Jahn Regensburg

If it wasn’t for an excellent start to last season, Jahn Regensburg could well be playing third-tier football this coming campaign. They topped the table in early October of last year but sank dramatically after, winning just 2 games from December onwards. Coach Mersad Selimbegovic will begin his fourth season in charge and has so far done a good job keeping Regensburg competitive in the division. This season you feel will be his toughest test to keep the club afloat, the poor run at the end of last season and losing some good players will make life difficult. The quality in the squad has dropped from last season, and the loss of midfield regular Besuschkow to Hannover will weaken them, while Singh and Boukhalfa, who impressed on loan, have returned to their parent clubs. Wekesser and Beste have also left and will be difficult to replace. Goalkeeper Meyer is arguably the biggest loss to the side, leaving for the Bundesliga to join Dortmund. Dejan Stojanovic has been signed as a replacement but might not have the influence of his predecessor. Other new faces include defensive midfielder Maximilian Thalhammer from Paderborn, striker Prince Osei Owusu and attacking midfielder Joshua Mees, all of whom have had good moments in this division previously, whether they can be consistent over the season, time will tell. Opposition teams never have an easy ride against Jahn and you would expect the same again this season. They are likely to pick up most of their points at home but could struggle on the road.