Ahead of cup tie: Kovac announces surprise BVB change | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund is making a surprising decision ahead of its DFB-Pokal match against HEBC. A regular starter is being given a rest by coach Niko Kovac.

For its first appearance in the DFB-Pokal, Borussia Dortmund is giving its regular number one a break. Against Oberliga side HEBC on Tuesday (8:45 p.m.), Alexander Meyer will be in goal for BVB. Gregor Kobel, meanwhile, is not part of the squad for the match in Hamburg. Niko Kovac made no secret of his plan at the press conference before the cup tie. “The only thing I can say is: Greg will not be involved. Alex will be in goal. That’s what we’ve decided for now,” said the Dortmund head coach.

However, Meyer’s appearance does not change the basic pecking order between the two goalkeepers. The 35-year-old will not automatically start every BVB cup match. Asked about it, Kovac stressed that the measure applies “only to this game.” Kobel is therefore expected to remain Dortmund’s first choice.

This gives Meyer another opportunity to get some match practice. The goalkeeper joined the Ruhr club from Jahn Regensburg in 2022 and has since made 25 competitive appearances in a BVB shirt. He kept six clean sheets in the process. His contract, extended at the end of 2025, runs until the summer of 2027.

Surprise in BVB goal: Kobel gets a rest

Meyer is unlikely to be the only personnel change against the underdog. Kovac has already indicated that he wants to spread the workload within his squad. “We will give one or two others the opportunity,” he announced. Aside from Giannis Konstantelias, who is out with a torn ACL, the coach has his full squad available.

Photo: IMAGO

Despite possible rotation, the situation is clear. BVB travels to Hamburg as overwhelming favorites and has prepared intensively for the fifth-division side. Dortmund even had its cup opponent watched on three separate occasions. Kovac accordingly stated his ambitions in no uncertain terms: “We are the favorites, we want to go through, and we will.”

For HEBC, the mismatch has already taken on special significance even before kickoff. More than 41,600 tickets had been sold by Monday midday. The match at the Volksparkstadion has therefore set a new record for first-round DFB-Pokal ties involving a fifth-division team.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.