Battle for the DFB Cup: Braunschweig welcomes defending champion Stuttgart!

Battle for the DFB Cup: Braunschweig welcomes defending champion Stuttgart!

Eintracht Braunschweig and VfB Stuttgart are in the starting blocks for the first round of the 2025/26 DFB Cup, which kicks off today, Tuesday, August 26th, at 8:45 p.m. in the Eintracht Stadium in Braunschweig. The game will be broadcast live on free TV by ARD, with coverage starting at 8:15 p.m. The game can also be played on sportschau.de be tracked.

Eintracht Braunschweig goes into this duel with mixed feelings. After a mixed last season, in which the team failed in the first round of the DFB Cup against Eintracht Frankfurt, the club has now asserted itself in the 2nd Bundesliga and won the relegation (2:0 and 2:2 against 1. FC Saarbrücken). Under coach Heiner Backhaus, who took over in July 2023, Braunschweig was able to start the new season with two wins, but recently suffered a 2-0 defeat against Karlsruhe. Backhaus demands more efficiency from his team, especially after the last game where the effort wasn't enough.

VfB Stuttgart as defending champions

Meanwhile, VfB Stuttgart arrives as defending champions. The Swabians were able to secure the trophy in the last DFB Cup season with a 4-2 win in the final against Arminia Bielefeld and are highly motivated to defend their title. After an exhausting Supercup against Bayern Munich, which they lost 2-1, and the Bundesliga premiere on August 23rd, where they lost again 2-1 against Union Berlin, the focus is clearly on the DFB Cup. Coach Sebastian Hoeneß has a lot of catching up to do - he may see the recent defeats as a "day that should be quickly forgotten", but for him and his team it's about finding their feet again.

The Stuttgart team can look back on a successful record against Braunschweig: in a total of 43 matches, the Stuttgart team won 20 times, while Braunschweig recorded 13 successes. Stuttgart always prevailed in the three DFB Cup duels, the last time in 2015 with a narrow 3-2.

Lineups and personnel details

For today's game, Heiner Backhaus has chosen a largely well-rehearsed starting eleven that was already used in the first games of the season. Lino Tempelmann is out due to injury, Levente Szabó is expected to replace him. The Lions have brought a breath of fresh air into the team with new additions such as Mehmet Aydin and Erencan Yardımcı.

• Wahrscheinliche Aufstellung Eintracht Braunschweig:
  Hoffmann – Frenkert, Köhler (c), Breunig – Aydin, Marie, Heußer, Sanchez – Szabó, Yardımcı, Conteh

Meanwhile, Stuttgart could also make some changes. New signing Tiago Tomás has already scored against Union Berlin and may be in the starting line-up. Nick Woltemade, who scored five goals in the last round of the cup, remains a crucial factor in Stuttgart's attack.

• Wahrscheinliche Aufstellung VfB Stuttgart:
  Nübel – Assignon, Jeltsch, Chabot, Mittelstädt – Karazor (c), Stiller – Leweling, Undav, Tomás – Woltemade

All signs point to a thrilling cup duel. The Eintracht Stadium will be well filled with 23,325 spectators when the two teams meet and the spectators can look forward to an exciting game!