Third-tier VfL Osnabruck host Freiburg in the first round of the DFB-Pokal at Bremer Brucke on Saturday.
The hosts, who were relegated from the second division last term, are underdogs against the Bundesliga outfit and are not helped by an underwhelming start to their season.
Match preview
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After being deemed unworthy of a second-tier position in Germany, Osnabruck hoped for a smoother start to life in the third tier, only for losses to Sandhausen (1-0) and Aue (2-0) to keep them winless.
Last season's Bundesliga 2's bottom club are yet to score in league action heading into this season's first-round match in the domestic cup and face an uphill task against the 2022 runners-up.
Even though the Purple-Whites have retained faith in Uwe Koschinat for the 2024-25 campaign, that is yet to bear fruit heading into Saturday's fixture, with the Lower Saxony side currently bottom of the third tier after two games.
While there is time to undo a wretched start to the 24-25 season, the DFB-Pokal presents an opportunity to forget their league worries for the time being and throw everything they can into stunning their visitors from Baden-Wurttemberg.
To do that, the hosts must overcome their goal-shy start to the new campaign, which has seen them fail to score in both league losses before facing Freiburg.
The Bundesliga side are entering a new era after bidding farewell to long-time boss Christian Streich and appointing former player Julian Schuster.
The retired midfielder steps into his first managerial role with a club he spent 11 years at before his 2018 retirement.
Schuster leads the team out as head coach just over a year after securing his topmost coaching licence, keen to get off to a good start before league action begins at home to Stuttgart on August 24.
The 39-year-old's side's pre-season action was goal-laden, with a trio of 2-2 draws in the off-season perhaps promising exciting matches under the new regime.
While it remains to be seen if it continues into competitive matches, Freiburg will hope they are on the positive side of Saturday's Pokal outcome after a glut of friendly draws.
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Team News
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Lars Kehl (bone) and Emeka Oduah (back) are the only reported absentees for the hosts against Freiburg.
Koschinat has utilised a 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 in both league games this term, and the Osnabruck boss is anticipated to opt for the latter against a top-flight team.
Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu is absent for the Bundesliga side, meaning Florian Muller should fill in between the sticks on Schuster's managerial bow.
Vincenzo Grifo was the Breisgau Brazilians' top goalscorer last season, and the versatile Italian could be the away side's difference-maker on Saturday.
VfL Osnabruck possible starting lineup:
Richter; Ajdini, Gyamfi, Beermann, Wiemann; Gnaase, Amoako, Tesche; Niehoff, Zwarts, Wulff
Freiburg possible starting lineup:
Muller; Yilmaz, Rosenfelder, Lienhart, Gunter; Osterhage, Eggestein; Doan, Rohl, Grifo; Adamu
We say: VfL Osnabruck 1-3 Freiburg
While Osnabruck have struggled for goals in competitive matches, Freiburg's leaky pre-season rearguard should gift the third-tier side a goal on Saturday. However, the Bundesliga outfit are not expected to suffer a first-round exit, and we are backing them to notch a victory in Lower Saxony.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
