Unterhaching host 1860 Munich in the latest instalment of the S-Bahn Derby | OneFootball

Manuel Veth –

Unterhaching vs 1860 Munich – Sunday, December 1, 14:00GMT/15:00CET – Alpenbauer Sportpark, Unterhaching, Germany

For Unterhaching fans this is a special game. Just eight kilometres separate the Alpenbauer Sportpark in the Munich suburb of Unterhaching from the Grünwalder Stadion located in the Munich district of Giesing. For Unterhaching this is also an important fixture in their push for promotion.

Ahead of the season, Die Spielvereinigung became just the second club in German football history to be registered on the stock exchange. Money raised from floating the club was supposed to become a major impetus towards getting the club back to Bundesliga 2. Although Unterhaching did not pay any transfer fees this summer, the club was able to attract the likes of Moritz Heinrich, Jannik Bandowski, Stephan Mensah and signed promising talent Niclas Stierlin on loan from RB Leipzig.

Good talent that has led to a decent start to the season. Unterhaching have collected 28 points and are just one point behind second-placed Ingolstadt and sit even on points with third-placed Hallescher FC and fourth-placed Eintracht Braunschweig in fifth place. With that in mind, Unterhaching appear to be the favourites but die Spielvereinigung lost the Bayerische Toto Pokal to 1860 Munich earlier in the season and have collected just one win from the last eight games.

Unterhaching also have not beaten their rivals in 13 years (a 5-1 win in December 2006). Also only details decide winners in Germany’s third division were the relegation and promotion zone can be very close together. On paper, for example, Unterhaching and 1860 Munich have the same strength attack, both teams have scored 22 goals. The difference has been in defence—1860 have conceded 24 and Unterhaching just 17 goals.

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1860 Munich have also seen a positive trend ever since Daniel Bierofka stepped down. Their 1-0 win over Halle was followed up with a 1-1 draw in the derby against Bayern Munich II. A big point for the Lions in a game in which they dominated at times throughout the second half.

“It was a first good step,” new head coach Michael Köllner said this week. 1860 want to take the next step in the follow-up derby against Haching. “They will fight with everything they got,” Köllner said. An attitude that Köllner also expects from his team, especially after the workmanlike performance against Bayern Munich II in the derby.

Unterhaching vs 1860 Munich  – Players to look out for:

Moritz Heinrich #27 – SpVgg Unterhaching

Signed from Preußen Münster this summer Moritz Heinrich has quickly become Unterhaching’s most important player. The right-attacking midfielder has scored five goals and two assists in 14 Liga 3 games this season. A former 1860 Munich youth prospect the winger has been involved in 31% of Unterhaching’s goals. Born in Waldtrudering on the outskirts of Munich, Heinrich will be one of the local boys in the matchup on the weekend.

Dennis Dressel #14 – 1860 Munich

The 1860 Munich youth product was the hero in the derby against Bayern Munich II last week. The 21-year-old midfielder scored the equalizer, helping the Lions to an important point against their local rivals. Dressel is slowly gaining a foothold in 1860’s first team and has made 12 appearances this season already. With Efkan Bekiroglu still doubtful on the weekend, expect Dressel to play a key role once again.

Unterhaching vs 1860 Munich  – Match Stats

Futbolgrad Network Prediction: Unterhaching vs 1860 Munich  – 1-2

Unterhaching vs 1860 Munich  – Lineups

SpVgg Unterhaching:

Formation: 4-2-2-2

Mantl – Dombrowka, Winkler, Greger, Grauschopf – Hufnagel, Stahl – Heinrich, Bigalke – Hain, Stroh-Engel

Head Coach: Claus Schromm

1860 Munich:

Formation: 4-3-1-2

Hiller – Willsch, F. Weber, Erdmann, Steinhart – Wein, Rieder, Dressel – Böhnlein – Mölders, Lex

Head Coach: Markus Köllner

Manuel Veth is the owner and Editor in Chief of the Futbolgrad Network. He also works as a freelance journalist and among others, contributes to Forbes.com and Pro Soccer USA. He holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in History from King’s College London, and his thesis is titled: “Selling the People’s Game: Football’s transition from Communism to Capitalism in the Soviet Union and its Successor States,” which is available HERE. Manuel has lived in Amsterdam, Kyiv, Moscow, Tbilisi, London, and currently splits his time between Victoria, BC, and Munich, Germany.  Follow Manuel on Twitter @ManuelVeth.