Two Pokal winners from recent years will meet each other on Tuesday (KO: 20:45 CET), as second-division 1. FC Nuremburg face VfL Wolfsburg in the quarterfinals of the Cup. To reach the last eight, the team from Franconia will have to end a number of streaks.
A fear of bigger teams has plagued FC Nuremburg since their Cup triumph over VfB Stuttgart in 2007 (3-2 AET), as the four-time DFB Pokal winners haven’t overcome a Bundesliga side since that title. Even more curious is that 21 years have passed since their last win against a team in a higher division than them. Their last giant killing came in August 1996, when the then Regionalliga side Nuremburg beat second-division FSV Mainz 05. On Tuesday, Nuremburg’s challenge is to come out on top against Wolfsburg. The ‘Wolves’ have looked stronger since the arrival of new head coach Martin Schmidt, losing just two of the 14 games they have contested under the Swiss. One of these defeats came as a shock on Saturday, as they fell to FC Cologne, who earnt their first win of the season. Most of their games have, however, ended in draws.
Current season form gives Nuremburg belief
Nuremburg have not had a lot to celebrate recently in the DFB Pokal in front of their own fans. In four of their last five home matches, they have been knocked out. Additionally, the round of 16 has been the end of the line for them the last two times they reached this stage – against SpVgg Greuther Fürth (1-0) in 2011/12 and against Hertha BSC (2-0) in 2015/16. The last time they reached the quarters was the 2010/11 season, when they saw off the Offenbacher Kickers 2-0. At least Nuremburg’s home record against Wolfsburg is positive. They have only lost two of the 14 encounters with the Wolves on home soil, with six ending in draws. Also, their current form in the 2. Bundesliga should give them hope. With 33 points after 18 games, coach Michael Köllner’s team are a serious promotion candidate and have won all of their last four games before this weekend – even if more points have come on the road than at home. On Saturday, however, they were held to a 1-1 draw with strugglers FC Kaiserslautern.
Wolfsburg, on the other hand, have won all seven of their last DFB Cup encounters with a second-division outfit. The last time the team from Lower Saxony were defeated by lower-league opposition was in December 2010, when Energie Cottbus claimed a surprise 3-1 win. The 2015 title winners won their first two games of this year’s competition with quite minimalist football. A 1-0 win against Regionalliga side Eintracht Norderstedt was followed by another victory by the same scoreline against fellow top-flight competitors Hannover 96. This means the Wolves are one of four sides left in the competition that are yet to concede in this season’s tournament. Their opponents this week Nuremburg also only managed to win both of their games by a single goal, beating MSV Duisburg 2-1 and VfL Osnabrück 3-2.
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Two Pokal winners from recent years will meet each other on Tuesday (KO: 20:45 CET), as second-division 1. FC Nuremburg face VfL Wolfsburg in the quarterfinals of the Cup. To reach the last eight, the team from Franconia will have to end a number of streaks.
A fear of bigger teams has plagued FC Nuremburg since their Cup triumph over VfB Stuttgart in 2007 (3-2 AET), as the four-time DFB Pokal winners haven’t overcome a Bundesliga side since that title. Even more curious is that 21 years have passed since their last win against a team in a higher division than them. Their last giant killing came in August 1996, when the then Regionalliga side Nuremburg beat second-division FSV Mainz 05. On Tuesday, Nuremburg’s challenge is to come out on top against Wolfsburg. The ‘Wolves’ have looked stronger since the arrival of new head coach Martin Schmidt, losing just two of the 14 games they have contested under the Swiss. One of these defeats came as a shock on Saturday, as they fell to FC Cologne, who earnt their first win of the season. Most of their games have, however, ended in draws.
Current season form gives Nuremburg belief
Nuremburg have not had a lot to celebrate recently in the DFB Pokal in front of their own fans. In four of their last five home matches, they have been knocked out. Additionally, the round of 16 has been the end of the line for them the last two times they reached this stage – against SpVgg Greuther Fürth (1-0) in 2011/12 and against Hertha BSC (2-0) in 2015/16. The last time they reached the quarters was the 2010/11 season, when they saw off the Offenbacher Kickers 2-0. At least Nuremburg’s home record against Wolfsburg is positive. They have only lost two of the 14 encounters with the Wolves on home soil, with six ending in draws. Also, their current form in the 2. Bundesliga should give them hope. With 33 points after 18 games, coach Michael Köllner’s team are a serious promotion candidate and have won all of their last four games before this weekend – even if more points have come on the road than at home. On Saturday, however, they were held to a 1-1 draw with strugglers FC Kaiserslautern.
Wolfsburg, on the other hand, have won all seven of their last DFB Cup encounters with a second-division outfit. The last time the team from Lower Saxony were defeated by lower-league opposition was in December 2010, when Energie Cottbus claimed a surprise 3-1 win. The 2015 title winners won their first two games of this year’s competition with quite minimalist football. A 1-0 win against Regionalliga side Eintracht Norderstedt was followed by another victory by the same scoreline against fellow top-flight competitors Hannover 96. This means the Wolves are one of four sides left in the competition that are yet to concede in this season’s tournament. Their opponents this week Nuremburg also only managed to win both of their games by a single goal, beating MSV Duisburg 2-1 and VfL Osnabrück 3-2.
