Top 10 Opta facts about the game against Eintracht Frankfurt:

• Frankfurt haven’t won an opening day game in the Bundesliga for 23 years. The last time they won the first game was in 1987 – a 2:1 victory.

• All three of Frankfurt’s away wins over Hannover ended 2:1. Their one and only second division win over 96 was also won (April 2002) 2:1.

• Hannover have only beaten 1. FC Kaiserslautern (13 times) more times than they have beaten the Hessen-outfit (11 times, the same number of times they have beaten Stuttgart at home).

• Just like last season Hannover have gone out of the DFB Pokal at the first round stage against lower league opponents. Last time around it was against Eintracht Trier with a 1:3 defeat, and in 2010/11 Elversburg defeated the Niedersachsen team 4:5 on penalties.

• Last season Eintracht Frankfurt hit the back of the net 47 times in the Bundesliga. It was their best haul for 16 years, since season 1993/94 where they grabbed 57 goals.

• With just 33 points last season Hannover had their first top division campaign for 20 years. In the 1988/89 season – when Hannover suffered the fate of relegation – they finished with just 19 points.

• 96 have an incredibly tough opening run of games. Following Frankfurt they play Schalke, Bremen and then Leverkusen – the second, third and fourth placed teams from last season.

• Giorgios Tzavellas joins fellow Greeks Theofanis Gekas and Ioannis Amanatidis at Frankfurt.The defender joined the club from Panionios Athen.

• In the last six years Hannover have managed to take just one point from the opening day’s fixture – with four defeats in a row. Frankfurt’s record is rather more evenly balanced: two wins, two draws and two defeats.


- Daniel Moore