SV Waldhof Mannheim stand in the way of 1. FC Union Berlin from progressing into the last 16 of the DFB Pokal on Wednesday night at 18:30.
Review — The last match:
A strike in the 93rd minute from Wabil Faghir denied 1. FC Union Berlin all three points from Sunday’s Bundesliga match at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Stuttgart. Urs Fischer’s team bounced back from the disappointing loss in Rotterdam to dominate the game in Stuttgart, but unable to press home a man advantage. Taiwo Awoniyi fired home his seventh strike of the campaign to give Union a deserved lead before the break. Atakan Karazor picked up two bookings in the space of 33 seconds to land another blow to Stuttgart’s chances of fighting back. The Köpenick club asserted control on the game, but couldn’t get the second goal. Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side had little to lose and started to take more risks towards the end of the 90. After missing a chance shortly before, Faghir’s shot took a wicked deflection to beat Andreas Luthe and leave Union feeling like two points lost were like a defeat.
Waldhof Mannheim — Opposition Report:
SV Waldhof Mannheim, fifth in the third division, have DFB Pokal history as finalists in 1939. Patrick Glöckner’s team were promoted back to the third-tier of German football in 2019 after a stint outside of professional football. In this season’s competition, Mannheim beat local rivals Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 to progress to the second round. It was the second time Mannheim had met the Eagles in recent years, but in 2019’s encounter Frankfurt won 5-3 after a pulsating match. In 2020, Mannheim went out to Freiburg having qualified as winners of the Badische Pokal.
Waldhof Mannheim — The coach’s view:
“They picked up a deserved 2-0 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt,” said coach Urs Fischer at the pre-match press conference. “Waldhof Mannheim is a team with first and second division experience. It fits really nicely together. They have good compactness, defend well, work well together. They are dangerous after winning the ball back. They have pace on the wings. We are confident we can go there and get the win.”
Personnel:
Marvin Friedrich and Ricky van Drongelen are recovering from their positive coronavirus tests but are “on a good way” according to the coach. Max Kruse will miss out with a foot problem. Rani Khedira has a knock, but should be available for tomorrow. Julian Ryerson is sick, but he has tested negative for coronavirus.
Service:
Union expect 750 away supporters to attend the match at the Carl-Benz-Stadion.
The 3G rules are in place which means supporters must show full vaccination, full recovery or a negative test (daily test or PCR). Mask can only be removed for consumption of food and drinks.
There is no opportunity to purchase tickets on matchday.