Viktoria Koln vs Werder Bremen

Cologne’s Sportpark Hohenberg is the venue as Viktoria Koln and Werder Bremen go head-to-head in the opening DFB-Pokal round.

Viktoria Koln’s 2023/24 3. Liga campaign got off to a flying start as they fought back from an early deficit to beat Verl 3-1 in last week’s curtain-raising fixture. That result contrasts the manner in which they finished the 2022/23 season, losing back-to-back league games by an aggregate score of 4-1. Olaf Jansen’s men will need to defy the odds to progress from this tie, but after only losing once in their last six outings (W4, D1), they ought to take the field in a buoyant mood. However, Viktoria Koln’s significant defensive issues threaten to derail their hopes of pulling off an upset here, having failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 14 competitive matches. If it’s any consolation, they only conceded more than once five times in that run.

On the other hand, Werder Bremen finished the previous Bundesliga campaign with a whimper rather than a bang, going winless in their final five league fixtures (D1, L4). But despite their woeful form at the tail-end of 2022/23, Ole Werner’s side still comfortably secured top-flight survival, courtesy of a decent-looking 13th-place finish. Inspired by Naby Keita’s arrival from Liverpool, Werder came flying out of the traps in pre-season, mustering three consecutive triumphs by an aggregate score of 10-4. However, the wheels have fallen off lately, with Werner’s men going winless in their last four outings (D3, L1) despite breaking the deadlock in two of the three scoring match-ups in this sequence. Nonetheless, a sizeable gulf in class should see Werder overcome Viktoria Koln in their first-ever duel without breaking a sweat.