Kaan-Marienborn vs Nurnberg

Leimbachstadion is the venue as Kaan-Marienborn and Nurnberg go head-to-head in the 2022/23 DFB Pokal first-round tie.

Non-league side Kaan-Marienborn pulled off a sensational second-half comeback in the preliminary DFB Pokal round to turn a 1-0 halftime deficit into a 2-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach II, courtesy of Daniel Hammel’s brace in the stoppage time. Following a poor start to their pre-season preparations, involving three winless friendlies (D1, L2), Thorsten Nehrbauer’s men have gone from strength to strength, winning three consecutive matches, including the abovementioned DFB Pokal triumph. When it comes to competitive games, Kaan-Marienborn have not lost a single one in 2022 thus far (W9, D6), winning four out of the last five despite conceding in each.

As for Nurnberg, a 2-0 triumph over fellow Bundesliga 2 rivals Greuther Furth last time out helped them overcome a disappointing 3-2 defeat to St Pauli in their 2022/23 curtain-raiser. Delivering action from the offset, both Nurnberg’s league outings this season have featured the opening goal within 25 minutes of playing, highlighting the potential for a quick-fire start to this encounter. However, if ‘Die Legende’ are to live up to their status as overwhelming pre-match favourites, they will have to defy an abysmal five-game winless away run in competitive away games (D2, L3) spanning back to the tail-end of last season. Worryingly, though, Nurnberg’s lackadaisical defending saw them concede precisely three goals in three of those five road trips.