Preview: Fortuna Dusseldorf vs Freiburg - prediction, team news, lineups

Fortuna Dusseldorf will hope to pull off one of the great DFB-Pokal upsets when they welcome Freiburg to Merkur Spiel-Arena on Sunday.

The hosts come into the first round of the cup competition as a third division side, while their Bundesliga opponents will have ambitions of qualifying for Europe once again, and the DFB-Pokal could be one of their routes towards that goal.

Match preview

Fortuna Dusseldorf have made a poor start to their 3. Liga campaign, losing both of their opening league fixtures, the most recent of which was a 2-0 loss to Hoffenheim II on August 15.

The hosts are two-time winners of the DFB-Pokal, though the last time they lifted the trophy came in 1979-80, and they have failed to advance past the second round of the competition in nine of their past 13 entries into the tournament.

Fortuna were beaten by Freiburg in the second round in 2025-26, losing 3-1 in October 2025, but they have won three and lost just two of their last six meetings with the visitors.

Alexander Ende's side's defeat against Hoffenheim II ended their streak of two consecutive competitive triumphs at home, though it was also the third time they were beaten in five games at Merkur Spiel-Arena.

Freiburg are yet to begin their Bundesliga campaign, and their aim for 2026-27 will be to secure a European spot for a fifth time in six seasons.

The visitors reached the Europa League final last term, and their taxing continental adventure no doubt contributed to their seventh-placed finish, two places lower than in 2024-25.

Head coach Julian Schuster also managed to guide the club to the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal in 2025-26, their third appearance in the final four in the past five editions of the competition.

Breisgau-Brasilianer have played one competitive match this term, with the team beating Motherwell 3-1 in the first leg of their Conference League qualifier on Thursday.

That victory was the first time in five away games that Freiburg avoided defeat, though it was their fourth success in their last eight clashes on the road.

Fortuna Dusseldorf form (all competitions):

Freiburg form (all competitions):

Team News

Fortuna have often used a back four, and if they continue to use their 4-4-2 formation, perhaps Tim Oberdorf and Feliz Meiser will be trusted in the heart of defence.

The two centre-backs may be protected by a double pivot consisting of Marcel Benger and Elias Arden.

As for Freiburg, expect to see multiple changes from the team that faced Motherwell, with forwards like Jan-Niklas Beste, Yuito Suzuki and Igor Matanovic likely to drop out.

Perhaps Keisuke Goto will play as the visitors' number nine, while Cyriaque Irie and Lucas Holer could be asked to support the striker.

Centre-back Philipp Lienhart can be expected to come into the XI due to the fact Maximilian Rosenfelder was forced off against Motherwell.

Fortuna Dusseldorf possible starting lineup:

Riess; Zimmermann, Oberdorf, Meiser, Van Der Sloot; Paulina, Arden, Benger, Consbruch; Schleusener, Hottmann

Freiburg possible starting lineup:

Huth; Kubler, Ginter, Lienhart, Makengo; Tarnutzer, Yamamoto; Irie, Holer, Scherhant; Goto