Lions to devour Zebras

After two consecutive away league draws TSV 1860 Munich host struggling MSV Duisburg on Friday evening, keen to return to winning ways in the Bundesliga 2^nd division.

MSV Duisburg arrive in Munich in crisis, having sacked coach Oliver Reck after a run of three straight league defeats, which has seen them plummet to the bottom of the league. Caretaker manager Ivica Grlic takes over the reins against a Lions' side that did the double over Duisburg last season. In fact, the 'Lions' have never lost at home against the 'Zebras' in 2nd division encounters.

Despite the unbeaten Lions seemingly holding all the aces ahead of Friday evening's clash, Lions coach Reiner Maurer warned against any blatant over confidence. ''Duisburg has always represented football Made in Germany. They are not a typical bottom of the table team. They have a lot of quality in the side''.

Whilst urging caution, Maurer did wax lyrical about the first-half display in Kaiserslautern as the standard going forward, having received alot of praise from many observers for 'the best single half performance by 1860 in years'.

''Three points is our definite target. If we can win on Friday, we will be well ahead of our points target. We have to impose our fluid and variable passing game in order to create some decent goalscoring chances,'' Maurer added.

Necat Aygün is rated doubtful for Friday's clash against one of his former clubs after injuring his left ankle in training. 22-year-old Christopher Schindler is on standby and could replace him at the back for the Lions.

Kick-off is 18:00 at the Allianz Arena on Friday evening. Tickets are available on the gate and online.