Who can hope for a surprise in the DFB Cup?

As of: October 27, 2025 6:49 a.m

In the second round of the DFB Cup, the lower-class teams are hoping for surprises. Karlsruhe, Bochum, Illertissen and Bielefeld in particular have chances.

Borussia Mönchengladbach – Karlsruher SC (Tuesday, 8:45 p.m.)

Borussia Mönchengladbach is still without a win in the Bundesliga and is therefore bottom of the table. Even under the new coach Eugen Polanski there has been no success, most recently there was a 3-0 defeat against Bayern Munich. It’s understandable that Karlsruher SC has high hopes of surviving the second round of the DFB Cup.

At the weekend, the Baden team celebrated a 4-1 win at SpVgg Greuther Fürth, which meant they climbed to seventh place in the table.

“We have nothing to lose in Gladbach. We are the underdog”says coach Christian Eichner: “But: We want to advance one round, we want to create a surprise.” The fans see it that way too. The guest block is sold out. 5,233 Karlsruhe residents will be at Borussia Park – at least.

FC Augsburg – VfL Bochum (Tuesday, 8.45 p.m.)

VfL Bochum is second to last in the 2nd Bundesliga, but things are looking up under new coach Uwe Rösler. Because the team is still undefeated.

The cup is now against an opponent who lost 6-0 to RB Leipzig at the weekend after a desolate performance. Things are anything but smooth under the new coach Sandro Wagner, Augsburg has slipped to 15th place in the Bundesliga.

“They are very physical and, especially at home, very uncomfortable to play against. Nevertheless, we see our chances. I believe that we have shown an upward trend under Uwe Rösler in the last few weeks. We want to continue that“, says goalkeeper Timo Horn: “We are the underdogs. Augsburg has to, we can. That’s how we approach the game. Liberated, and we want to cause a surprise.”

FV Illertissen – 1. FC Magdeburg (Wednesday, 6 p.m.)

Even though there was a 2-0 win against Preußen Münster on Sunday – 1. FC Magdeburg is last in the 2nd Bundesliga. The pressure to win against the last remaining regional league team, FV Illertissen, is immense.

And he has high hopes of knocking the second division team out of the competition after 1. FC Nürnberg in round one.

The fifth-placed team in the Regionalliga Bayern clinched a 4-3 win at Bayern Munich II at the weekend, playing the last 25 minutes outnumbered. “We were deservedly rewarded for the huge effort. That should give a boost for the cup game against Magdeburg”says trainer Holger Bachthaler.

Illertissen really wanted to play against Magdeburg at home in the Vöhlinstadion – even if the effort is huge due to the strict requirements of the DFB and strict security requirements. Among other things, a mobile floodlight system must be installed.

Union Berlin – Arminia Bielefeld (Wednesday, 8.45 p.m.)

Union Berlin only has bad memories of Arminia Bielefeld. Last season the “Irons” failed in the second round of the cup against the Arminen (0:2). In the end they even made it to the final in Berlin, which was then lost to VfB Stuttgart. It’s clear that Union is now hoping for revenge. However, the Bielefeld team lived up to their reputation as cup terrors again in the current season and threw out another Bundesliga team, Werder Bremen, in the first round.

And Bielefeld comes to Berlin with a big chest. At the weekend, the team knocked SV Elversberg off the top of the table with a 2-0 win and climbed to ninth place.

The Arminen switched to cup mode. “We approached the game like a cup game. The entire team played very disciplined. Nobody got nervous, we switched quickly and accepted the duels. You could see that we had found our rhythm again.”says Captain Mael Corboz.

Elversberg coach Vincent Wagner also saw this cup mode in the opponent. He saw a very deep Bielefeld block and an aggressive switching. “Playing that is the supreme discipline”he says.

Energie Cottbus – RB Leipzig (Tuesday, 8.45 p.m.)

It’s a little heavier on energy Cottbus, because the opponent is RB Leipzig. The team is Bayern’s number one hunter, warmed up with a 6-0 win in Augsburg at the weekend and is unbeaten in the Bundesliga for seven games.

Cottbus, for its part, is at the top of the 3rd league, has already scored a whopping 30 goals this season and is in the Beat the second division team Hannover 96 in the first round of the cup.

Against Leipzig, the Lausitzers are aware of their outsider role, but are defiant. “Leipzig won’t win here so easily. They can say whatever they want. It will be a fight”says trainer Claus-Dieter Wollitz. “When you see what kind of players are playing there, it’s already on the top shelf”says defender Henry Rorig: “But they all drop their pants in the toilet. That’s why we don’t stress.”

The fans are also looking forward to it. The game has been sold out for weeks and around 20,000 spectators will be there.

SC Paderborn – Bayer Leverkusen (Wednesday, 6 p.m.)

Six wins in a row, that means a club record, plus second place in the table. SC Paderborn is going into the cup duel with Bayer Leverkusen with a big chest. “If it works, it works. The momentum is ours”says Paderborn coach Ralf Kettemann. And of course he hopes that things go well against Leverkusen too.

The opponent has However, in the Bundesliga itself a run. Leverkusen is still unbeaten in the league under new coach Kasper Hjulmand.

VfL Wolfsburg – Holstein Kiel (Tuesday, 6.30 p.m.)

Just in time for the cup duel against Holstein Kiel, VfL Wolfsburg has one
Victory at Hamburger SV ended a series of defeats and increased the gap to the relegation zone.

Nevertheless, the “Wolves” as twelfth in the table are lagging behind their own expectations, as they see themselves as European Cup candidates.

Can Kiel use this? SV Holstein is currently only tenth in the second division and has not won a three-pointer for four games. At the moment it doesn’t look like a direct resurgence, nor does it look like a cup surprise.

Fortuna Düsseldorf – SC Freiburg (Wednesday, 8:45 p.m.)

Fortuna Düsseldorf is in crisis. The new coach Markus beginning started with two defeats and will probably have to put aside his goal for the season, namely to play for promotion.

Before the cup game against SC Freiburg, Fortuna is therefore a clear outsider. “But it’s good for the head when the next game comes on Wednesday. We can win a lot there.”at the beginning takes refuge in slogans of perseverance. And goalkeeper Florian Kastenmeier tried empty phrases: “Of course it’s a Bundesliga team, but it’s a cup and it has its own rules.”