The head coach on the game: Florian Kohfeldt doesn’t want to experiment on Wednesday night. “We will put out our best possible team so that we can win this game – we are desperate to reach the next round.” The head coach is also aware of Hannover’s strengths: “They are strong on the break, can play with a number of different systems, have quick wingers and press well once losing possession.” Nevertheless, the Werder coach is happy to assume the role as favourites going into the game. “Hannover have a lot of Bundesliga experience in their squad, but we are still the favourites and we will go into the game as such.” The 38-year-old prefers to go into a game as the favourites, as that means his team can influence the game better. “We need to be very active on the ball and be compact at the back once we lose the ball.”
The last match between the sides: Almost exactly 15 years have passed since SV Werder Bremen and Hannover 96 last met in the DFB-Pokal. The game was held in Hannover on 21/12/2005. Frank Baumann, now sporting director at Werder, was on the pitch that day. The match took a while to get going, but it turned out to be an eventful affair. Naldo scored the first goal of the game in the 71st minute, before Torsten Frings (83’, pen), Hanno Balitsch (89, own goal) and Aaron Hunt (90’) added more for the Green-Whites; it finished 4-1 to the away side. The last fixture between the sides in any competition wasn’t long ago. The last derby fixture in the Bundesliga was on 19/1/2019 in the HDI Arena, with Theodor Gebre Selassie and co. securing a 1-0 win for the away side. Hannover are popular friendly opponents for Werder – the two sides have run out against each other seven times in the last two years.