Wednesdays Pokal Preview: Bundesliga Sides Face Off In Second Round

frontzeck 345 Wednesdays Pokal Preview: Bundesliga Sides Face Off In Second Round

Michael Bradleys Evil Twin: Michael Frontzeck.

While Tuesdays matches featured quite a few David vs. Goliath no-contests, Wednesdays games promise to be a lot more competitive. The second round pits quite a few Bundesliga teams against eachother, and none of them want to be the amongst the first sides knocked out. A successful cup run pleases the fans, and a piece of silverware more winnable than the Bundesliga itself means every team will always try to be at their competitive best, no matter who the opposition is.

Eintracht Frankfurt v Hamburg SV

This is a tasty tie. Both sides have been on good form of late, and this game could well go down to the wire. Theofanis Gekas will still be the dangerman for the home side, but he will be well marshalled by Hamburg duo Joris Mathijsen and Heiko Westermann in the center of defense. For Hamburg, scoring goals in abundance has been a real issue. Theyve only scored more than two goals in a match once this season, and ironically enough that was away to Frankfurt on August 28th. If that game is anything to go by, Frankfurt could be in trouble here. Also, Frankfurt have been very poor at home this season, securing just four points from a possible twelve at the Commerzbank Arena. Ruud van Nistelrooy scored in this fixture in August, and Armin Veh will be looking to the Dutchman to lead the line and take the game to the hosts. Ill be very surprised if Frankfurt get the result here!

Alemannia Aachen v Mainz

Aachen occupy 9th place in the second division, and should provide little threat to Bundesliga table-toppers Mainz. Thomas Tuchels side roared back from their first defeat of the season to topple Bayer Leverkusen at the BayArena, and theyll be confident of their chances he! re. A bi g win will boost morale, and give Mainz that extra bit of confidence ahead of an extremely vital clash against Borussia Dortmund on the weekend.

TSG Hoffenheim v FC Ingolstadt 04

Ingolstadt are rubbish. Sorry, but they are. They currently sit second bottom of the second division, and I dont think theyll have any chance at all against a very attack-minded Hoffenheim side. Gylfi Sigurdsson will likely start for the hosts, and the little Icelandic playmaker will be given full license to rip the opposition to shreds. I cant see this ending very well for the second division minnows. There could be a thrashing in the works here! The visitors will try to sit deep and absorb the pressure, but itll only be a matter of time before Hoffenheim show their class and work their opponents all over the pitch.

Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen

This is a big one! Gladbach have been woeful of late, and have the worst defensive record in the Bundesliga by a mile already this season, conceding a whopping 27 goals in just nine matches. This could be over by half-time. Leverkusen will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing one-nil home defeat to Mainz, and theres no other side theyd rather play against right now than Gladbach. Weve already seen two managers lose their heads this season, and Michael Frontzeck could be the third if things go horriby wrong for his side tomorrow night.

Chemnitzer FC v VfB Stuttgart

Chemnitzer are a fourth division side, and Stuttgart are beginning to find some form. No contest!

SV 07 Elversberg v Nurnberg

While Elversberg are also a fourth division side, they did pull off a huge upset in the first round when they knocked Hannover 96 out of the competition on penalty kicks. For that reason, they cant be overlooked. Theyll sit back all day if they have to, because theyll fancy themselves on penalties against Nurnberg after beating a side a lot better than Nurnberg at t! he same game. This could be an iffy one if the visitors dont get the job done and kill this side off early.

Kickers Offenbach v Borussia Dortmund

Wolfgang Wolfs (yes, its a real name) Kickers Offenbach side have been on decent form as of late domestically, but, domestically, they do play in the German third division, so you cant really take form into consideration here. Theyll have very little chance, if any chance at all, but theyll be up for it at home.



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