Third division side Saarbrucken will be attempting to pull off one of the greatest upsets in DFB-Pokal history when they host Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

The visitors have won Germany's domestic cup a record 20 times in their illustrious history, although they have not lifted it since 2019-20.

Match preview

Saarbrucken, of course, created history themselves in that same season by becoming the first ever fourth division side to reach the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal.

Although Die Molschder benefitted from a relatively kind route during that astonishing run to the final four, they still had to defeat two Bundesliga opponents at the time in the form of FC Koln and Fortuna Dusseldorf, before eventually falling to a 3-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.

That was a particularly memorable campaign for Saarbrucken's fanbase as they achieved promotion back to the third tier, too, where they have remained ever since with two fifth-placed finishes and a seventh-placed result sandwiched in between.

This time around, Rudiger Ziehl's side find themselves a little lower in the table in 15th position, although they do possess two games in hand on every team above them except Dynamo Dresden, who they had a match abandoned against on Sunday due to adverse weather conditions.

While Ziehl and his players could therefore be a little fresher against the Bavarians in midweek, they will know that their chances of avoiding defeat against such a juggernaut are minimal, even if they have recent experience of upsetting teams competing at a much higher level than them.

After all, Bayern were defeated on penalties by second tier side Holstein Kiel only three seasons ago, so upsets can happen to them. However, Thomas Tuchel's side are playing at a very high level at the moment and can call upon greater squad depth than any other side in Germany.

Despite losing Joshua Kimmich to a red card in just the fourth minute against SV Darmstadt 98 on Saturday, the Bavarians ran out emphatic 8-0 winners at the Allianz Arena, with Darmstadt reduced to nine men themselves due to Klaus Gjasula and Matej Maglica both being given their marching orders prior to half time.

All eight goals came after the break during a remarkable period of dominance for Bayern, with Harry Kane extending his tally to 14 goals in 13 games since joining his new club by scoring a hat-trick. A remarkable goal from inside his own half - reminiscent of David Beckham's famous wonder strike against Wimbledon in 1996 - helped the England striker claim the match ball.

Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala continued their own excellent form by scoring braces themselves, while club legends Thomas Muller and Manuel Neuer marked their returns from injury with a goal and clean sheet respectively, suggesting that the club is in strong shape to hunt down league leaders Leverkusen across the coming weeks.

While retaining the Bundesliga and reclaiming the Champions League will clearly be Tuchel's priorities this season, the former Borussia Dortmund manager will be keen to add another DFB-Pokal to his own managerial resume, while helping Bayern end a mini-drought in terms of lifting Germany's domestic cup by their own exceptionally high standards.

Team News

Given that Saarbrucken did not even complete their first half against Dynamo on Sunday, Ziehl could ask the same starting XI to go again at Ludwigsparkstadion against Bayern.

The 46-year-old will not be able to call upon the services of Richard Neudecker or Patrick Schmidt, who remain sidelined by long-term abductor and leg injuries respectively.

Bayern, on the other hand, will almost certainly make significant changes to their team given that the DFB-Pokal is the lowest priority of their three competitions.

Sven Ulreich will likely return between the posts in order to give Neuer a breather after the Germany stopper finally returned from a leg break, while Muller, Mathys Tel and Eric Choupo-Moting will expect to come into the visitors' attacking unit after being used from the bench against Darmstadt.

However, Kingsley Coman, Dayot Upamecano, Raphael Guerreiro, Tarek Buchmann and Gabriel Marusic will all miss out on the trip due to injury, while Kimmich's suspension and Leon Goretzka's broken wrist means that Tuchel has solutions to fix within his side's engine room.

Saarbrucken possible starting lineup:
Schreiber; Boeder, Thoelke, Zeitz, Uaferro, Gaus; Civeja, Sontheimer, Rabihic; Na'ifi, Brunker

Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Ulreich; Sarr, De Ligt, Kim, Kratzig; Laimer, Pavlovic; Muller, Musiala Choupo-Moting; Tel

We say: Saarbrucken 0-3 Bayern Munich

Bayern's extensive list of unavailable players could ensure that Saarbrucken avoid the indignity of being thrashed inside their own stadium, but the visitors should still have far too much quality for their third division opponents to be able to handle.

Tuchel will likely build around a strong defensive base of Matthijs de Ligt and Kim Min-jae while rotating wherever else he feels that he is able to do so, with the likes of Tel and Choupo-Moting always keen to impress when they receive rare starting opportunities.

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