Is Rot-Weiss Essen a candidate for promotion to the Bundesliga this season? The majority of over 7,000 participants in an RS survey have their doubts.
With the 3:2 comeback against Hallescher FC, Rot-Weiss Essen brought the turbulent year 2023 to a brilliant close. Coach Christoph Dabrowksi’s team spent the winter in fourth place in the table, level on points with SSV Ulm 1846 in the relegation places.
After relegation worries in the previous season, RWE can suddenly look upwards. However, it is considered unlikely that promotion to Bundesliga 2 will actually be enough this season – at least according to the participants in the latest forecasting survey.
We wanted to know: “After an outstanding first half of the season, where will Rot-Weiss Essen end up at the end of the season?” and offered four possible answers. 7467 people took part (as of Friday, December 29, 8 p.m.).
Almost two thirds (62 per cent, 4606 votes) of RS users believe that the team from Bergeborbeck will finish the season in fourth place in the table, as is currently the case, or in ninth place in the worst-case scenario.
At least 23 percent (1711 votes) of the survey participants believe that RWE will prevail in the race for third place and enter the relegation play-off against the 16th-placed team in Bundesliga 2.
A tenth of the respondents expect the team from Essen to collapse. They see Rot-Weiss in the bottom half of the final table. After all, tenth place after the first 20 match days is only five points away – and therefore much closer than the direct promotion places. Dynamo Dresden in second place are ten points adrift, while leaders Jahn Regensburg are twelve points behind.
It is therefore hardly surprising that only a fraction of the participants (five percent, 380 votes) believe that direct promotion is achievable.
One thing is clear: with 33 points to its name, RWE no longer sees itself in danger of relegation. “Now nobody can tell me that we’ll go into the second half of the season and stay in the league. That’s an alibi. We want to stay up there and establish ourselves,” said captain Vinko Sapina after the 3:2 win against Halle at the end of the season.