Preview: Rot-Weiss Essen vs Borussia Dortmund - prediction, team news, lineups

Borussia Dortmund's quest for a sixth DFB-Pokal title will begin against hosts Rot-Weiss Essen on Monday at Stadion an der Hafenstrasse.

Third-division side RWE have already started their 3. Bundesliga campaign - they are 12th after two games - while BVB's match against the home side will be their first of 2025-26.

Match preview

Rot-Weiss Essen have drawn their opening two league fixtures, with their latest a 1-1 stalemate with TSV Havelse on August 9.

The clash was the fifth consecutive competitive match that they had found the back of the net in, but it was also the sixth consecutive game that they failed to keep a clean sheet in.

RWE lost 4-1 against RB Leipzig in the first round of the DFB-Pokal last term in August 2024, and a defeat on Monday would be the third straight time that they have exited the competition without getting past the first round.

Manager Uwe Koschinat has not experienced a competitive win for three games - drawing three times - but he did guide his players to six victories in their previous seven.

The hosts are unbeaten in 11 home outings, emerging as winners on seven occasions, though they only prevented their opponents from scoring twice.

Dortmund head to Stadion an der Hafenstrasse under the direction of boss Niko Kovac, who took charge of the club following his appointment as Nuri Sahin's successor in January.

BVB finished fourth in the Bundesliga in 2024-25 with 54 points, and they ended the season as the division's third-best offensive and joint sixth-best defensive side having scored 71 goals and conceded 51 times.

The visitors won the DFB-Pokal in 2020-21 and have since exited in quarter-finals once, the round of 16 twice and the second round once.

Dortmund have faced RWE four times in their history - three of those meetings were friendlies - and they have won on three occasions against their hosts.

Kovac's side participated in the Club World Cup this summer, and when factoring in their three pre-season friendlies, his team have triumphed in five and drawn one of their eight matches since the end of the Bundesliga season.

BVB won their final two away trips of 2024-25, but they were beaten in two of their prior four on the road, only winning once in that period.

Rot-Weiss Essen form (all competitions):

Borussia Dortmund form (all competitions):

Team News

Rot-Weiss Essen midfielders Tom Moustier and Klaus Gjasula could be asked to provide a stable platform for attackers Ahmet Arslan, Torben Musel and Dominik Martinovic.

Koschinat has shown a preference to use a back three, meaning Jose-Enrique Ríos Alonso, Michael Schultz and Tobias Kraulich will come under consideration.

BVB striker Serhou Guirassy scored 34 goals for the club in 2024-25, and he could be joined up front by Karim Adeyemi.

Central defenders Niklas Sule and Nico Schlotterbeck would have been options for Kovac, but with the pair both injured, expect Filippo Mane, Waldemar Anton and Ramy Bensebaini to fill in at the back.

Marcel Sabitzer may be stationed as a defensive midfielder, while Pascal Gross and Jobe Bellingham could play either side of him.

Rot-Weiss Essen possible starting lineup:

Wienand; Alonso, Schultz, Kraulich; Safi, Moustier, Gjasula, Bouebari; Arslan, Musel; Martinovic

Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:

Kobel; Mane, Anton, Bensebaini; Ryerson, Gross, Sabitzer, Bellingham, Svensson; Guirassy, Adeyemi

We say: Rot-Weiss Essen 1-5 Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund have been strong following the end of the 2024-25 Bundesliga season, and they will be confident of winning on Monday.

It is difficult to see Rot-Weiss Essen advancing into the next round of the DFB-Pokal considering BVB are two divisions above them, and it would be surprising if they did not concede multiple times.

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