Bayer Leverkusen has struggled at times in the DFB Cup recently, but that should be over. At BVB they try their hand at acrobatics. And Bayern are watching the rain radar – everything you need to know about Wednesday’s games in the second round of the DFB Cup.
Borussia Dortmund – TSG Hoffenheim (Wednesday, 6 p.m.):
There is still Hoffenheim ahead of Bayern – and that’s why they are currently practicing the balancing act at BVB. On Saturday evening (November 4th, 2023, from 6:30 p.m. in the audio live stream), Dortmund will face FC Bayern in the top game of the Bundesliga. There is no bigger game in German football. But a second round game like this in the DFB Cup is also important.
Both teams met twice in the cup, with BVB winning each time. However, they are unlikely to underestimate Hoffenheim in Dortmund. Coach Edin Terzic says: “We know how difficult the task that awaits us is. Now it’s about sharpening our senses again.”
SV Sandhausen – Bayer Leverkusen (Wednesday, 6 p.m.):
Recently, the DFB Cup was not necessarily Bayer Leverkusen’s preferred competition. In the summer of 2020, the club reached the final but lost to Bayern. Then things went downhill. In the last two seasons, Leverkusen were eliminated early and against lower-class teams: 2020/21 in the 2nd round against KSC, 22/23 in the 1st round against the then third division club Elversberg.
Now there should be a new seriousness in the cup, after all they would like to win something again in Leverkusen. In round two, Bayer will face second division team SV Sandhausen on Wednesday (November 1st, 2023, from 5:50 p.m. in the audio live stream). The coach Xabi Alonso says: “We have respect for Sandhausen, we have to play with high concentration and energy.”
SC Freiburg – SC Paderborn (Wednesday, 6 p.m.):
They will be warned in Paderborn, not only because Freiburg are already favored as the team higher in class on Wednesday (November 1st, 2023, from 5:50 p.m. in the audio live stream). You will have probably also heard about the Freiburg Cup scare at the SCP.
It’s like this: Christian Streich’s team’s appearance in the DFB Cup was rather inconspicuous for a long time, but that’s a thing of the past. In the last two seasons, Freiburg was at least in the semi-finals.
Holstein Kiel – 1. FC Magdeburg (Wednesday, 6 p.m.):
Away games in the DFB Cup are somehow unusual for Magdeburg. In the club’s history, the club has played 24 games in this competition, but only one not in its own stadium: In the first round, the FCM played against third division club Regensburg and progressed.
And now another away game awaits coach Christian Tietz’s team. On Wednesday (November 1st, 2023, from 5:50 p.m. in the audio live stream) Magdeburg will play at Holstein Kiel, and not for the first time this season. On matchday 3 of the 2nd Bundesliga, Magdeburg won 4-2 in the Holstein Stadium. Coach Tietz would certainly have no objection to a repeat.
1. FC Saarbrücken – Bayern Munich (Wednesday, 8:45 p.m.):
If the record champions meet a third division team, then it’s either preparation or the DFB Cup. This is about the latter, and that’s actually no reason for FC Bayern to worry, “Mia san Mia” and all that. But Bayern are still concerned about 1. FC Saarbrücken.
Most recently, a home game for Saarland in the 3rd league had to be canceled due to rain. That was only a few days ago, and the question now is what the rain radar says: Whether a football game can take place in Saarbrücken on Wednesday evening (November 1st, 2023, from 8:15 p.m. in the live stream and from 8:35 p.m. as a full audio report)?
A field inspection should take place the day before the game, but the decision could not be made until the day of the game. A cancellation would cause both teams to have deadlines – the round of 16 will take place at the beginning of December. And Bayern in particular will be in action so regularly by then that finding an alternative date would be complicated.
Hertha BSC – 1. FSV Mainz 05 (Wednesday, 8:45 p.m.):
A game like this against Hertha is exactly what they need in Mainz right now. Mainz haven’t lost any of their last eight competitive duels against Berlin. And in the DFB Cup, the Rheinhessen played against Hertha once and won. That was in the 1999/2000 season, and Mainz won after extra time, even though Jürgen Klopp, then an average defender and not yet a famous coach, had seen yellow and red.
1. FSV Mainz 05 is looking forward to the DFB Cup, it is a welcome change from everyday life in the Bundesliga. It’s been pretty frustrating for the club lately. Bo Svensson’s team is still without a win in the Bundesliga. And the hope of everyone in Mainz is now that the sporting turnaround will be successful in the cup on Wednesday (November 1st, 2023, from 8:35 p.m. in the audio live stream). Coach Svensson says: “That feeling of sitting in the dressing room afterwards with a win can give us a lot.”
1. FC Nuremberg – Hansa Rostock (Wednesday, 8:45 p.m.):
Away games in Nuremberg are not a Rostock specialty. The last time Hansa won a game at the club was in 2003, both were playing in the Bundesliga and Rade Prica scored the winning goal. He was one of six Swedes in Rostock’s starting eleven. Those were the times.
Nuremberg and Rostock have already met this season. On the first matchday of the 2nd Bundesliga, Hansa welcomed Nuremberg and won 2-0; Svante Ingelsson and Nils Fröhling, two Swedes, also played. A good omen for the trip to Franconia in the DFB Cup on Wednesday (November 1st, 2023, from 8:35 p.m. in the audio live stream)?
Viktoria Cologne – Eintracht Frankfurt (Wednesday, 8:45 p.m.):
On paper it is of course a clear matter when the third division team Viktoria Köln welcomes the first division team Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB Cup on Wednesday (November 1st, 2023, from 8:35 p.m. in the audio live stream). But that was how it was before the first round, when Viktoria played against Bremen and actually won.
Eintracht’s coach is Dino Toppmöller, and he also seems to remember Cologne’s performance against Bremen. In any case, Toppmöller has just issued a pretty clear warning. He said his games shouldn’t underestimate Viktoria Köln. The game will be one “absolute challenge”.