SpVgg Greuther Furth and Rot-Weiss Essen will complete their 2. Bundesliga promotion/relegation play-off at the Sportpark Ronhof on Tuesday with the visiting side carrying a one-goal lead from the first leg.
Torben Musel's stunning second-half free-kick split the teams in the first leg at the Stadion an der Hafenstrasse.
Essen are within touching distance of a return to the second tier for the first time since 2006/07 if they can grind out a result in Bavaria.
SpVgg Greuther Furth v Rot-Weiss Essen Tips Summary
Best Bet - Draw @ 10/3
Alternative Bet - Both teams to score @ 4/6
Bet Builder - Draw or Rot-Weiss Essen Double Chance, Over 2 goals, Rot-Weiss Essen to win either half @ 15/4
SpVgg Greuther Furth v Rot-Weiss Essen Prediction
Best Bet: Draw @ 10/3
A draw will be enough to see Essen promoted to Germany's second tier for the first time in 20 years and Uwe Koschinat's side can secure the outcome they need.
Essen had the backing of a partisan crowd inside the 'witches cauldron' of the Stadion an der Hafenstrasse in Friday's first leg.
They ceded 65 per cent possession to Furth but created the better chances and should have been in front before Musel's stunning free-kick just beyond the hour mark.
Furth have had just two wins in nine games since mid-March and required a final-day win over Fortuna Dusseldorf to get out of automatic relegation and send their opponents down.
Essen also got here with a late intervention, a stoppage-time goal sealing a 3-2 win at Ulm that nudged them into third place in 3. Liga ahead of Duisburg, who failed to win on the final day.
The first leg was the first meeting of these sides since 2007 and Essen showed enough to believe they can pick up a draw on the road against a host side struggling for confidence.
Alternative Bet: Both teams to score @ 4/6
Both teams scored in five of Furth's final six games in the regular season. Their third-from-bottom finish owed plenty to the worst defence in the second tier, with 68 goals conceded in 34 games.
Essen were one of the 3.Liga's most entertaining sides, scoring 78 times in 38 games but conceding an alarming 66 – dramatically more than any of the other top nine clubs.
Heiko Vogel's side have to chase a win here but may expose themselves in doing so. Prior to the first leg both teams had scored in six of Essen's previous seven games and that trend can be restored now.
SpVgg Greuther Furth v Rot-Weiss Essen Bet Builder Tip
- Draw or Rot-Weiss Essen Double Chance
- Over 2 goals
- Rot-Weiss Essen to win either half
Pays 15/4
Confidence in the Furth camp has been low for some time and the first leg did little to alter that as they dominated possession but failed to really threaten their hosts.
Indeed, at the back they were shaky with goalkeeper Silas Prufrock almost gifting the home side a lead not long before Musel's superb set piece broke the deadlock.
Over 2 goals had landed in six of Essen's seven games before the first leg, while for Furth that was true in four of five 2.Bundesliga games before the regular season ended.
The visiting side have 10 wins in their last 13 competitive games, with three losses and no draws. With two wins in nine, Furth are a hard side to trust and the momentum is with their lower-ranked opponents.
If Essen can grab a win in either half they will take a major step towards promotion. They have managed that feat in 11 of their last 13 games.
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Key Match Stats
- Furth finished 16th in 2. Bundesliga with 37 points from 34 games, scoring 49 goals and conceding 68
- Essen claimed 3rd in 3. Liga with 70 points from 38 games, scoring 78 times and conceding 66 goals
- Essen's league games averaged 3.78 goals per game
- Both teams have scored in six of Essen's last eight games and in four of Furth's previous six
- Noel Futkeu has scored seven goals in the last six games for Furth
- Torben Musel has scored six goals in eight games for Essen
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
