Our next opponents: Changes under Kramer

Position

Being lucky in games is eluding Frank Kramer at the moment. In his second match as the head coach at Arminia Bielefeld, his team produced a decent performance in the rearranged fixture against Werder Bremen on Wednesday but ended up losing 2-0. "It's a bitter pill to swallow," said a disappointed Kramer but he also declared: "We'll stand our ground." The situation when he took over from Uwe Neuhaus, who led the team to promotion in 2020, is anything but hopeless. The side from East Westphalia are currently sixteenth in the play-off position, one point above the automatic drop zone and two points away from safety – so, it's all to play for. Of more concern currently is probably the run of seven league matches without a win. Kramer, who has already coached Hoffenheim and Fürth in the Bundesliga, achieved a more than respectable draw against Union Berlin in his first match in charge. And also against Werder Bremen they showed more than enough to turn the game around in the defeat, which Bielefeld also contributed to with the dismissal of Nathan de Medina (71'). The 48-year-old will complete his first away game as Arminia coach at the BayArena on Sunday. "If you can always put in the effort and keep your foot on the gas then you can sometimes create your own luck," said a hopeful Kramer.

Personnel

The thumbprint of the new coach was evident in the first two games. Kramer is doing a lot of things differently from his predecessor Neuhaus – both in terms of tactics and personnel. While Arminia mostly played with a 4-4-2 formation under Neuhaus with two holding midfielders or 4-3-3, Kramer plays with a midfield diamond as Bielefeld did both against Union Berlin and Werder Bremen. Also in terms of personnel, Kramer has moved away from the dogmatic approach of his predecessor. In the game against Union Berlin, Ritsu Doan, who was a regular starter under Neuhaus, was on the bench for the first time. The Japanese played from the start against Bremen with the captain and established striker Fabian Klos, also untouchable and in the starting eleven in every game this season under Neuhaus, missing out this time. Kramer showed his confidence in midfield talent Arne Maier, on loan from Hertha Berlin, by starting the youngster after Neuhaus had not even included him in his squad before his dismissal.

That means there could well be surprises for the starting line-up against the Werkself. Kramer will definitely be without right-back Nathan de Medina who is suspended after being sent off against Bremen. Striker Sergio Cordova, who missed the game on Wednesday due to an injury suffered against Union, could return. There is a question mark over Cebio Soukou, who has been sidelined through injury, as well as Joan Simun Edmundsson due to a muscular problem.

Performers

The virtues required of a promoted team have been achieved by Bielefeld with flying colours. Arminia are one of the hardest working teams in the league with only Union Berlin putting in even more kilometres than the side from East Westphalia. In the meeting of the two teams for Kramer's debut last Sunday, DSC midfielder Manuel Prietl became the first player this season to break the 14 kilometre barrier. And Bielefeld are not only near the top of the league in this comparison: Arminia make an average of 114 challenges per game, the most in the Bundesliga, and the percentage of challenges won (51%) is above the average. It is clear Arminia cannot be accused of a lack of commitment.

Problems

One deficiency Kramer has been unable to resolve is the lack of efficiency in finishing. Just 18 goals have been scored so far this season with only bottom of the table Schalke 04 (16) registering fewer. This number could be significantly higher if Bielefeld were more clinical in front of the opposition net. Both in terms of creating chances as well as the ability to finish, the East Westphalians are bottom of the Bundesliga form table. Kramer has yet to celebrate his team scoring as the Arminia coach although there were chances against Bremen. "We had enough chances and shots but the opposition were clinical and that's exactly what we were missing," the coach noted after the game.

Prediction

It was clear to all involved from the start that Bielefeld would primarily aim to stay up after being promoted last summer. As the underdogs in the league, Arminia have not sold themselves short and they have a realistic chance of playing another season in the Bundesliga although the first fixtures in the second half of the season were particularly tricky. The matches against Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfsburg are all behind Bielefeld now and the match at the BayArena is immediately followed by a game against RB Leipzig – after that they face teams who are in the bottom half of the table. If Bielefeld show the required efficiency during this phase then they could succeed in achieving their big target.