Bremer SV will aim to pull off the giant killing of all giant killings in the DFB-Pokal when they take on Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in Wednesday's first-round encounter.
The tie was originally scheduled for the first week of August, but a coronavirus cluster at the fifth-tier club forced the game to be postponed until the 25th.
Match preview
While every other DFB-Pokal first-round encounter was settled over two weeks ago, Bremer's COVID-19 outbreak has forced fans to wait for this blockbuster occasion, which will take place at the Weser-Stadion rather than the Stadion am Panzenberg.
However, Benjamin Eta's men have now returned to action in the Bremen-Liga- where they have lifted the crown 14 times down the years - and the reigning Bremen Cup champions kicked off their league season with a 3-1 success over Blumenthaler SV at the weekend.
After falling behind in the first half to Nuno Porquet's strike, a 13-minute flurry of goals in the second half saw Mahdi Matar, Oscar Garcia and Sebastian Kurkiewicz all net from the 77th minute onwards to propel their side to a hard-fought triumph.
Bremer booked their place in the first round of the DFB-Pokal after winning their eighth Bremen Cup title last term, but they have been knocked out at this stage in eight of their previous nine appearances in the competition, with the exception being a second-round exit to FC St. Pauli in the 1986-87 season.
© Reuters
The odds of avoiding yet another first-round exit are firmly stacked against the hosts, with Bayern seeking to establish their stronghold on this competition following their uncharacteristic failure to go all the way last term.
Following back-to-back DFB-Pokal wins in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, Hansi Flick's Bayern were shocked by Holstein Kiel in the second round last term, with Marc Roca missing his spot kick as the 2. Bundesliga pulled off a spectacular giant killing after a 2-2 draw.
Borussia Dortmund got their hands on the crown that year before falling to Bayern's superiority in the Super Cup, and after playing out a 1-1 draw with Borussia Monchengladbach on the opening day of the league season, Julian Nagelsmann's side were forced to do it the hard way to claim a 3-2 win over Koln on August 22.
A frantic 21 minutes saw Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry put Bayern two goals to the good before Mark Uth and Anthony Modeste pulled Koln level, but Gnabry proceeded to rifle in the winning goal in the 71st minute of the contest.
The most recent team to knock Bayern out of the DFB-Pokal in the first round was TSV Vestenbergsgreuth all the way back in the 1994-95 season - an infamous result in Bavarian folklore - but a Bremer victory on Wednesday would arguably be an even greater upset as Bayern seek a 21st title in Germany's premier cup tournament.
- W
- D
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Bremer employed a 4-2-3-1 formation for their league victory at the weekend, but Eta will certainly be tempted to field a back five in order to keep the scoreline as respectable as possible.
Garcia will hope to get the nod up top over Sebastien Kmiec after netting as a substitute at the weekend, while a shift to a back five could see Ikrami Olatunji introduced to the defence.
Bayern remain without French trio Kingsley Coman (hamstring), Benjamin Pavard (ankle) and Lucas Hernandez (knee) for Wednesday's game, while Roca's ankle issue is also expected to keep him sidelined for the time being.
However, Manuel Neuer was deemed fit enough to face Koln despite taking a knock to the ankle in the Super Cup, but Sven Ulreich ought to be given a run-out here.
Leroy Sane endured a torrid 45 minutes against Koln before being withdrawn for Jamal Musiala - whose impact was immediately felt - and the 18-year-old could join fellow prospects Malik Tillman and Chris Richards in the XI here.
Bremer SV possible starting lineup:
Seemann; Warm, Olatunji, Nobile, Waki, Orlick; Muszong, Arnhold, Matar; Diop, Garcia
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Ulreich; Stanisic, Nianzou, C. Richards, O. Richards; Tolisso, Kimmich; Gnabry, Musiala, Choupo-Moting; Tillman
We say: Bremer SV 0-4 Bayern Munich
A DFB-Pokal tie versus fifth-tier opposition gives Nagelsmann the chance to assess some of his teenage starlets from the first whistle, and the 20-time winners should have too much for Bremer no matter what team they put out.
The hosts will relish the opportunity to pit their wits against the best of the best, but any hopes of a giant killing are slim to none, despite Bayern's somewhat shaky start to the season.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bayern Munich win with a probability of 92.05%. A draw had a probability of 5.4% and a win for Bremer SV had a probability of 2.57%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bayern Munich win was 0-4 with a probability of 9.08%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-3 (8.5%) and 0-5 (7.76%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (2.15%), while for a Bremer SV win it was 2-1 (0.83%).
