Borussia Dortmund vs. Union Berlin predictions, betting tips and match preview

Beaten finalists in the last three DFB-Pokal finals, Borussia Dortmund, will look to take a step towards this season’s showpiece on Wednesday night when they host Bundesliga 2 promotion candidates Union Berlin at Signal Iduna Park.

After consecutive final defeats to arch-rivals Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg in 2013/14 and 2014/15, Dortmund met Bayern again in the 2015/16 final but were agonisingly denied a fourth DFB-Pokal crown on penalties.

Thomas Tuchal’s side, who beat Trier 0-3 in Round 1, will be keen to put that right this season and there will be no excuses if Union Berlin are not dispatched in this Round 2 clash.

The visitors, who reached the final in 2000/01, are going well in Bundesliga 2 and look potential promotion challengers, having taken 20 points from ten league outings so far.

A 1-3 victory away to Aue at the weekend means Jens Keller’s men currently occupy an automatic promotion place and an encouraging cup run could well help their momentum in the second tier. Keller’s side came through their last 64 tie 1-2 against Duisburg.

However, they face an almighty test here against a Dortmund team who will be desperate to hit back after dropping points against Ingolstadt on Saturday.

The Black-Yellows have yet to find top gear this term with 14 points taken from 8 matches, and it wouldn’t be the biggest shock in the world were they to sacrifice the DFB-Pokal later in the competition to preserve their Bundesliga and Champions League efforts.

However at this stage, the hosts will still be keen to be involved and their aforementioned recent final disappointments can only serve to spur them on. Their typically strong home form so far in the Bundesliga (three wins, one draw) also makes them impossible to oppose here.

As Union have been free scoring in the second tier (21 goals in ten matches) we’ll back Dortmund to get through but with both teams hitting the net. In the correct score market, 3-1 looks a realistic outcome at full time.