The DFB-Pokal returns this week and will see Hannover 96 host Borussia Monchengladbach at the HDI Arena on Wednesday evening.
Hannover 96 were drawn against Eintracht Norderstedt in the first round of the cup, where they beat the fourth-tier side 4-0 away from home. They then faced off against Fortuna Dusseldorf in the next round, winning 3-0 with Maximilian Beier scoring a brace in the final three minutes of the game.
The home team last made it this far in the DFB-Pokal back in the 2016-17 season. They were beaten 2-1 by Eintracht Frankfurt that season and will be hoping for better luck this time around.
Borussia Monchengladbach beat Kaiserslautern 1-0 in their first cup game of the campaign with club captain Lars Stindl scoring the sole goal of the game just 10 minutes after kickoff. The Colts then handed a 5-0 thrashing to record winners Bayern Munich in the second round of the DFB-Pokal.
Borussia Monchengladbach were knocked out in the quarterfinals of the cup competition last season after losing 1-0 to Borussia Dortmund. They will now be looking to go further in the competition this season.
Hannover 96 vs Borussia Monchengladbach Head-to-Head
There have been 34 meetings between Hannover 96 and Borussia Monchengladbach. The hosts have won 11 of those games while the visitors have won 19 times. There have been four draws between the two sides.
The two sides last met in a Bundesliga clash back in 2019. Borussia Monchengladbach won the game 1-0.
Hannover 96 Form Guide (All Competitions): W-L-W-W-L
Borussia Monchengladbach Form Guide (All Competitions): L-W-D-L-L
Hannover 96 vs Borussia Monchengladbach Team News
Hannover 96
The hosts have as many as 13 players ruled out with the COVID-19. Sei Muroya is the only injured player for Hannover 96.
Injured: Sei Muroya
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Borussia Monchengladbach
Denis Zakaria, Mamadou Doucoure and Keanan Bennetts all remain out with COVID-19 and will not play the cup game. Jonas Hofmann is injured while Christoph Kramer's involvement is in doubt as he missed his side's last game due to an injury.
Ramy Bensebaini is away on international duty and will not be available.
Injured: Jonas Hofmann
Doubtful: Christoph Kramer
Unavailable: Denis Zakaria (COVID-19), Mamadou Doucoure (COVID-19), Keanan Bennetts (COVID-19), Ramy Bensebaini (International duty)
Suspended: None
Hannover 96 vs Borussia Monchengladbach Predicted XI
Hannover 96 Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Ron-Robert Zieler; Jannik Dehm, Marcel Franke, Julian Borner, Niklas Hult; Gael Ondoua, Mark Diemers; Linton Maina, Sebastian Kerk, Cedric Teuchert; Maximilian Beier
Borussia Monchengladbach Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Yann Sommer; Matthias Ginter, Nico Elvedi, Tony Jantschke; Luca Netz, Florian Neuhaus, Kouadio Kone, Stefan Laimer; Lars Stindl, Marcus Thuram; Breel Embolo
Hannover 96 vs Borussia Monchengladbach Prediction
Hannover 96 picked up a 1-0 win over Hansa Rostock in their last game marking just their third victory in their last 12 league games.
The visitors are not in much better form as they have won just one of their last seven Bundesliga games, losing five in that period. However, with the amount of firepower at their disposal, Borussia Monchengladbach should be able to come out on top.
Prediction: Hannover 96 1-3 Borussia Monchengladbach