Fortuna Dusseldorf will head to fellow 2. Bundesliga outfit Magdeburg in the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday evening, with a position in the quarter-finals of the competition on offer.
The home side will enter the contest off the back of a 4-1 win over Kaiserslautern in the league on Saturday, while Fortuna were 5-0 winners over Nuremberg in an excellent away performance.
Match preview
Magdeburg made a disappointing start to November, losing successive league matches to Hamburger SV and Hansa Rostock, but they have won their last two against Osnabruck and Kaiserslautern.
A record of five wins, four draws and six defeats from 15 matches this season has left them in 12th position in the 2. Bundesliga table, but their attention has now switched to the German Cup, with a position in the quarter-finals of the competition on offer in this contest.
Christian Titz's side have won twice to progress to the round of 16, overcoming Jahn Regensburg in the middle of August before beating Holstein Kiel on penalties at the start of November.
Der Club actually famously won the European Cup Winners' Cup back in 1974, overcoming AC Milan in the final, but they are seeking their first trophy in the DFB-Pokal.
Magdeburg have only won one of their last five home games in all competitions, and they will be welcoming a Fortuna side that have impressed this season.
Indeed, the visitors are currently fourth in the 2. Bundesliga table, boasting a record of eight wins, three draws and four defeats from their 15 matches, which has seen them collect 27 points.
Fortuna are only four points off leaders St Pauli and will enter this contest off the back of a 5-0 victory over Nuremberg, which followed a 5-3 success over Schalke 04, with Daniel Thioune's side full of goals at this moment in time.
Fortunen have won this competition on two previous occasions, lifting the trophy in 1979 and 1980, while they have been the runners-up on a further five occasions.
Thioune's team have also had to win twice to advance to the last-16 stage of this season's DFB-Pokal, beating Illertissen 3-1 in the middle of August before recording a 6-3 victory over Unterhaching at the end of October, and they have been victorious in four of their last five matches in this tournament.
Team News
Magdeburg have a relatively lengthy injury list at this stage of the season, with five players on the sidelines.
Jason Ceka, Eldin Dzogovic, Julian Pollersbeck, Jean Hugonet and Mo El Hankouri remain unavailable for selection, while Jan-Luca Schuler is a doubt, as he was replaced after entering as a substitute in the league success over Kaiserslautern on Saturday.
Luc Castaignos has scored four times this season, and the 31-year-old is expected to feature in an attacking area, while there should also be a spot in the XI for Baris Atik.
As for Fortuna, Marcel Sobottka is unlikely to be back until the start of 2024 due to a troublesome hip problem.
Meanwhile, Matthias Zimmermann and Andre Hoffmann will also be missing for the visitors due to ankle and shoulder problems respectively.
Jona Niemiec's goal off the bench against Nuremberg could see him come into the starting side for this match, while Vincent Vermeij, who has eight goals to his name this term, should lead the line.
Magdeburg possible starting lineup:
Reimann; Piccini, Elfadli, Heber; Bockhorn, Gnaka, Conde, Bell Bell; Amaechi, Castaignos, Atik
Fortuna Dusseldorf possible starting lineup:
Kastenmeier; Iyoha, Siebert, De Wijs, Gavory; Tanka, Engelhardt; Appelkamp, Johannesson, Niemiec; Vermeij
We say: Magdeburg 1-2 Fortuna Dusseldorf
Both sides will fancy their chances of progressing from this match, but Magdeburg's recent home form has been slightly disappointing, and we are expecting Fortuna to edge a close match in order to progress to the quarter-finals of the competition.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
