Competitive football is all set to resume in Germany as 1860 Munich will take on heavyweights Borussia Dortmund in the first round of the DFB Pokal on Friday. 1860 Munich are stuck in the third tier of German football for the fifth consecutive season. Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund have made some major splashes in the transfer market and will be desperate to end Bayern Munich’s dominance in the top tier which has lasted for well over a decade now.
The story of 1860 Munich makes for dismal reading. They were relegated from 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football, in 2017. Since then, they have failed to plot a return to the division and even though they finished fourth in the third tier over the last two seasons, they haven’t been able to push a few steps further.
In the previous season of the 3. Liga, Michael Kollner’s team finished just two points behind Kaiserslautern who ended the season in third place. As a result, the latter was able to qualify for the promotion play-off fixture where they defeated Dynamo Dresden 2-0 and replaced them in the second division.
1860 Munich have already beaten Dynamo Dresden 4-3 in their opening fixture last weekend and will be trying to push ahead with full steam from here on. Kollner will be hoping for another strong campaign where they can be within a realistic distance of promotion to the second tier. Successfully doing so will go a long way to restoring the prestige of a club with as much history and heritage as 1860 Munich.
1860 Munich also took on local side Rodelmaier in the Bavarian Cup on Tuesday as part of their early season preparations. They were ruthless in that encounter and put seven goals past the opposition without conceding any. However, Kollner will be well aware of the quality and caliber of the players he will be facing when they welcome the Black and Yellow side from Dortmund in the country’s capital for this DFB Pokal first-round encounter.
Massive upheavals in the summer transfer market aren’t actually a surprise when it comes to Borussia Dortmund after the pattern in recent years. This one has not been an exception either following the shocking sacking of Marco Rose, who has been replaced by new manager Edin Terzic.
Star striker Erling Haaland has left for Manchester City after months of bidding between the top European clubs. Pep Guardiola’s side won the race for the Norwegian number 9 after activating the 22-year-old’s release clause. Axel Witsel, Roman Burki and Dan Axel Zagadou have also left Dortmund on free transfers following the expiry of their contracts.
The club has signed Sebastien Haller and Karim Adeyemi in order to fill in the void left by Erling Haaland. With Haaland gone, the likes of Donyell Malen and Youssoufa Moukoko will also be expected to make a significant leap in first team dynamics. Nico Schlotterback and Niklas Sule have also arrived from German clubs in order to bolster the defence which looks pretty solid at this point. Dortmund have also signed Salih Ozcan, Marcel Lotka and Alexander Meyer and their total expenditure this summer has been around the tune of 80 million pounds.
Edin Terzic is extremely familiar with this competition. He guided Borussia Dortmund to win this competition as their interim manager during the 2020-21 season. With the new signings that Dortmund have made this summer, their top priority will be to close the gap to their domestic rivals Bayern Munich and come close to winning the league title.
Terzic will also have to ensure that his players don’t fall prey to complacency given that they are taking on a third division team. He will be asking for energy and hoping to get his players match fit and ready as the 2022/23 league campaign for Borussia Dortmund kicks off against Bayer Leverkusen next weekend.
M60 vs BVB, DFB Pokal 2022/23
Date: 30th July, 2022
Time: 12:15 AM IST
Venue: Grünwalder Stadion, Munich
FORM GUIDE:
1860 Munich form (all competitions):
- D-L-L-W-W-L
HEAD-TO-HEAD:
1860 Munich wins: 12
Draws: 10
Borussia Dortmund wins: 19
TEAM NEWS:
1860 Munich Team News:
1860 Munich are expected to miss a couple of their key attacking players in midfield Joseph Boyamba and Yannick Deichmann. Both are out injured and are not expected to be fit in time to feature in this clash.
This could see Quirin Moll slotting into the starting XI in order to replace Deichmann in midfield. Meanwhile, Kollner will be expected to retain the majority of the starting XI that annihilated and played Dynamo Dresden out of the park last weekend in order to help the team put their strong foot forward.
Borussia Dortmund Team News:
Borussia Dortmund have been handed a massive and drastic blow following updates from last week. New summer signing Sebastien Haller, who was expected to replace Erling Haaland, has tested positive for testicular cancer, which left the entire world of football quite dejected.
However, Dortmund’s sporting director Sebastian Kehl came out to state that the 28-year-old has already had a surgery which was ‘successful’ and this should see him returning to the pitch within a few months and that the player is making steady recovery.
This could prompt Edin Terzic to try club captain Marco Reus at the false nine position. The 33-year-old seems to be on his final legs but will have enough pace and power around him if he is flanked by Donyell Malen and Karim Adeyemi on either side. This will be Adeyemi’s competitive debut for the club after he arrived from RB Salzburg for 27 million pounds, in an operation similar to the one carried out a few years ago for Erling Haaland.
1860 Munich possible starting lineup:
Hiller; Morgalla, Belkahia, Verlaat; Tallig, Reider, Moll, Steinhart; Kobylanski, Lakenmacher, Lex
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Sule, Hummels, Schlotterbeck; Meunier, Dahoud, Bellingham, Guerreiro; Malen, Reus, Adeyemi
Predictions:
Despite the absence of Haller as well as Dortmund having to make do without a focal point in attack, they will have a strong upper hand when it comes to this encounter. The Black and Yellow side have reinforced themselves excellently during the summer transfer market, at least in terms of the profiles they needed to target and land.
Even though 1860 Munich are coming off the back of a resounding 7-0 victory, the gap in quality is just too huge to overcome. With the addition of Schlotterbeck and Adeyemi on either side of the pitch, Dortmund have enough resources in their arsenal to register a comfortable win. Anything else will be regarded as a major and disappointing upset.
M60 vs BVB Fantasy XI No. 1
M60 vs BVB Fantasy XI No. 2
