Matchday in focus: 1. FC Saarbrücken | OneFootball

1. FC Saarbrücken, led by captain Manuel Zeitz, have already knocked out two teams from higher divisions this season.

Tactics

Saarbrücken produced the upset of the current DFB Cup campaign in the last round when they won 2-1 to knock out Bayern Munich. With their passionate fans, the third-tier side transformed their Ludwigsparkstadion into a cauldron, left-back Marcel Gaus scoring the winner in stoppage time. Head coach Rüdiger Ziehl usually sends his side out in a 3-1-4-2 formation, although against Eintracht he could revert to the 5-4-1 system he used against Bayern. “It’s up to us to make it unpleasant for them and to prevent them playing to their limit,” said Ziehl ahead of the encounter.

Absentees

Saarbrücken will be without strikers Patrick Schmidt and Sebastian Jacob, who are both carrying injuries. For Frankfurt, Sebastian Rode, Ellyes Skhiri and Timothy Chandler are all sidelined with injury. Kristijan Jakic is a doubt with a calf complaint.

One to watch: Manuel Zeitz

33-year-old Manuel Zeitz has played in 357 games for Saarbrücken, making him the club’s all-time record appearance holder.

Statistics

The teams have previously met three times in the DFB Cup. After a draw in 1990/91, Eintracht won the replay 3-2. Frankfurt also triumphed 2-1 in 1995/96.

The Eagles are in the round of 16 of the competition for the fifth time since 2016/17. Only Borussia Dortmund (eight) and VfL Wolfsburg (six) have featured more often at this stage over the same period.