Borussia Dortmund take on SC Paderborn in the DFB-Pokal third round on Tuesday, with the hosts sensing an opportunity of adding some silverware to their collection with Bayern Munich knocked out in the previous round.

Paderborn, meanwhile, defeated high-flying Bundesliga outfit Union Berlin in the previous round.

Match preview

Julian Brandt in action for Borussia Dortmund on January 19, 2021 © Reuters

Indeed, with winning the Bundesliga and Champions League both incredibly unlikely for a club in transition like Dortmund this season, the German cup represents interim manager Edin Terzic's best chance of bowing out of his role at the end of the season with a trophy.

BVB did win the DFB-Pokal for the fourth time in the club's history in 2016-17, having finished as runners-up in each of the three previous reasons, so the board will be keen to add to their pedigree in this competition.

Paderborn represents Dortmund's third successive match against lower-tier opposition in this season's competition, so luck certainly appears to be in their favour in terms of the draw.

However, as Holstein Kiel's shock penalty-shootout win over Bayern showed, Dortmund cannot afford to head into this match with any form of complacency.

Paderborn's Christian Strohdiek pictured in Juoly 2019 © Reuters

Paderborn are not exactly complete minnows, either, having finished bottom of the Bundesliga last season and in 2014-15.

Indeed, while the gulf in size between the two clubs is vast, Paderborn earned themselves a point in a hugely entertaining 3-3 draw at the Westfalenstadion last season.

Sven Michel and former Norwich City striker Denis Srbeny were the club's goalscoring heroes in the win over high-flying Union Berlin in the last round, with manager Steffen Baumgart likely to be cautiously optimistic of producing a major upset at Dortmund.

Baumgart's men look unlikely to trouble either end of the 2.Bundesliga table this season, so the cup represents a fantastic opportunity to keep their season more interesting.

Borussia Dortmund DFB-Pokal form: WW
Borussia Dortmund form (all competitions): WWDLLW

SC Paderborn DFB-Pokal form: WW
SC Paderborn form (all competitions): LWDWDL

Team News

Axel Witsel pictured for Borussia Dortmund on April 21, 2019 © Reuters

Dortmund will be without Thomas Meunier, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Thorgan Hazard, Marcel Schmelzer and Axel Witsel for the test against Paderborn due to injury.

Terzic could ring the changes ahead of a difficult trip to Freiburg on Saturday, with the likes of Nico Schulz, Mahmoud Dahoud and Youssoufa Moukoko likely to come into the starting XI.

Having both scored in the previous round, Michel and Srbeny are likely to start alongside Chris Fuhrich in attack for Paderborn.

Baumgart tends to switch between 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 systems quite frequently, but may be tempted to bring an extra defender into the side in order to attempt to stifle their superior opponents.

Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Hitz; Piszczek, Akanji, Hummels; Morey, Dahoud, Bellingham, Schulz; Brandt, Reyna; Moukoko

SC Paderborn possible starting lineup:
Zingerle; Dorfler, Hunemeier, Schonlau, Okoroji; Thalhammer, Schallenberg, Ingelsson; Fuhrich, Srbeny, Michel

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We say: Borussia Dortmund 2-0 SC Paderborn

We expect Dortmund to have too much class for the visitors, with this match representing a fantastic opportunity for Moukoko to showcase his incredibly promising talent.

The likes of Schulz and Dahoud will be determined to make a case for a more regular starting berth in the league matches.

Top betting tip

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