Borussia Dortmund vs. Paderborn: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info
Borussia Dortmund host SC Paderborn in the second round of the DFB-Pokal on Wednesday.
The visitors were relegated at the end of their first-ever top-flight campaign in May and currently sit in 13th place in Germany's second division. Earlier this month, Paderborn installed Bundesliga legend Stefan Effenberg as their new head coach.
It's the first coaching job for the former Borussia Monchengladbach, Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg player. His appointment was met with a lot of glee, because Effenberg was a regular in the gossip columns of Germany's tabloid press with numerous personal escapades, rather than making headlines in the footballing world.
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The early returns, however, are no laughing matter, as Paderborn have won both games with Effenberg in charge, having yet to concede.
In the first round of the cup, Paderborn edged out a 2-1 at Regionalliga (fourth division) side VfB Lubeck.
Dortmund, meanwhile, are coming off three straight wins, with a 5-1 thrashing of Augsburg on Sunday as a sign of rediscovered form after a somewhat underwhelming spell of games.
The black and yellows have reached the DFB-Pokal final three times since the 2011/12 season, winning in 2012 but losing each of the last two years to Munich and Wolfsburg, respectively.
In the first round, Dortmund won at Chemnitzer FC, 2-0, without too much difficulty. Dortmund haven't lost to a side outside of the Bundesliga in five years. Back in 2010, they failed to beat Kickers Offenbach in a penalty shootout in the second round.
In the Bundesliga last year, Dortmund won the home game against Paderborn, 3-0. It was the first game after Jurgen Klopp announced his decision to leave the club at the end of the year.
Date: Wednesday, October 28
Time: 6 p.m. GMT/2 p.m. ET/7 p.m. local time
Venue: Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund
TV Info: BT Sport 2 (UK only)
Live Stream: BT Sport Online (UK only)
| Dortmund | Paderborn |
| Salonika: Draw | Furth: Loss |
| Munich: Loss | St. Pauli: Draw |
| Mainz: Win | Duisburg: Loss |
| Qabala: Win | Braunschweig: Win |
| Augsburg: Win | Union Berlin: Win |
Predicted Lineups
Dortmund
Weidenfeller; Piszczek, Papastathopoulos, Hummels, Schmelzer; Weigl; Castro, Gundogan, Kagawa, Reus; Aubameyang
The expectation is that Roman Weidenfeller will replace Roman Burki, like he does in Europa League matches. Some rotation seems likely, with Lukasz Piszczek the most obvious candidate in defence alongside Neven Subotic, who could play for either Sokratis Papastathopoulos—who has extended his contract until 2019 (via ESPN FC)—or Mats Hummels.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan is questionable for the game, with stiffness in his thigh muscle. Gonzalo Castro impressed in his spot on Sunday and could be preferred to Jonas Hofmann and Adnan Januzaj.
Paderborn
Kruse; Heinloth, Wahl, Hoheneder, Bruckner; Bakalorz, Wydra; Koc, Saglik, Stoppelkamp; Proschwitz
Effenberg started the same XI in both games, with Hauke Wahl the only exception. The 21-year-old centre-back replaced Florian Hartherz against Union Berlin, which saw Daniel Bruckner start in his regular spot at left-back after he struggled a bit playing in the middle of defence for the first time in his career against Braunschweig.
Paderborn miss Oliver Kirch, who moved from Dortmund to the East Westphalia side late in this summer's transfer window. The 33-year-old tore a muscle at St. Pauli four weeks ago.
Players to Watch
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored hat-tricks in his last two matches for Dortmund and now has bagged 20 goals in 17 appearances this season. "Only twice this season has the 26-year-old failed to find the net," noted ESPN FC, who have the Gabon international No. 1 in their Player Power Rankings.
Paderborn's Mahir Saglik had a hand in both goals in his team's win over Union Berlin on Sunday, earning him the distinction of man of the match from German magazine Kicker. The 32-year-old played for Dortmund's second team in the 2004/05 season.
Key Battle: Dortmund's attack vs. Lukas Kruse
Paderborn's only chance to pull off a win that would be nothing short of sensational lie firmly in the hands of their goalkeeper, Lukas Kruse. The 32-year-old needs to have an outstanding game if Paderborn are to have any hope against Dortmund's prolific attack.
Kicker currently rate the former Dortmund back-up goalie as the second best keeper in the 2. Bundesliga.
Dortmund, meanwhile, will look to score as quickly as possible. Head coach Thomas Tuchel noted in the press conference before the game against Augsburg that his side benefit greatly from going in front, as it gives them confidence and patience. Those virtues could well be required on Wednesday.
Odds
Dortmund: 1-8
Draw: 45-4
Paderborn: 33-1
Odds courtesy of Oddschecker.
Lars Pollmann is a featured columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for Yellowwallpod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.
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