The clash with Union Berlin is game four – the mid-point – of yet another seven-match marathon in the space of three weeks. Rotation will be urgently required to share the workload and prevent the onset of fatigue. But, knowing that a defeat in the DFB Cup cannot be undone, Lucien Favre will have to make his choices carefully.

"We want to reach the next round! Our sole focus is on this match, even though we know we have a full fixture list," explained the Swiss tactician ahead of the meeting with the second-tier side. To put the strength of the capital club into perspective, they – along with Dortmund – are the only club left in German professional football yet to suffer a competitive defeat, so progression is by no means guaranteed! "A cup tie," explained the experienced coach, "is never easy. We already know that from the game in Fürth, where it was very, very tough." BVB delivered an energetic fightback in that First Round tie that saw them force extra time with a late leveller in the fifth minute of stoppage time, before sealing the win in the 120th minute with a penalty shootout looming.

The head coach is already very well acquainted with Union Berlin. "They're very compact and well organised," was his take. In that respect, they will probably be similar to their cross-city rivals Hertha last Saturday, where "we were obviously disappointed by the result", said Favre. "But it was a good game." The fact the match did not end with the desired – and in this case deserved – outcome "can happen in football sometimes".

Favre will have a number of options at his disposal in the creative department, especially as Shinji Kagawa is fully fit again and Paco Alcácer is likely to return from a brief injury layoff. "He's back in training. We'll see whether it's possible or not," said Favre, who obviously won't want to take any risks with the striker. In defence, though, he has "only a few options". There are "likely to be a few changes. But that's not for certain yet." There is still plenty of time for such decisions to be made before kick-off at 18:30 CET on Wednesday.
Boris Rupert