- Team form: Essen are the most in-form team in 3.Liga (W5), but Cottbus are unbeaten in two at home (W1, D1).
- Away record: Essen’s away record in 3.Liga 2025/2026: W7, D6, L3
- H2H: No draws in the last three 3.Liga H2H meetings: Essen won two, Cottbus won one.
End-to-end, head-to-head clash in prospect
Styles and tactics
Second-placed SC Rot-Weiss Essen (64 points) will take on third-placed Energie Cottbus (60 points) in a 3.Liga game which will have implications for the league table and bragging rights for the region on Sunday. The game will be an interesting contrast in styles with the hosts preferring to play with pace, overload the wings and dominate physical battles, stretching the play with vertical passes and fast transitions. The Cottbus game plan is to capitalize on set-pieces and rapid transitions, hoping their talent can outplay the opposition.
Home form and key players
Claus-Dieter Wollitz’s side are dangerous on quick transitions and have more goals in them than many rivals. But they are not the most defensively reliable and have conceded an average of 1.24 goals per-game at home. However, they have been prolific here, averaging 2.12 goals scored per-game in 3.Liga 2025/2026.
Energie Cottbus have an impressive home record of W9, D7 and just one defeat in 3.Liga, but they have a poor record at home to Essen, failing to win the last clash in this fixture. They will need talisman Erik Engelhardt to continue his fine form here; he has hit 19 goals in 33 league games and bagged four of Cottbus’ last eight.
Koschinat’s men have great momentum
Essen are in red-hot form and will come here full of confidence having won all five of their 3.Liga matches in a row. Uwe Koschinat has installed a philosophy of disciplined defensive blocks, organised pressing and fast-paced counter-attacking since he took over in December 2024.
Both sides have attacking players and frailties at the back, so I expect both teams to score (Yes) and over 2.5 total goals in a high-scoring clash at 1.4 and 1.5 respectively.
I would also take the odds of 2.6 on the away win for Essen in this game, as they are in exceptional form and have won their last two away from home in 3.Liga.
- Essen’s success has been down to the manager making them into an almost perfect machine - a compact, quick and efficient unit, but also one that can punish teams when they do give the ball away.
- They have scored an average of 2.00 and conceded 1.94 per away game in 3.Liga 2025/2026, showing they have a threat in front of goal and can be breached defensively.
- Marek Janssen leads the frontline with 11 goals in 26 games, a modest return but one which brings consistent attacking rewards.
