1. FC Nürnberg will meet Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the second round of the DFB-Pokal on Wednesday evening, with the tie set for the BayArena. It is a short trip for Nürnberg and a demanding one: Leverkusen are still carrying the weight of a 0:3 loss at TSG Hoffenheim, even after a run of six straight competitive wins before that setback.
That is why the fixture is drawing attention now. Bayer 04 remain a major force in German football after winning the German championship and the DFB-Pokal in 2024, and they reached the semifinals in the previous Pokal season before falling 0:2 to FC Bayern. Carles Martinez Novell has been in charge since summer 2026, taking over from Kasper Hjulmand, and he brings experience from FC Toulouse and the youth academy of FC Barcelona.
Leverkusen also have the kind of squad that usually makes a cup draw feel more like a warning than a chance. Edmond Tapsoba and Robert Andrich are among the best-known names, while Patrik Schick, Malik Tillman and Moussa Diaby add more threat. Schick has already scored nine goals and set up two more across competitions, which matters in a tie where one moment can change everything.
They opened the Bundesliga season with a defeat at SV Elversberg, then beat Union Berlin, RB Leipzig and SC Freiburg before slipping at TSG Hoffenheim on the previous Sunday. Even so, the 4:0 win away at SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round showed how quickly they can settle a Pokal tie when the game turns in their favour. The Pokal has its own laws, but Nürnberg are still walking into a matchup that asks them to produce a surprise against a side built to handle nights like this.
For Miro Klose’s team, the question is not whether the task is difficult. It is whether Leverkusen’s first real stumble in weeks gives Nürnberg even the smallest opening to turn a routine-looking draw into a result that changes the shape of their cup run.
