Preview: Duisburg vs Elversberg - prediction, team news, lineups

Bundesliga debutants Elversberg will travel to take on third-tier Duisburg at Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena on Saturday, for a showdown in the DFB-Pokal's first round.

The Zebras will be buoyed by their unbeaten start to the season, while the Black and White will be kicking off their competitive campaign this weekend.

Match preview

Dietmar Hirsch's Duisburg qualified for the DFB-Pokal by finishing fourth in the 2025-26 edition of the 3. Liga, narrowly missing out on making the promotion playoff.

The Zebras have bounced back from that disappointment by beginning 2026-27 with consecutive league wins, beating Meppen 3-0 on August 8 and Verl 4-2 a week later, and the club will be hoping to make the most of their conciliatory cup place.

That being said, Hirsch's side have not featured in the DFB-Pokal in any of the past six seasons, and it remains to be seen how they will fare up against top-flight opposition this weekend.

However, if Duisburg's pre-season is anything to go by, then they could give a good account of themselves, considering they were able to beat Eredivisie club NEC Nijmegen 3-2 on July 8, and hold Sparta Rotterdam to a 0-0 draw on August 1.

Bolstering the Zebras' confidence further is their immense home record, which has seen them go 26 competitive matches without defeat when playing as the hosts, a staggering run that goes all the way back to a 4-3 loss against FC Gutersloh in December 2024.

Meanwhile, Vincent Wagner's Elversberg have been preparing for the club's first-ever Bundesliga campaign, and Saturday's cup clash will serve as the curtain-raiser for what will be remembered as a historic season.

With the step up to top-flight football in mind, the Black and White scheduled friendlies against strong opposition this summer, and the manager will be delighted with his team's performances, especially with results including a 5-2 triumph over Strasbourg on August 4.

Wagner's side also thrashed Ligue 1 Lorient 4-1 last time out, taking an early lead through Lukasz Poreba and responding with three second-half goals after Mamadou Kone's equaliser.

That latest victory means that Elversberg head into this weekend's first round having lost just one of their eight most recent outings overall, winning five times and drawing twice in the process.

All-in-all, the visitors will be the favourites to progress on Saturday, given the disparity in divisions between the clubs, not to mention that they have reached the second round in three of the last four seasons.

Duisburg form (all competitions):

Elversberg friendlies form:

Team News

Duisburg have a largely fit squad for this weekend's showdown, but left winger Dennis Borkowski, who recently returned to full training after recovering from a calf injury, is a doubt as he builds fitness.

If the 24-year-old is not ready to take part, then Ramien Safi should start on the left alongside Jakob Bookjans and Jan-Simon Symalla, as part of an attacking trio supporting striker Lex-Tyger Lobinger.

Elsewhere, left-back Frederik Christensen has taken part in some team training, but remains a doubt after missing sections of the club's preparations, so expect to see Can Coskun and Joshua Bitter operating as full-backs.

As for Elversberg, they are missing Luis Seifert due to a syndesmosis ligament rupture, as well as fellow centre-back Lukas Pinckert, who is suspended as a result of the red card he picked up in last October's 3-0 DFB-Pokal defeat against Hertha Berlin.

Looking to fill the gaps, Wagner could line up with a pairing of Maximilian Rohr and Florian Le Joncour at centre-half, flanked by Lasse Gunther and Jan Gyamerah.

Further forward, left winger Tom Zimmerschied is dealing with back problems, so Cole Campbell, Noah Darvich and Lukas Petkov are likely to start behind Lucas Schnellbacher.

Duisburg possible starting lineup:

Braune; Bitter, Fleckenstein, Schlicke, Coskun; Viet, Bulic; Symalla, Bookjans, Safi; Lobinger

Elversberg possible starting lineup:

Kristof; Gyamerah, Rohr, Le Joncour, Gunther; Keidel, Poreba; Petkov, Darvich, Campbell; Schnellbacher

We say: Duisburg 2-1 Elversberg

Duisburg are the underdogs in this match, but their success against Eredivisie opposition this summer - as well as their excellent home record - suggests that they could pull off an upset.

Elversberg also enjoyed a strong pre-season, but with one eye on their impending Bundesliga debut, the visitors may be caught out on Saturday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.