Dynamo Dresden-Bochum preview

The 2. Bundesliga sides sat third bottom and last but one respectively meet tomorrow evening knowing that at least one of them will at last claw their way out of the relegation zone by the end of the match. Although Dynamo Dresden’s season will forever be associated with that spectacular 4-3 cup victory over Bayer Leverkusen, their league form has been little short of disastrous. Bochum, meanwhile, who were so narrowly edged out of the promotion play-off by Borussia Mönchengladbach just a few months ago, are also conspiring to go from bad to worse in the second tier. Why? No one seems to know. Dresden, through, have brought in and released a number of players over the summer, and with the break between seasons shorter than ever before, it looks as though their players are now paying the price on the pitch for the lack of time they’ve had to get to know one another.

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Dynamo Dresden 4-3 Bayer Leverkusen

The first half formations

Champions League-bound Bayer Leverkusen squandered a 3-0 lead with 22 minutes of the regulation 90 to play to lose an incredible DFB-Pokal tie 4-3 to their until then overwhelmed 2. Bundesliga hosts.

Match preview here

Dresden sat off their guests initially, inviting them into the attacking half. Although this worked in halting Leverkusen’s early stroll forwards, the hosts soon got sucked further up the pitch, leaving their deep defence exposed to an early André Schürrle dribble towards the D and a shot that wasn’t too far wide. Dresden looked ill at ease in their 4-2-3-1 system, and this was exploited in the third minute; Hanno Balitsch fed with time and space to reach the byline. His subsequent pull-back only just evaded Erin Derdiyok, with the yellow-shirted defenders around him running about like headless chickens.

Dynamo Dresden-Bayer Leverkusen preview

The 2011/12 2. Bundesliga season is being interrupted after just two matches to accommodate the opening round of the DFB-Pokal – Germany’s equivalent to England’s League Cup in terms of structure, albeit the equivalent of England’s FA Cup in terms of stature. Spread over three days and numerous time slots, the 64-team tournament sees all the top division sides and those in the league below who haven’t just been promoted there given away games to start with – hence why last season’s 3. Liga bronze-medallists Dresden have been given home advantage against last season’s Bundesliga runners-up, Leverkusen.