Saarbrucken will host Borussia Monchengladbach in the quarter finals of the DFB-Pokal Cup. Due to the wet surface, the match was originally set for February 7 in the German Cup quarterfinals. It had to be postponed just before kickoff and rescheduled for March 12.
Preview (Saarbrucken vs. Borussia Monchengladbach)
3. Liga ensemble This season’s DFB Pokal giant-killers, Saarbrucken, have already eliminated top-tier teams Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt in consecutive rounds. After eliminating Bayern Munich in the second round, Rudiger Ziehl’s team pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament, winning in the last minute of extra time. In the round of 16, Frankfurt was the next team to play. They did them proud with goals from Kai Brunker and Luca Kerber in the second half. Saarbrucken has won both of these games at the Ludwigsparkstadion, their home field. Now, they welcome another Bundesliga team in an attempt to extend their incredible run.
They have made deep runs in the DFB-Pokal before in recent years. They defeated Fortuna Dusseldorf to become the first fourth-division team to advance to the semifinals in 2020, although they were eliminated by Bayer Leverkusen shortly before the championship game. Ziehl’s team has only lost one competitive match since eliminating Frankfurt, defeating Erzgebirge Aue 2-0 in their most recent match. Despite playing fewer games, they are currently eighth in the 3. Liga is 11 points behind leaders Jahn Regensburg.
The Saarland-based team hopes to make it to the German Cup semi-final for the fourth time in their history, and they’ll be hoping to maintain their winning streak while going on yet another giant-slaying expedition. Borussia Monchengladbach is aware that Bayer Leverkusen is the only team from the top tier still in the German Cup tournament this year, leaving plenty of room for competition. So when the trophy is raised in May, the three-time victors will be looking to build on their most recent victory, which occurred back in 1995.
Team News
Due to injuries of varied degrees, Patrick Schmidt, Sebastian Jacob, Richard Neudecker, and Bone Uaferro will not be available for the hosts. With 10 league goals this season and two in the DFB-Pokal, Brunker is the team’s top scorer. He will likely start up front with Julius Biada at Ludwigsparkstadion. Due to foot and ankle ailments, respectively, Thomas Cvancara and Alesane Plea will not be available for Gladbach.
In the tie with Cologne last weekend, Robin Hack scored twice in two minutes after coming off the bench. On Tuesday, he will be vying for a starting spot in the attacking lineup. Jordan Pefok ought to lead the attack from the front, with Franck Honorat providing coverage from the right.
Saarbrucken 2-1 Borussia Monchengladbach
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