Greuther Fürth come into this DFB Pokal tie with a spring in their step after a solid start to the 2. Bundesliga season. They've shown real flexibility under their head coach, who experimented with everything from a 4-2-3-1 to a 3-4-2-1 and 4-4-2 in the second half of last season. Recent outings have seen them settle into a 4-2-3-1 shape, with the same core spine appearing in back-to-back league games: Hellstern in goal, Dehm and Itter at full-back, Heuer and Keresztes at centre-half, and the double pivot of Will and Bansé shielding the back four. That continuity matters. They've looked organised, compact, and hard to break down, even if they haven't blown anyone away going forward. The 4-2-3-1 gives them a solid base, but it's not exactly a goal machine — they'll need moments of magic from the likes of Appelkamp and Pohlmann in the half-spaces.

Bochum, meanwhile, have had a stuttering start to their 2. Bundesliga campaign. They lost their opener at home to Hertha BSC — a result that would have stung — before travelling to Braunschweig, where they were expected to bounce back but came away empty-handed again. That's two defeats from two, and the mood around the club won't be great. But here's the thing: cup football is a different beast. Bochum are a club with Bundesliga pedigree, and they'll see this as a chance to reset, to find some rhythm, and to remind everyone they're better than their league form suggests. They've got quality in the squad, even if it's not clicking yet. A trip to Fürth, a fellow second-tier side, is exactly the kind of fixture where a wounded animal can rediscover its bite.