Preview:SC Paderborn vs Bayer Leverkusen - prediction, team news, lineups

In what is arguably the most mismatched tie of the DFB-Pokal's second round, 2. Bundesliga side SC Paderborn will host top-flight visitors Bayer Leverkusen at Home Deluxe Arena on Wednesday.

The second-tier hosts beat Viktoria Koln 3-1 in the first round on August 17, while Die Werkself comfortably saw past Sonnenhof Grossaspach, winning 4-0 on August 15.

Match preview

SC Paderborn are no strangers to top-flight opposition, having faced Bundesliga opponents in the DFB-Pokal in each of the last three seasons, including when they lost 3-1 in the round of 16 against Leverkusen in 2023-24.

The hosts head into Wednesday's clash on the back of six consecutive wins, with the club scoring at least twice in each of their past five.

At the other end of the pitch, the home side failed to keep their opponents at bay in their three most recent fixtures, ending a streak of three clean sheets in a row.

Boss Ralf Kettemann are second in the 2. Bundesliga with 23 points, one point behind first-placed Schalke 04, though they only need to finish in the top two to secure automatic promotion.

Paderborn will be hoping for a fourth consecutive triumph at Home Deluxe Arena on Wednesday, as well as a sixth victory in seven games.

Leverkusen beat Freiburg 2-0 on Sunday, creating four big chances compared to their opponents' one, and they only faced one shot inside the box in the second half.

Die Schwarzroten's defensive resilience on the weekend was an unusual sight given the club have kept just three clean sheets in their 12 fixtures this term.

Kasper Hjulmand should be credited for his side's offensive output considering they have netted 10 goals in their past four matches, as well as eight in their last three.

The visitors are fifth in the Bundesliga with 17 points, but while they are seven points behind first-placed Bayern Munich, only two points separate them from second-placed RB Leipzig.

Leverkusen have managed to win three of their four most recent outings, and their only loss in their last 10 fixtures was against Paris Saint-Germain on October 21, though they conceded seven times in that clash.

Die Werkself are yet to experience a defeat on their travels in 2025-26, achieving victories in three of their five away matches, and a win on Wednesday would be their third in a row on the road.

SC Paderborn DFB-Pokal form:

SC Paderborn form (all competitions):

Bayer Leverkusen DFB-Pokal form:

Bayer Leverkusen form (all competitions):

Team News

Paderborn striker Steffen Tigges will be keen to play on Wednesday, and he will hope that Filip Bilbija and Nick Batzner can create chances for him during counter-attacks.

Mattes Hansen, Felix Gotze and Tjark Lasse Scheller may be stationed in a three-man defence behind midfielders Mika Baur and Santiago Castaneda.

While Leverkusen will want to avoid an upset, they should have enough quality in their squad to rest key stars and not expect a drastic dropoff in performance level.

Centre-back Jarell Quansah was arguably the club's marquee signing in the summer, but perhaps he will be afforded a place on the bench in favour of Jeanuel Belocian.

Robert Andrich could appear in a double pivot alongside Aleix Garcia, while Patrik Schick may lead an attack also featuring Jonas Hofmann and Eliesse Ben Seghir.

SC Paderborn possible starting lineup:

Seimen; Hansen, Gotze, Scheller; Curda, Baur, Castaneda, Obermair; Bilbija, Batzner; Tigges

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:

Blaswich; Belocian, Bade, Tapsoba; Arthur, Andrich, Garcia, Grimaldo; Hofmann, Seghir; Schick

We say: SC Paderborn 1-4 Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen will undoubtedly be seen as the favourites on Wednesday, though perhaps Paderborn could find their way onto the scoresheet.

Even if the visitors concede, their firepower in the forward line should prove too much for their hosts, and anything other than a comfortable win would be surprising.

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