1860 Munich take on Borussia Dortmund in the first round of the DFB-Pokal on Friday.
1860 Munich are set for their fifth successive season in the third tier of German football, with Dortmund hoping to finally end Bayern Munich's stranglehold of the Bundesliga in the last decade.
Match preview
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Since being relegated from the second division in 2017, 1860 Munich have failed to return despite finishing fourth in each of the last two seasons.
Michael Kollner's side ended up only two points behind third-placed Kaiserslautern, who defeated Dynamo Dresden 2-0 on aggregate in the promotion play-offs to replace them in 2. Bundesliga.
Having defeated Dynamo Dresden 4-3 in last weekend's opening league fixture, though, Kollner will be hopeful of another promotion push this season to finally restore 1860 Munich to a level more befitting of their historical status.
Kollner's team were ruthless when dispatching local side Rodelmaier 7-0 in the Bavarian Cup on Tuesday, too, but the 52-year-old will be acutely aware of the massive step up in class awaiting his players when they welcome Dortmund to the capital on Friday.
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As has become second nature in recent years, there has been plenty of upheaval at Dortmund this summer, with Edin Terzic reinstated as manager in place of Marco Rose.
Star striker Erling Braut Haaland has departed for Manchester City after the English champions activated the 22-year-old's release clause, with the likes of Axel Witsel, Roman Burki and Dan-Axel Zagadou leaving on free transfers.
Sebastian Haller, Karim Adeyemi, Nico Schlotterbeck, Niklas Sule, Salih Ozcan, Marcel Lotka and Alexander Meyer have so far joined to fill the void for a combined outlay of around £77m.
Terzic, who guided Dortmund to win this competition in his spell as interim manager in the 2020-21 season, will hope that these purchases prove enough to close the gap somewhat on Bayern.
In the meantime, though, the 39-year-old must ensure that his players guard against complacency on Friday before starting the new league campaign in a positive manner against Bayer Leverkusen next weekend.
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Team News
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1860 Munich are likely to be without attacking midfielders Joseph Boyamba and Yannick Deichmann due to injury.
Quirin Moll could replace Deichmann in midfield, with Kollner unlikely to make any other changes from the XI which dispatched Dynamo Dresden last weekend.
Dortmund, meanwhile, were handed a significant blow last week when new signing Haller tested positive for testicular cancer.
However, according to sporting director Sebastian Kehl, the 28-year-old's surgery was "successful" and the striker should return to action within a few months.
Terzic could test captain Marco Reus in a false nine role, with the 33-year-old set to be flanked by Donyell Malen and Adeyemi, who is set to make his competitive debut for the club after the 20-year-old's £27m switch from Red Bull Salzburg.
1860 Munich possible starting lineup:
Hiller; Morgalla, Belkahia, Verlaat; Tallig, Reider, Moll, Steinhart; Kobylanski, Lakenmacher, Lex
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Sule, Hummels, Schlotterbeck; Meunier, Dahoud, Bellingham, Guerreiro; Malen, Reus, Adeyemi
We say: 1860 Munich 0-3 Borussia Dortmund
Even without Haller in attack, we cannot see anything beyond a resounding Dortmund victory on Friday.
BVB should simply have far too much quality for the hosts to deal with, especially having added Schlotterbeck and Adeyemi at either end of the pitch.
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