DFB-Pokal holders Borussia Dortmund are looking to progress to round three of this year's competition when they host FC Ingolstadt 04 at Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday evening.
The hosts are likely to take the opportunity to rest some key players after their victory in the Bundesliga at the weekend, coming up against their 2.Bundesliga visitors that are struggling in the division below so far this campaign.
Match preview
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Dortmund kept pace with reigning champions Bayern Munich in the league on Saturday, when they registered their third league victory in a row by defeating Arminia Bielefeld 3-1 at the Schuco-Arena.
BVB were in control by half time after Emre Can's penalty and Mats Hummels' sensational volley put the visitors into a 2-0 lead, which was completely deserved on the balance of play during the opening 45.
Marco Rose's side eased off a little in the second half but Jude Bellingham's incredible solo goal sealed the points before a late consolation was netted by the hosts.
That result ensured Dortmund stayed second in the Bundesliga and just one point off Bayern, before their attentions turned to this cup tie in the week.
Lifting the trophy last season put an end to three straight round-of-16 exits in previous years, and Rose will be looking for a comfortable victory to see his new side into round three without any hiccups on Tuesday.
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Meanwhile, visitors Ingolstadt will look to enjoy the occasion on Tuesday without having any pressure or expectation on their shoulders when they head to one of the giants of German football.
The second-tier side were facing off against Dortmund and co back in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 Bundesliga campaigns, but have since fallen back down the leagues and struggled ever since.
After achieving promotion from the 3.Liga last season, Die Schanzer are enduring a torrid campaign this time around, sitting in last place and already finding themselves five points from safety.
Tuesday's cup tie will be a welcome break from the troubles of the league fixtures, and a free swing for Andre Schubert's side to go out and put on a display free of any expectation, and with the tiny glimmer of hope of achieving a great upset.
After exits in the first round in each of the previous three seasons, Ingolstadt did manage to progress from the opening tie this time around, by defeating the side sitting above them in the 2.Bundesliga table - Erzgebirge Aue by a 2-1 scoreline.
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Team News
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Dortmund will remain without a host of first-team players due to their long injury list at present.
Talisman Erling Braut Haaland will miss the next few weeks due to a hip injury that kept him out of the weekend's victory as well, although it would have been expected for him to be rested for this tie anyway.
Marcel Schmelzer, Mateu Morey, Raphael Guerreiro, Giovanni Reyna, Mahmoud Dahoud and Youssoufa Moukoko are the others joining Haaland on the sidelines at the moment.
Regular first-team players such as Marco Reus, Hummels, Bellingham and Gregor Kobel are not expected to feature, with youngsters and fringe players likely to earn some important minutes on the pitch instead.
Meanwhile, Ingolstadt will be missing a number of players through injury themselves, with changes expected to their lineup too as they focus on their relegation concerns in the league.
Yassin Ben Balla, Jan-Hendrik Marx, Nassim Boujellab, Tobias Schrock and Caniggia Elva are all expected to be missing for the trip to Signal Iduna Park.
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Hitz; Passlack, Maloney, Pongracic, Schulz; Wolf, Witsel, Reinier; Knauff, Tigges, Hazard
FC Ingolstadt 04 possible starting lineup:
Buntic; Heinloth, Antonitsch, Keller, Gaus; Bilbija, Rohl, Linsmayer; Stendera; Beister, Kutschke
We say: Borussia Dortmund 4-0 FC Ingolstadt 04
Despite the expected rotation of Dortmund's starting lineup and use of youngsters and fringe players, it should be a comfortable win for the hosts.
The visitors are in a desperate situation in the league so will not be too focused on this cup tie, and it should be more of a question of how wide the scoreline margin will be in the favour of the hosts come the end of the match.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Borussia Dortmund win with a probability of 65.94%. A draw had a probability of 19.1% and a win for FC Ingolstadt 04 had a probability of 14.91%.
The most likely scoreline for a Borussia Dortmund win was 2-0 with a probability of 10.45%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.85%) and 1-0 (9.51%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.96%), while for a FC Ingolstadt 04 win it was 1-2 (4.22%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 10.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 2-0 win for Borussia Dortmund in this match.
