After the past two rounds, Heidenheim are in such a sore state that the team could use some kind of two-week break due to national team games or other distractions. The club had barely moved into second place before losing points at Kaiserslautern, conceding in 90+3 and 90+5 minutes of the game, and then also losing at home, which is an unusual occurrence for Schmidt's players. The crisis currents will have to be reversed in rather difficult away conditions. Once again, Hannover failed to live up to their own fans' hopes of promotion this season. However, now the Ninety Sixers are doubly dangerous, as they have absolutely nothing to lose from a tournament perspective. The team are a long way from the relegation zone, and they won't be able to reach the top three even with maximum persistence and desire. Before Friday's encounter, bookmakers identified the visitors as the favorites, offering odds of 2.18 on their victory.

In the ten Bundesliga games played in 2023, Hannover have been one of the worst teams in the division. During this period, the team won just once, which happened on the first day of this month. Last Saturday, Hannover took three points away to Hamburg, which handed the eponymous home side six goals. Stefan Leitl has apparently lost the threads of his team management and can now only set it up for a serious club. Influencing the distribution of places in the top three, being the tenth team in the Second Bundesliga, could be good motivation.

Heidenheim made a very favorable impression until the beginning of April and seemed about to overtake the leading Darmstadt 98. However, instead of continuing the positive momentum, Schmidt's side have fallen into a playing hole. Defeat to St. Pauli on Saturday not only dropped the team into third place, but also allowed this Hamburg club to come within four points of Heidenheim.

The rivals have played each other twice in 2022. Both meetings took place on Heidenheim's pitch and resulted in victories. However, the teams' last match in Hannover ended in victory for the home side. We'll bet that the visitors will not be able to pick up three points.