Carl Zeiss Jena vs. Bayer Leverkusen preview: Team news and predicted lineups
German double winners Bayer Leverkusen make their first appearance in this season's DFB-Pokal on Wednesday when they take on Regionalliga side Carl Zeiss Jena.
In their first two games this season, Die Werkself edged out Stuttgart on penalties in the DFL-Supercup before having to fight hard to beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-2 in their Bundesliga opener.
Carl Zeiss Jena are in fine form, having won their first five league games of the season. And with 10 goals to his name this season, striker Eric Weinhauer will be going into the game full of confidence.
Nevertheless, Leverkusen will of course be heavy favorites, and it would be logical for head coach Xabi Alonso to make some changes to his side on Wednesday.
“We have a big squad with a lot of options. Rotation will be important this season, as it was last season. I have confidence in every single player,” Alonso said at the pre-match press conference.
Löder, Petermann and Smyla are unavailable for Carl Zeiss Jena.
Leverkusen will be without the suspended Victor Boniface, Martin Terrier and Odilon Kossounou, while Exequiel Palacios is still recovering from injury.
Click here to see our predicted Carl Zeiss Jena vs. Bayer Leverkusen lineups.