1. FC Schweinfurt 05 host Erzgebirge Aue in the 3. Liga on Saturday afternoon, 16 May 2026, with both clubs dragging themselves toward the line in a season that’s gone badly wrong. Schweinfurt sit bottom of the table in 20th on 21 points, while Aue are just one place higher in 19th on 31. There’s no glamour in this one. It’s all about pride, momentum and trying to avoid ending a miserable campaign with yet another flat result.
For Schweinfurt, the picture is bleak. Jermaine Jones’ side have won only five league matches all season and have shipped 83 goals, by far the kind of defensive return that leaves no room for escape. Aue haven’t been much better, but they’ve at least put together enough draws to stay a touch clearer of the cellar. Khvicha Shubitidze’s team come in with a few more points, a slightly less alarming back line and a recent run that has been stubborn if not especially convincing. This is the kind of fixture where neither side can really claim comfort. The pressure is just different.
The first meeting between the teams this season ended with Aue flattening Schweinfurt 4-0 on 20 December. That matters. It was a clean, ruthless home win, and it gives the visitors a psychological edge heading back into this one. Still, that result alone won’t decide Saturday’s game. Schweinfurt are at home, Aue’s away record is poor, and the numbers around both sides point toward another match where chances should be at both ends.
1. FC Schweinfurt 05 Form & Analysis
Schweinfurt’s recent form reads like a side stuck in a loop. They were beaten 3-2 away at TSV Havelse on 10 May, and even that doesn’t tell the full story of the frustration. They had spells in that game, they scored twice, and they actually produced 2.38 xG with 24 shots. Yet they still lost, and the dismissal of Noah Plume after 27 minutes made the climb even steeper. Before that, they had drawn 1-1 with 1860 München at home, shared a 2-2 draw at Waldhof Mannheim, and held Hansa Rostock to a goalless draw on 18 April. The problem is simple: they’re not winning enough, and when they do find a way to compete, they still leave too many points behind.
That stretch has one clear theme. Schweinfurt are hard to keep down for 90 minutes, but they can’t close the deal. They’ve now gone seven league matches without a win, and that sort of run drags a team into the mud. There’s at least been some attacking life. The 2-3 loss at Havelse showed that again, with Johannes Geis scoring from the spot, Nassim Boujellab on the scoresheet twice across the game, and Lorenzo Paldino adding another late effort. Four goals across the last two outings is not the mark of a side completely out of ideas. The issue is what comes the other way. They’ve kept only one clean sheet in their last four league matches, and with 83 conceded overall, the defensive numbers are ugly.
At home, Schweinfurt’s record is a little less disastrous, but only just. They’ve taken 16 points from 20 home matches, with four wins, four draws and ten defeats, scoring 22 and conceding 33 at their own ground. That’s not a fortress. Not even close. The 0-0 with Hansa Rostock and the 1-1 against 1860 München show they can grind out a result when they stay compact, yet the 1-3 home loss to Rot-Weiss Essen sits in the background as a reminder that once they fall behind, things can unravel quickly. Schweinfurt have at least been regularly involved in games where both teams find the net, and that trend feels relevant here too. They’ve gone without a clean sheet in their last three.
Mind you, there’s also a bit of fight left in them. They don’t roll over. The shots volume against Havelse was strong, and even in defeat they forced the issue more than the scoreboard suggested. But football doesn’t hand out credit for nearly doing enough. Schweinfurt need more control, more protection at the back and, frankly, a cleaner edge in both boxes. Without that, they’ll keep producing these annoying, nearly-there performances. And that won’t be enough on Saturday.
Erzgebirge Aue Form & Analysis
Aue arrive in slightly better shape, though that’s faint praise rather than a ringing endorsement. Their last six league matches include a 0-0 home draw with MSV Duisburg on 8 May, a lively 5-3 away win at FC Ingolstadt 04, and three more draws before that against Wehen Wiesbaden, Stuttgart II and SC Verl. The only defeat in that period came away at Jahn Regensburg on 7 April, a narrow 1-0 loss. Since then, they’ve gone five unbeaten. Not spectacular. Just steady enough to keep the noise down.
The away win at Ingolstadt was the standout. It was open, chaotic and very unlike the sort of controlled away display you’d normally build a preview around, but it showed Aue can hurt teams when the match becomes stretched. That said, the more recent evidence is less dramatic. The 0-0 with Duisburg at home was a slog, and Aue produced only 0.31 xG from six shots. That’s tiny. They were blunt and, for long spells, passive. Still, they limited Duisburg to relatively little of real quality and didn’t lose. There’s resilience there, even if the entertainment value was thin.
Away from home, Aue’s league record is poor enough to stop anyone getting carried away. They’ve collected just 11 points from 18 matches on the road, with two wins, five draws and 11 defeats, scoring 22 and conceding 36. That’s the profile of a side that’s usually in a scrap when it travels. They do not dominate away games. They often need moments rather than control. Yet they do keep finding a way into matches, and that matters for a Both Teams To Score angle. Their season totals of 47 scored and 68 conceded are modestly better than Schweinfurt’s 36 and 83, but still nowhere near solid.
The flip side? Aue have enough attacking threat to punish a home defence as leaky as Schweinfurt’s. Their win at Ingolstadt wasn’t a fluke, and the 2-2 draws against Stuttgart II and Wehen Wiesbaden show they can trade blows when required. They’ve also gone six matches without a loss in the broader sense of that run, and while the exact results haven’t all been pretty, they’ve been awkward to beat. Against this Schweinfurt side, that should count for something. You’d expect them to get chances. You’d expect them to concede chances too. That’s the whole story.
Head-to-Head
The only meeting in the database came on 20 December 2025, when Erzgebirge Aue beat 1. FC Schweinfurt 05 4-0. That was emphatic, and there’s no way around it. Aue were cleaner, sharper and far more ruthless, while Schweinfurt were blown away.
It’s just one game, so nobody should build a full theory from it. But it does fit the wider shape of this fixture. Schweinfurt have struggled defensively all season, and Aue have shown enough of an attacking pulse to make use of that. The repeat scoreline isn’t likely, but the dynamic behind it absolutely is.
We Predict: Both Teams To Score
We’re backing Both Teams To Score at 4/9 for this one. It’s short enough, but it still looks the right play. Schweinfurt have seen both teams score in five of their last six league matches, while Aue have the attacking quality to land a blow even away from home. Neither defence gives much reason for trust. That’s the blunt truth.
The 1-1 correct score feels the likeliest outcome, and it sits neatly with the xG projection of 1.4 to 1.4. Schweinfurt should create enough at home to get on the board, and Aue have already shown in this run that they can score on the road. The tension is obvious: both sides are poor enough to make the game messy, but not so blunt that you’d expect a cagey 0-0. A one-goal swing either way wouldn’t shock, yet BTTS still looks the strongest angle.
If you want a slightly bolder alternative, Aue on the double chance market would have appeal given the first meeting and Schweinfurt’s seven-game winless run. Still, the safer call is goals at both ends. That feels like the shape of this match.
