Our next opponents: Arminia Bielefeld causing upsets

Position

Arminia are without doubt the story of this Pokal campaign. It isn’t just the fact that they have reached the final four as a team from the third division, but have also knocked out teams from higher leagues in all four rounds. Bielefeld began their campaign with a 2-0 win over Hannover of Bundesliga 2, before Mitch Kniat’s side eliminated Union Berlin by the same score. Freiburg were then the victims at the SchücoArena in December’s round of 16, being beaten 3-1 by a courageous, high-pressing and clinical Arminia.

The 3. Liga club then hosted Werder Bremen in the quarter-finals. As he had against Union, Marius Wörl opened the scoring. A Julian Malatini own goal then doubled the advantage in the first half. Oliver Burke got one back for the visitors to make things interesting, with Amos Pieper putting a header against the bar in added time as Bielefeld held on to progress to the semi-finals.

There’s also a lot on the line on the league front going into April. Arminia missed out on the chance to go third (the play-off spot) as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Hannover’s reserves in front of almost 24,000 at the SchücoArena on Saturday. Julian Kania had put them ahead with an early penalty before the 3. Liga strugglers turned things around. Captain Mael Corboz then salvaged a point late on. It leaves Bielefeld in fourth place but only a point behind Saarbrücken in third. An automatic promotion spot is also within potential reach with eight games left to go. After the disappointment of last season’s 14th-placed finish, there’s real excitement in East Westphalia again. So much so that the fans were cheering “We’re heading to Berlin” even after Saturday’s slip.

Personnel

Coach Kniat showed with his line-up at the weekend that he was by no means distracted by this big cup encounter. The 39-year-old picked his best team to face Hannover. Jonas Kersken is the undisputed number one in goal, usually behind a back four that consists of centre-backs Joel Felix and Leon Schneider, with Christopher Lannert on the right and Louis Oppie on the left. American Corboz is the captain and experienced head in central midfield at 30 years of age. He’s often flanked by Stefano Russo and former Bayer 04 youngster Sam Schreck, who came through the U19s to the first team between 2016 and 2019, making two UEFA Europa League appearances under Heiko Herrlich. He played alongside Jonathan Tah and has been with Bielefeld since 2023.

Further forward, Wörl, Lukas Kunze and Kania – the team’s 12-goal top scorer in the league – provide the danger, with additional firepower in Joel Grodowski, Isaiah Young and Noah Sarenren Bazee. Centre-forward Roberts Uldrikis is the only absentee with a cruciate ligament injury.

Problems

Bielefeld haven’t quite managed to bring consistency into their game this season, often going through ups and downs in form throughout the 3. Liga campaign. For example, they lost four out of seven games between December and the start of February (also two draws and a win). They have also produced disappointing results against the top two sides, losing 3-0 to Dynamo Dresden and 2-0 against Energie Cottbus. In the Pokal, they may have only conceded two goals, but Arminia have faced 65 opposition shots, which is the most of any team in the competition.

Performers

Bielefeld boast the tightest defence in the 3. Liga with only 32 goals conceded from 30 games. That includes nine clean sheets. According to Schreck, their defensive solidity is down to the fact that “we defend in a nasty way, are very aggressive and have a high level of intensity. That's why it's extremely difficult for our opponents to score goals against us”. The former Leverkusen man has been a regular starter in recent weeks thanks to his tireless performances.

The whole team works hard, in fact. On average they cover 120.9 kilometres per game in the 3. Liga, which is the highest of any team. Their 437 contested challenges in four Pokal games underlines their rough-and-ready approach. A total of 58 fouls committed and 11 yellow cards can both only be topped in the cup this season by Köln (66 and 15). The Werkself can therefore expect a physical affair at the Bielefelder Alm.

However, it wouldn’t be right to reduce Arminia to just defensive and battling abilities. They are the fourth-highest scorers in the Pokal this term with nine goals. Four of those have come from outside the box, while Wörl leads the competition for goal involvement with five (two goals, three assists). Bielefeld are also the top scorers in the 3. Liga since the mid-point of the season with 21 goals.