DFB Pokal, Round 2: Borussia Dortmund, Schalke in action Tuesday

The second round of the 2012-13 DFB Pokal takes place Tuesday and Wednesday with eight games on both days. A record six Bundesliga sides lost to lower division sides in the first round, but they have favorable draws in the second round.

Berliner AK vs 1860 Munich

While they pulled off a 4-0 beat down of Hoffenheim in the first round of the cup, Berliner is now languishing in the midtable of the Regionalliga Nordost. 1860 have struggled as of late with no wins in their last three. The longer this match goes without a goal, the more likely the upset from Berliner will be. However, only three sides in the top three divisions have conceded as few goals as 1860. If Berliner do pull off this upset, it’s going to be a 1-0.

Wormatia Worms vs Köln

With only two points out of their first six matches, it appeared that Köln’s first season back in the 2.Bundesliga was going to be a disaster. They’ve turned things around lately and are on 13 points and midtable. Worms are midtable in the Regionalliga Südwest in the fourth division. Köln are in good form at the moment, so they should handle Worms.

Preußen Münster vs Augsburg

Münster pulled off the huge upset of Werder Bremen in the first round of the cup. They sit just three points out of first place in the 3.Liga, and American Matthew Taylor leading the division in scoring with ten goals. Augsburg have struggled so far this season and are in 17th place in the league, but I think they’ll heed the warnings of others and end Münster’s cup run.

Eintracht Braunschweig vs Freiburg

I’m calling it now: Braunschweig will beat Freiburg. The 2.Bundesliga side is leading the league by 5 points and have an excellent defense which will cause Freiburg issues. Die Löwens will be going to the third round.

Havelse vs Bochum

Bochum are having a tough go of things in the 2.Bundesliga and sit in the relegation zone. Havelse plays in the Regionalliga. I can’t promise you that I will watch this one. Okay. I can guarantee you that I won’t watch this one. Sorry.

Schalke vs Sandhausen

Sandhausen are not good. Schalke are very good. This one could be five or six to zero.

Aalen vs Borussia Dortmund

The defending champions will hammer Aalen. Die Borussen will put three or four or twelve in the score column.

Mainz vs Erzgebirge Aue

Mainz have been good as of late. Defensively they’re becoming more and more solid, and they should keep this Aue side off the scoreboard.

Karlsruher vs Duisburg

Duisburg are awful this year. They’re sitting at the bottom of the 2.Bundesliga and are almost a sure thing to be battling relegation all year long. Karlsruher are midtable in the 3.Liga and have a three headed attacking in Koen van der Biezen, Rouwen Hennings, and Hakan Calhanoglu. Can Duisburg keep the three of them out of the net? I don’t think so.

Arminia Bielefeld vs Bayer Leverkusen

Bielefeld are playing excellent in the third division right now, but Leverkusen are too good for them right now. Stefan Kießling is playing some amazing football at the moment, and is starting to get some momentum behind him to receive another call-up to Jogi Löw’s Germany side. Leverkusen are coming off of their first win in Munich since 1989 and will be looking to quickly put Bielefeld to the sword.

Kickers Offenbach vs Union Berlin

Offenbach beat Bundesliga side Greuther Fürth in the first round, and they received a good draw with Union Berlin. Sparda Bank Hessen Stadium should be rocking as Offenbach looks to go to the third round of the cup.

Stuttgart vs St. Pauli

One side has Vedad Ibisevic, and the other side does not. The Swabians will win this.

Hannover vs Dynamo Dresden

Hannover isn’t in excellent form right now, so they lucked out with the fact that Dynamo is in even poorer form. Mirko Slomka is going to want to get his men back on track, and I expect them to ease to a victory over their opponents.

Bayern Munich vs Kaiserslautern

While Kaiserslautern have enjoyed an unbeaten start to their season of 11 matches, they are playing a Bayern side coming off of their first loss on the season. If Bayern hadn’t lost to Leverkusen on Sunday, the argument could be made that they were susceptible to an upset by FCK.

Fortuna Düsseldorf vs Borussia Mönchengladbach

Düsseldorf didn’t concede a goal in their first five matches of the season and were sitting near the top of the Bundesliga table. In the following four matches, they conceded 12 goals. I won’t be picking against Gladbach with the current form that Juan Arango is in at the moment. The Venezuelan is balling out of control right now.

Wolfsburg vs FSV Frankfurt

Wolfsburg fired Felix Magath last week and then crushed Fortuna Düsseldorf. It was only a matter of time before a side featuring players like Bas Dost and Diego found the back of the net. Frankfurt have put together a tidy season so far in the 2.Bundesliga. They’re in sixth place, but they’re leaking too many goals to be thoroughly pleased with the way things are going.