RWE Essen Rot-Weiss Essen - SGF Fürth Greuther Fürth

Essen Rot-Weiss Essen

Fürth Greuther Fürth

金, 22.05.202618:30 午後

Stadion an der Hafenstraße

Head-to-head record

Third-tier side Essen hold a slender lead in the head-to-head stats, with three wins to Fürth's two (D2). The most recent of the teams' eight meetings came in May 2007, when the Ruhr outfit claimed a 2-0 victory over the Clover Leaves - but it was not enough to help them avoid relegation to the third division that season.

What promotion would mean for Essen

Essen spent several seasons in Bundesliga 2 in the 1980s and 1990s, and their most recent second-tier campaign was back in 2006/07 - making a return after 20 years a rather exciting prospect for their fans.

What relegation would mean for Fürth

Fürth, crowned German champions three times in the pre-Bundesliga era, have a proud history, and have not fallen lower than the second tier in 30 years, since 1996/97. No team has played more fixtures in Bundesliga 2 than the Cloverleaves.

How Rot-Weiss Essen got here

A run of seven successive wins in the spring rocketed Essen into the automatic promotion spots under Uwe Koschinat, and although three losses in a row then set them back, two victories to end the season helped them seal third. Centre-forward Marek Janssen's 14 goals played a major role in achieving that goal.

How Greuther Fürth got here

Fürth spent some time bottom of Bundesliga 2 after Heiko Vogel replaced Thomas Kleine in the dugout in December, but vital late-season home wins over Darmstadt and Düsseldorf were enough to take them up to the play-off spot. Noel Futkeu's 19 goals, which saw him crowned Bundesliga 2 top scorer, were vital for their survival bid.

Ulm 2-3 Rot-Weiss Essen - last time out

There were delirious scenes among the Essen players and travelling fans when Ben Huning's stoppage-time winner on the final day in Ulm, coupled with Duisburg's 1-1 draw at home to Viktoria Cologne, secured third place in 3. Liga, and with it a play-off spot.

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Watch: Gruether Fürth 3-0 Fortuna Düsseldorf - last time out

Fürth earned a fantastic win on the final day of the Bundesliga 2 season to relegate Fortuna and leapfrog them into the play-off spot.

What's the play-off all about?

Essen will host the first leg on Friday 21 May. The decisive second leg will be at Fürth's Sportpark Ronhof on Tuesday 26 May. The team that wins on aggregate will get to play in Bundesliga 2 in 2026/27. The loser either goes down or remains in 3. Liga. If level on aggregate after 180 minutes, there will be 30 minutes of extra time and, if required, penalties. The away goals rule is no longer in use.

Hello and welcome!

Welcome along and thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of this promotion/relegation play-off first leg between Rot-Weiss Essen and Greuther Fürth.