 1-2 (8.13%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.68%). The actual scoreline of 4-2 was predicted with a 1.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Nuremberg would win this match.
Carter White
