Rodinghausen vs Bayern Munich Predictions

SV Rodinghausen face a mammoth task on Tuesday night, as they meet Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in the DFB Pokal. This encounter is a complete mismatch, with the pair coming from very different parts of Germany’s football pyramid. The hosts are stuck down in the fourth tier, making this clash with the Bundesliga champions a huge occasion for the hosts. Will they pull off one of the biggest shocks in the history of the German Cup? Can Bayern’s difficult season really sink that low?

The hosts are currently in fifth place in the western section of Germany’s fourth division. They sit a point shy of Borussia Dortmund’s second string side, while they’re 12 points off top spot, which brings a play-off place for promotion to the third tier. The club is based in the town of Rodinghausen, which has fewer than 10,000 people. While they’re some way from Bayern now, they’ve managed to gain a lot of ground on them in 10 years. Back in 2009, they were in the ninth tier of German football, before five straight promotions brought them up to the Regionalliga West. They seem to have found their level and plateaued, but now they face the biggest possible step up in quality.

Bayern head into this clash on the back of three straight wins, which has put them into contention for top spot. They sit second in the Bundesliga, just two points shy of free-scoring Borussia Dortmund. That turnaround has helped boss Niko Kovac steady the ship, as he tries to defend their Bundesliga title. He’s also looking to land a record 19th DFB Pokal win for the Bavarian side.

Bayern have wobbled in the league and Champions League this season, but they’re massive favourites to win this clash. It’s a real David vs Goliath encounter, and that’s left the hosts as massive outsiders. Of late, Bayern have managed wins at Wolfsburg, AEK Athens and Mainz. They’ve hit at least two goals against each of those decent sides, and this is a chance for the champions to rack up a big win.

Bayern hit plenty of goals on their way to last season’s DFB Pokal final, winning 5-0 at Chemnitzer, 6-0 at Paderborn and racking up six goals at Leverkusen. They kept another clean sheet in the last round of the cup, and they should hold off the minnows here. With that in mind, we see Bayern showing the gulf in class with at least three goals here, along with another clean sheet. Our tip here is over 2.5 goals and both teams to score no, as Bayern have scored 33 goals in their last nine away trips in this competition, winning to nil in five of their last seven.