Bremen vs Leipzig, Dortmund vs Holstein Kiel: Who will book spot in this year's Pokal final?

Topics: TV Schedules, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, Holstein Kiel, Werder Bremen, DFB-Pokal

Four teams remain in the 2020/2021 DFB-Pokal semis, which kick off on Friday, April 30th with Werder Bremen taking on RB Leipzig.

And then there were four. One of them won't be reigning champions Bayern Munich, who were knocked out in arguably one of the most shocking upsets of this season's DFB-Pokal competition. Die Roten were expected to easily stroll to the final, but minnows Holstein Kiel had other ideas as they held firm and managed to send the normally ruthless Bavarian titans packing after a tense penalty shoot-out.

Here's all you need to know ahead of the semi-finals of the 2020/21 DFB-Pokal.

Preview: Werder Bremen vs RB Leipzig

For Werder Bremen, victory in this season's Pokal would be simply a crowning achievement. It wasn't too long ago that die Grün-Weißen barely escaped relegation as they finished in 16th spot last season and had to secure their top-flight status by navigating through a tricky two-legged play-off tie. Currently, Florian Kohfeldt's men sit in 14th, but don't let that ranking fool anyone. Bremen come into this game having lost 3-1 to Union Berlin over the weekend which means they've lost a very disconcerting seven straight Bundesliga matches.

In fact, Bremen, who will be serving as hosts for this upcoming semi-finals clash, haven't actually won a league match since beating Arminia Bielefeld 2-0 on the road back in March. And they've lost to upcoming visitors Leipzig during that miserable run, suffering a 4-1 hiding at this very same ground just three weeks ago. As things stand, die Grün-Weißen are just one point away from 16th-placed Cologne, who have been on a determined run recently, and with three games to go, Bremen could find themselves right back down in that same 16th spot they found themselves in last season.

Basically, the hosts will be up against it in this clash. Their route to the semis has been quite smooth sailing, as they've been pitted against lower-tier opposition in the form of sides like Carl Zeiss Jena, Hannover 96, Greuther Furth and Jahn Regensburg. Leipzig, who, as noted before, crushed them 4-1 about three weeks ago, will be expected to make life difficult, especially with the way Kohfeldt's side have been leaking goals at an alarming rate.

As for Leipzig, they've been given a very interesting life-line in the Bundesliga race, with Bayern suffering a shock loss to Mainz. However, Julian Naglesmann will hope his side won't be distracted too much with the title race door now being propped open once again so as to be able to take care of business here. After all, Leipzig have a real chance at actually winning the Pokal this season - provided they can beat Bremen and then beat the winner of the Dortmund/Holstein Kiel clash, and certainly, given that he's on his way to the Allianz Arena, Naglesmann will want to conclude his time here by departing with some silverware.

Team news: Werder Bremen vs RB Leipzig

Bremen: Omer Toprak, Milos Veljkovic, and Luca Plogmann are all doubts for the hosts due to a calf injury, a broken nose, and a knee problem respectively. Meanwhile, Nick Woltemade and Marco Friedl look set to miss out with a knee injury and a knock respectively.

Leipzig: Yussuf Poulsen is still continuing his rehab from a thigh injury, while Dominik Szoboszlai remains out with a groin injury.

Match facts: Werder Bremen vs RB Leipzig

Werder Bremen have won the Pokal six times - only Bayern (20 wins) have been more successful in this competition than die Grün-Weißen
Meanwhile, RB Leipzig will be seeking to win their first ever trophy since being promoted to the top flight
This will be the second meeting between Bremen and Leipzig in April - die Roten Bullen have beaten die Grün-Weißen both home and away so far in the Bundesliga this season
Leipzig have yet to concede a goal so far in the Pokal this season
Die Roten Bullen have also won seven of their last ten meetings with Bremen

Where to watch Werder Bremen vs RB Leipzig live on April 30, 2021

Werder Bremen vs RB Leipzig kick off at 11:30 PST/14:30 EST/19:30 BST/20:30 CET

USA: FuboTV, Sling TV, ESPN Deportes, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes+

Germany: Das Erste, Sky Ticket, Sky Go, Servus TV, Sky Sport 1/HD

Denmark: Viaplay Denmark

Austria: Servus TV, Sky Sport 1/HD, Das Erste, Sky Go

Live elsewhere? Here's where to watch Werder Bremen vs RB Leipzig live from your current location:

Match details, result and original broadcast info

Werder Bremen 1 - 2 RB Leipzig

April 30, 2021 2:30pmwohninvest WESERSTADION (Bremen)

This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.

Original Broadcast

Live TV coverage and streaming in United States

ESPN Deportes USA

ESPN Deportes+ USA

fuboTV

ESPN App

ESPNEWS

For full international TV schedules, please visit the match page.

Preview: Borussia Dortmund vs Holstein Kiel

With four wins from their last five games, Dortmund have been making a late push to secure a top four berth, but die Schwarzgelben will put that on hold as they turn their attention towards taking on this season's surprise package in the the DFB-Pokal. Holstein Kiel, a team who last won the German championship in the 1911/1912 season, have already dumped reigning champs Bayern out of the competition, so Edin Terzic's squad won't be underestimating the minnows.

Dortmund and Kiel aren't strangers to each other. The two opponents met during the Pokal quarter-finals, with die Schwarzgelben cruising to a 4-0 win en route to winning their third trophy in 2012. Given that Terzic will be leaving at the end of the season to make way for permanent manager Marco Rose, the interim boss would certainly enjoy departing Signal Iduna Park with at least some silverware on his CV.

The hosts come into this off the back of a confidence boosting 2-0 win over fellow Champions League chasers Wolfsburg, which now puts them firmly back in the hunt for a top four spot. Erling Haaland again was the man of the hour, as it was his brace to give BVB all three points, and Terzic will hope that the giant Norwegian will be able to come up big here to fire the team into the final, where they'll take on the winner of the Bremen/Leipzig semi match that will be played 24 hours earlier.

Meanwhile, Holstein Kiel sit in fourth spot in the 2.Bundesliga, but COVID-19 has caused a lot of problems for their schedule. In fact, Ole Werner's side have quite a few games in hand as they've seen matches cancelled, which sees them sitting in fourth spot in the table. They've actually only played four games since the start of March and this has put their ambitions to secure a first-time promotion to the Bundesliga (which was created in 1963) in disarray, but for now, they'll have to be firmly focused on causing another major upset when they travel to Signal Iduna Park.

Team news: Borussia Dortmund vs Holstein Kiel

Dortmund: Axel Witsel (Achilles' tendon), Marcel Schmelzer (knee), Dan-Axel Zagadou (knee), and youngster Youssoufa Moukoko (shin) are all out for the hosts. Mahmoud Dahoud is banned for this game, but Mats Hummels, who was suspended for the tie with Wolfsburg, will be back in action.

Holstein Kiel: Goalkeeper Ioannis Gelios is out due to COVID-19, while Stefan Thesker has injured his Achilles' tendon.

Match facts: Borussia Dortmund vs Holstein Kiel

This is the second time Kiel are in the final four of the DFB Pokal
The last time was during the 1940/41 season, and they were beaten 6-0 by Schalke
This will be the second meeting between Dortmund and Kiel in the Pokal
The first was in 2012, during the quarter-finals. Kiel were beaten 4-0 by die Schwarzgelben, who won the double (Bundesliga and Pokal) under Jurgen Klopp