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Lewis Ambrose·26 October 2021
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Lewis Ambrose·26 October 2021
The DFB Pokal is back!
This midweek provides plenty of second round action and OneFootball users in the UK and Ireland can watch five of the biggest fixtures live, in full, for free, right here in the app.
Things kick off with DFB Pokal holders Borussia Dortmund, who host Ingolstadt on Tuesday. But maybe it won’t be as straightforward as you’d imagine.
Dortmund are without a whole host of players. Erling Haaland is still missing and could be joined by Donyell Malen, who was unwell on Monday. The biggest issue comes at full-back with the absences of Raphaël Guerreiro, Thomas Meunier and Nico Schulz.
Ingolstadt are currently bottom of the 2. Bundesliga but come up against a Dortmund side without first choice goalkeeper Gregor Kobel and just two clean sheets in 14 games this season. Is it enough to help them spring a surprise?
After Klopp and Tuchel comes Bo Svensson. Mainz have uncovered another superb managerial talent, with Svensson turning them from hot relegation candidates last season into a side capable of making it into Europe this time around.
His aggressive approach has turned the team around but they couldn’t beat Bielefeld in either meeting last season.
Arminia are winless so far in this Bundesliga season but the freedom of escaping league competition and turning up as underdogs is so often a huge boost in the cup and a brilliant opportunity to kickstart a campaign.
Bayer Leverkusen look vulnerable. After that 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich, they drew 1-1 at Real Betis and threw away a 2-0 lead against Köln at the weekend. Now they’re without Karim Bellarabi and Patrik Schick.
There’s no better time to take them on and Karlsruher could be in the perfect position to deliver the biggest upset of the round.
The second tier side have already taken four points from away games against the 2. Bundesliga’s top two so far this season and will hope to ruffle some feathers with an organised defence at one end and in-form target man Philipp Hofmann at the other.
Bayern Munich may be chasing a tenth successive Bundesliga title but they have won the DFB Pokal in just three of the last seven seasons, while Julian Nagelsmann was in charge of last season’s losing finalists.
The last thing they’d have wanted was a tough away game this early in the competition. Gladbach held Bayern at the Borussia Park on the opening day of the Bundesliga season and are one of just two sides Nagelsmann has failed to beat in 14 competitive matches as Bayern boss.
Gladbach do tend to raise their game in this fixture and have won three and lost just once the last five times Bayern have visited. Could die Föhlen blow the cup wide open?
Stuttgart and Köln are two of the most attack-minded sides in Germany. Both have the potential to be outsiders for the trophy this season but only one of them can make it to the third round.
Both have scored in seven of Stuttgart’s 10 games so far this season, while Köln have scored and conceded in nine of their 10 matches in all competitions.
This truly is one for the neutrals.