Big favourites on the brink? These DFB-Pokal ties could see shocks

Year after year, some Bundesliga teams fail in the first round of the cup against lower-class teams. And if you're honest: It does bring a bit of joy – unless it's your own team that's affected.

Watch all the DFB-Pokal games in the Sky live stream on OneFootball. Each game is available as Pay-Per-View for €4.99 in our app.

Before the first round of the DFB-Pokal starts at 6 pm today, we took a look at where the favorites might have a hard time in the coming days.

It's going to be tough in Bielefeld. Arminia made it to the cup final last season and is almost invincible at home. Moreover, the guests from Bremen have often shown that they are always up for an early cup exit. Just two years ago, Werder was knocked out in round one against Viktoria Cologne (2:3). Last year, they were out in the quarterfinals – you can guess against whom.

The journey continues to Pirmasens. Here, the Oberliga team will face Hamburger SV on Saturday from 1 pm. After the Red Shorts finally managed to get promoted last season, it would be about time for the typical HSV chaos again. You should definitely tune in here.

On paper, this is a very clear matter, but if it wasn't, this game wouldn't deserve a place in this text. Illertissen is only a regional league team and a massive underdog, but Nürnberg started the season with two losses and hasn't found its form yet. Can they use the cup game for a turnaround or will they go into crisis mode?

Just like the game between Regensburg and Cologne. FC failed three years ago at Jahn in the first round of the cup. After a mediocre game, the Cologne team lost 5:6 after a penalty shootout. Hopefully, coach Lukas Kwasniok has practiced from the spot again.

Off to the highway to Essen. Here, a very special game is on the schedule. On Monday evening, RWE will face Borussia Dortmund at 8.45 pm. The fact that it's a derby alone implies a certain risk of slipping up. A quick goal from Rot-Weiß and more than 16,000 home fans at Hafenstraße backing them – BVB might start to tremble quickly.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

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