A tricky cup tie to kick off the 2025/26 season | OneFootball

Lynen and his teammates eagerly await the first competitive game of 2025/26 (Photo: nordphoto):

Match preview ahead of DFB-Pokal game away at Arminia Bielefeld

Under the floodlights on Friday night, SV Werder face a tough challenge at Arminia Bielefeld in their first competitive game of 2025/26. When the match kicks off at 20:45 CEST in the Schüco-Arena, the Green-Whites will give everything they’ve got in the hope of reaching the next round of the DFB-Pokal.

Team news: Mitchell Weiser is still ruled out after suffering an ACL tear in July, while Jens Stage remains unavailable as he recovers from a stress reaction in his foot. In addition, Amos Pieper will be absent from the squad as they face the defender’s former side, as he undergoes surgery for a hip injury. Maximilian Wöber (bruised knee) and Justin Njinmah (muscular problems) were back involved in team training this week, although the club are yet to decide the extent to which the duo will be able to play on Friday.

Head coach Horst Steffen on the game: “It’s a crucial game on Friday evening, and we have an exciting and challenging task against a side like Bielefeld. I’m eager to see how strong we are. We need to see good intensity in our pressing, including from our defence. Bielefeld are able to do a lot of things well, but at the end of the day, so are we. We want to make it clear that we are a Bundesliga side.”

Werder possess better overall record despite Pokal defeats

Werder were knocked out of the cup by Bielefeld in February (Photo: W.DE).

Previous meetings: Werder have lost both their two DFB-Pokal meetings with Arminia to date, most recently exiting the cup in last season’s quarter-final tie in Bielefeld, although the Green-Whites have generally got the better of Friday’s opponents across previous fixtures. SVW have recorded 24 wins compared to Arminia’s 12, with five games ending in a draw. An undecided result isn’t possible on Friday evening, with extra-time and penalties being used if necessary to declare a winner.

Strong start: Looking to Friday night, Mitch Kniat’s side surely have the advantage of having already played two competitive games this season. Bielefeld have so far triumphed over Fortuna Düsseldorf (5-1) and Holstein Kiel (2-0) and head into the match as 2. Bundesliga leaders.