TuSMakkabi Berlin vs Wolfsburg

Out-of-form Bundesliga powerhouse Wolfsburg travel to the Mommsenstadion to square off against lower-league TuSMakkabi Berlin in the opening DFB-Pokal round.

Despite posting an overwhelming 4-0 win over fellow NOFV-Oberliga Nord rivals Furstenwalde in the build-up to this contest, Makkabi Berlin’s chances of progressing from this tie are virtually dead in the water. But they’ll at least be looking to entertain the fans as they’ve done in both of this season’s league fixtures. Indeed, both games featured over 2.5 goals and at least two second-half strikes, highlighting the potential for a high-scoring affair. Interestingly, none of Makkabi’s last nine matches have ended as a draw (W6, L3), friendlies included, with five of the six most recent producing 4+ total goals. Despite seeing the odds stacked against them, Wolfgang Sandhowe’s men could make Wolfsburg work hard for a win, as they haven’t lost any of their 11 competitive home games in 2023 (W10, D1).

On the other hand, Wolfsburg can hardly be proud of last season’s dismal 8th-place finish in the Bundesliga, but their disappointing pre-season suggests this year won’t be any better. Since an action-packed 3-2 win over Freiburg in their opening summer friendly, Niko Kovac’s men have gone winless in four straight exhibition matches (D2, L2), scoring under 1.5 goals on each occasion. Things could change in competitive action, yet after losing three of their four most recent away league fixtures by 2+ goals ‘to nil’ (W1), ‘Die Wolfe’ will unlikely take the field in high spirits. Curiously, just one of Wolfsburg’s ten competitive away matches in 2023 has ended as a draw (W4, L5), suggesting this tie should be wrapped up in regulation time.