Borussia may clearly be targeting a place in the DFB Cup semi-finals, but the Black and Yellows will not be underestimating the opposition, the run-down pitch or the euphoric crowd when they take on Sportfreunde Lotte in the last eight on Tuesday evening (20:45 CET).

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Only "on paper" are Lotte a third-tier club, said Thomas Tuchel, who labelled BVB's North Rhine-Westphalian neighbours as "promotion hopefuls with the performance level of a second-tier side". If you deservedly knock out higher-ranking opposition of Werder Bremen, Bayer Leverkusen and 1860 Munich's ilk, you're clearly capable. With that in mind, the boss is expecting an "aggressive, brave and fired-up Lotte, who have nothing to lose and are gunning for an upset". "We're expecting a stadium where the fans are close to the pitch and emotionally-charged. The key will be to silence them," he added.

The favourites will certainly not relish the task that awaits them. A clear victory is expected, yet BVB have to contend with an opponent that will be no pushover and a pitch that has been described by sports journalist Oliver Müller, who recently took a look at it, as "grassland".

Overcoming the pitch and Lotte's euphoria

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Borussia will be looking to overcome the penultimate obstacle en route to the Berlin final in Lotte on Tuesday.

"The pitch is definitely a disadvantage for us," said Tuchel, before continuing: "We want to try to play our game as best we can." He underlined how important it would be "to accept that you will make mistakes with ball control" and recommended "adapting the passing speed to the surface". Above all, the Black and Yellows must not opt for a "kick and rush" approach, which "would play into the opponent's hands".

The coaching staff began their preparation for the match today, once Benjamin Weber and his team of analysts had had their say. Tuchel already knows what he wants to highlight to his players in the team talk: "It's important not to focus on any external circumstances and scenarios, or to think in terms of favourites or divisions. Instead we need to just make sure that we focus on ourselves."

Apart from the suspended Sokratis, Tuchel has the same squad that travelled to Freiburg at his disposal. While the coach did not rule out fielding the same XI – except for the Greek – that started that victory, he may equally opt "to field a few pairs of fresh legs. Playing away on Saturday and then again on Tuesday gives you the shortest turnaround time. We'll decide at the end of tomorrow's training session." The 43-year-old did not specify which Roman would line up between the sticks either. The aforementioned training session will take place in Dortmund tomorrow morning, before the squad board the bus to Lotte.

Boris Rupert