Two of Germany's in-form teams will go head-to-head in the DFB-Pokal when Borussia Dortmund host Hoffenheim on Wednesday.
Hoffenheim have failed to reach the last eight since losing to Dortmund in the 2014-15 campaign, while Dortmund last won this competition in 2021.
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Indeed, Dortmund's fifth DFB-Pokal triumph came under the tutelage of Edin Terzic, who was acting as interim manager when guiding his team to an exceptional 4-1 victory against RB Leipzig in the final in May 2021.
Of course, Terzic has long since returned to the club as permanent head coach, almost helping BVB claim their first Bundesliga title in over a decade before falling short on the final day of last season. Despite being held 3-3 by Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday, Dortmund appear capable of challenging for top honours once again.
That will certainly apply to Germany's domestic cup, which has been won by Leipzig in each of the last two years since Die Roten Bullen were defeated by Terzic's side in that aforementioned final. In fact, Leipzig have reached four of the last five finals, suggesting that there is no reason Dortmund cannot reach a similar level of consistency with a little bit of luck on their side.
Having won six matches in a row against Hoffenheim, Terzic and his players would not have been too disappointed to see their name come out of the hat against them - particularly with home advantage at Westfalenstadion on their side - but they will also recognise the improving form of their opponents in recent weeks.
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After all, despite finishing 12th in the end last season, Hoffenheim were fighting against relegation for almost the entire campaign last time out. However, Pellegrino Matarazzo eventually guided them to safety after taking charge in February, extending Die Kraichgauer's 15-year stay in the Bundesliga in the process.
Since qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in the club's history on back-to-back occasions by finishing fourth and third in 2016-17 and 2017-18 respectively, recent years have not been as kind to Hoffenheim, as they have finished ninth or below in four of the five ensuing campaigns.
However, their impressive 3-2 win away to high-flying Stuttgart - who Matarazzo previously managed - on Saturday helped them open up a four-point gap in sixth ahead of Frankfurt, suggesting that they should be aiming to finish in a European qualification position having seemingly turned things around.
Despite competing in the Bundesliga since 2007, Hoffenheim have never advanced beyond the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal, having lost at that stage on seven separate occasions in their history. As such, if Matarazzo and his players could achieve an unlikely result in Dortmund on Wednesday, they will begin dreaming of a historic cup run.
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With Dortmund competing in the Champions League while trying to keep pace at the top of the Bundesliga, Terzic will almost certainly make some changes for this cup tie, with the likes of Youssoufa Moukoko, Julian Brandt, Niklas Sule and Karim Adeyemi expected to start after appearing from the bench against Frankfurt.
Likewise, Sebastien Haller, Thomas Meunier, Julian Ryerson and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens were all unused substitutes during their side's 3-3 draw, and are therefore in need of gaining some match fitness.
Mats Hummels and Gregor Kobel will not be risked having been replaced against Frankfurt due to calf and facial injuries respectively, while Felix Nmecha, Emre Can, Julien Duranville and Mateu Morey all remain sidelined for the hosts.
Hoffenheim's lack of European competition involvement this season may allow Matarazzo to name a stronger team, as attempts to fix their rotten record in the DFB-Pokal in recent years.
However, not too dissimilarly to their forthcoming opponents, Hoffenheim have a litany of injury problems at present, with Pavel Kaderabek, Florian Grillitsch, Marco John, Ozan Kabak, Andrej Kramaric, Stanley Nsoki, Bambase Conte and Dennis Geiger all expected to miss out on the trip in midweek.
Attila Szalai will almost certainly be handed a chance to impress in the visitors' defence having struggled since his move from Fenerbahce during the summer transfer window, while Ihlas Bebou could start alongside Wout Weghorst in attack.
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Meyer; Meunier, Sule, Schlotterbeck, Ryerson; Ozcan, Brandt; Bynoe-Gittens, Adeyemi; Haller, Moukoko
Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Baumann; Akpoguma, Adams Szalai; Bebou, Stach, Samassekou, Becker, Bulter; Weghorst, Berisha
We say: Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Hoffenheim
Both sides are likely to make plenty of changes given that they are performing strongly in the Bundesliga, with both managers also dealing with a significant amount of injuries at the moment.
Dortmund clearly have greater squad depth to call upon, and we expect this to help them continue their excellent record against Hoffenheim in recent years, with the visitors woes in the DFB-Pokal set to continue.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Brett Curtis
