Eintracht Braunschweig vs VfB Stuttgart: DFB-Pokal preview, team news & predicted lineups | OneFootball

Coming off a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Karlsruher SC, 2. Bundesliga side Eintracht Braunschweig will be hoping to cause an upset when they host reigning DFB-Pokal champions VfB Stuttgart in the first round of the German cup at Eintracht-Stadion on Tuesday evening.

“We have the underdog role, and you can feel comfortable in that,” said Braunschweig coach Heiner Backhaus at his pre-match press conference.

“We are playing against national team players and against guys who are close to moves to FC Bayern or other top European clubs. What’s better for motivation than that?”

It’s safe to say Stuttgart haven’t had the most ideal build-up to the game, as a 1-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Supercup was followed by a 2-1 defeat to Union Berlin in their Bundesliga opener at the weekend.

The reigning DFB-Pokal champions will be eager to return to winning ways on Tuesday, but their injury woes present a challenge, with both starting centre-backs Luca Jaquez and Jeff Chabot ruled out.

Jaquez suffered a broken nose against Union Berlin, while Chabot is struggling with adductor problems.

“We’ve been faced with an issue after the weekend, and we’ll make the best of it. Ramon Hendriks and Finn Jeltsch will start, and Dan-Axel Zagadou will also be part of the squad,” Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeneß said on Monday regarding how he plans to cope with the defensive absences.

Additional Stuttgart players unavailable include Leonidas Stergiou, Silas Katompa Mvumpa, Ameen Al-Dakhil and Justin Diehl.

For Braunschweig, Frederik Jäkel, Elhan Kastrati, Robin Krauße, Sidney Raebiger and Lino Tempelmann are out.

Click here to see our predicted Eintracht Braunschweig vs VfB Stuttgart lineups.