Overview
- Borussia Dortmund meet Werder Bremen in the DFB‑Pokal second round on Tuesday at 20:45 CET and the match will be shown live free‑to‑air on ZDF.
- Niclas Füllkrug enters the tie in red‑hot form, having scored a brace at Mainz to reach eight league goals, but he said a Germany recall "doesn't interest" him.
- Bundesliga coach Jürgen Klopp will name his national squad on 5 November and has signalled a preference for a younger profile, a point that frames discussion about Füllkrug's prospects.
- Dortmund will be without Konstantinos Karetsas for the cup after a ligament injury, a absence Niko Kovac called significant while warning that Füllkrug is hard to stop; several other clubs are finalising rotation decisions and checking injuries ahead of Tuesday's ties.
- Clubs are also dealing with off‑field issues that shape squad life and public focus, most notably FC Augsburg's rapid public response to racist online attacks against Juma Bah, and smaller clubs view the cup as a short path to prize money and exposure.