1860 vs Nürnberg – Introducing the Bavarian Derby

1860 vs Nürnberg – Monday 19:15 GMT/20:15 CET Allianz Arena – Munich.

1860 vs Nürnberg will take place at the Allianz Arena in Munich (Photo by Jan Pitman/Bongarts/Getty Images)

1860 vs Nürnberg is perhaps one of the lesser-known derbies in German football. For both clubs, Bayern München has been the traditional main rival in Bavaria. The clash between der Club, as Nürnberg is often called, and Bayern München are known as das bayerische Derby, whereas 1860’s clash with the red camp of the city is simply called das Münchner Derby.

Both Nürnberg and 1860 also have close rivalries with other clubs. Nürnberg for example has a close rivalry with SpVgg Greuther Fürth, and 1860 München enjoys a heated rivalry with FC Augsburg. The derby between 1860 and Augsburg still holds the record for biggest attendance in a second division game in Germany—in 1973 a reported 80,000 people packed into the Olympiastadion in Munich to watch the two rivals.

Neither club, therefore, calls the other its historically closest rival. In the absence of Bundesliga football for both clubs, however, the game between the two now has ursurped the original bayerische Derby between Bayern and Nürnberg to represent the rivalry between Bavaria’s two biggest cities.

It is, therefore, no surprise that the game was picked as the game of the week by Bundesliga 2 rights holder Sport 1. Sadly, for travelling fans, this means that the game will take place on Monday, which makes it difficult for those supporters who wish to attend the away matches.

But the close proximity of the two cities—they are separated by 160km on the Autobahn—means that there should be a decent attendance on Monday night in the Allianz Arena in Munich. As for matters on the pitch, the game should provide a nice mix of relegation angst and promotion hopefulness.

1860 München are in their most recent rebuild, which has seen the arrival of high profile head coach Vítor Pereira, as well as several new key players (Amilton, Lumor, Christian Gytkjaer, Abdoulaye Ba, and Frank Boya). Results have been mixed, however, with Pereira’s new team recording two wins, and one defeat in the league, as well as an embarrassing 2-0 defeat to Sportfreunde Lotte in the cup.

1860 are currently 14^th, and are therefore still in the middle of the relegation battle. The club’s investor, Hasan Ismaik, has voiced his ambition that the club return to the Bundesliga. Pereira’s job is, therefore, to quickly move the club out of the relegation battle and to build for the future.

Nürnberg, on the other hand, already had ambitions of promotion this season. Nürnberg narrowly lost out to promotion last season, after they lost 2-1 on aggregate to Eintracht Frankfurt. After a Hinrunde with plenty of ups and downs, Nürnberg is currently seven points out of a promotion spot, and will need a victory in the derby to keep their promotion hopes alive. A major hit for der Club was the departure of striker Guido Burgstaller, who left the club for FC Schalke in the winter break.

1860 vs Nürnberg – Player to look out for:

Amilton will be the player to watch for 1860 fans. The 27-year-old Brazilian joined the club from Portugal’s second division leaders, Portimonense, during the winter break, and has been a revelation for die Löwen. A quick and technically gifted winger, who at times looks a bit like the Brazilian superstar Hulk, Amilton was the player of the game for 1860 last weekend, as well as in the cup debacle against Sportfreunde Lotte.

Since joining 1860 München in the winter Amilton has already become one of the most important players for die Löwen. (Photo by Thomas Starke/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Dennis Lippert, and Patrick Kammerbauer will be the two Club players to watch on Monday night. The two 20-year-old wing backs have been a real revelation since the winter break, and have the potential to develop into strong Bundesliga players in the future.

1860 vs Nürnberg – Match Stats

• 1860 München has won three out of the last ten games against Nürnberg, Nürnberg won four matches, and three matches ended in a tie.
• Nürnberg has won, lost, and tied in their three matches since the winter break.
• 1860 won the last encounter between the two clubs 2-1.

Prediction: 1860 München vs 1. FC Nürnberg 2-1

Possible Lineups

1860 München

Formation: 3-4-3

Ortega – Uduokhai, Boenisch, Ba – Lumor, Lacazette, Bülow, Amilton – Aycicek, Gytkjaer, Amilton

Manager: Vítor Pereira

1.FC Nürnberg

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Kirschbaum – Lippert, Hovland, Margreiter, Kammerbauer – Petrak, Behrens – Sabiri, Möhwald, Kempe – Matavz

Manager: Alois Schwartz

By Manuel Veth –