Greuther Fürth vs. 1. FC Kaiserslautern: DFB-Pokal preview, team news & predicted lineups | OneFootball

Greuther Fürth

Fürth come into the Pokal encounter in worrying form. After a mixed start to the season, their recent trajectory has been one of steady decline - with just one win from their last six outings. Defensively, they’ve been alarmingly porous, conceding a league-high 28 goals in ten matches. Their most recent outing was a bruising 1-4 home defeat to Karlsruher SC.

Die Kleeblätt booked their place in the second round by overcoming Regionalliga Nord side BW Lohne 2-0, thanks to goals from Mathias Olesen and Noah König - the latter scoring his first for the club.

Thomas Kleine has called for a better defensive and mentally resilient performance from his side: 

“The approach must be to deal with conceded goals better - that's part of football. The tenor was to resolve more situations and tackle better.”

Fürth’s recent Pokal record doesn’t inspire much confidence either. They’ve only progressed beyond the second round twice in their last ten campaigns, falling at this same stage to Jahn Regensburg last season. Their best run came in 2011/12, when they reached the semi-finals - narrowly losing to Borussia Dortmund after extra time.

Team news: 

Sacha Bansé, Brynjar Ingi Bjarnason, Nils Körber and Timo Schlieck are set to miss out for the home side. 

1. FC Kaiserslautern

Kaiserslautern travel to Franconia in solid form, having won four of their last six matches and losing just three of their ten league fixtures this season. Lieberknecht’s side sit fifth in the 2. Bundesliga table - only three points off the promotion play-off spots - despite a frustrating 1-1 home draw against Nürnberg at the weekend.

FCK cruised into the second round with a comprehensive 0-7 demolition away to Oberliga side RSV Eintracht, featuring seven different scorers in a commanding team display - albeit against inferior opposition.

Despite Fürth’s struggles, Lieberknecht expects a fierce contest: 

"I don't judge any opponent by their standings. I think it will be very emotional tomorrow. We'll try to offer a classic cup battle."

Kaiserslautern boast genuine pedigree in this competition, having lifted the Pokal twice - though their last triumph came back in 1995/96. More recently, they reached the 2023/24 final, narrowly losing 1-0 to Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen in a season that saw Die Werkself complete the double.

Team news: 

Simon Asta, Ivan Prtajin, Mahir Emreli, Kenny Prince Redondo and Ji-Soo Kim are all unavailable for the visitors. 

H-2-H record

The sides last met in the DFB-Pokal during the 2015/16 season, when Kaiserslautern advanced with a 2-0 win. Across their last five meetings in all competitions, the record is evenly split with two wins each - though FCK claimed the most recent encounter, a convincing 3-0 victory at the Sportpark Ronhof in September.

Predicted lineups

Greuther Fürth (4-2-3-1): Prüfrock (GK) - Reich, Münz, Itter, Abrangao - John, Olesen - Klaus, Hrgota, Keller - Futkeu 

1. FC Kaiserslautern (3-4-2-1): Krahl (GK) - Gyamfi, Sirch, Robinson - Joly, Kunze, Sahin, Haas - Ritter, Skyttä - Hanslik