Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel has said - viasportskeeda- that his team must avoid being caught up in the occasion, ahead of theirDFB-Pokal quarter-final against third-tier sideSportfreunde Lotte.
The sides will face off on Tuesday night, in a fixture that had to be rescheduled, after heavy snow left theLotte's Frimo Stadion unplayable.
A semi-final against Bayern Munich awaits the winner, and Lotte will feel that their dream is still very much alive, having previously beaten top-tier opposition in Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen in previous rounds.
Tuchel has warned his players not to underestimate Lotte, who currently sit in third place in the3 Liga:"They will try to create a sensation," Tuchel told a news conference. "This is a very courageous, aggressive and passionate team, comparable to a second-division side. They will look for chances with confidence.
"The game will be hard work. It will not necessarily be fun. We will need to give it our all to reach the next round."
With the rescheduled fixture, Lotte will have lost a considerable home advantage, but Tuchel was even wary of this, and the effect it could have on his players:
"We do not know the pitch in Osnabruck, we will have to adjust ourselves on the day," he added.
"I do not see it giving either side an advantage. I do not know if the quality of the pitch is dramatically different."
樂 So könnten sie spielen // This is how they might line-up for tomorrow's Cup tie #sflbvb pic.twitter.com/HucUIF9Esh
Tuchel will be without two key players for the match, with centre back Sokratis Papastathopoulos set to miss out through suspension, while young midfielder will be out with 'muscular problems'.
BVB will be looking to bounce back against Lotte, after suffering a setback in their push for second place in the Bundesliga, as they lost 2-1 to fifth placed Hertha Berlin, leaving them six points adrift of second placed RB Leipzig.
Dortmund were able to overcome Benfica in the Champions League Round of 16, however, overturning a 1-0 first leg defeat with a 4-0 win at the Signal Iduna Park, aided by a hat-trick from talismanic striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.