**Leverkusen's cup cruise rolls on** — the defending champs are heavy favorites here, while Nürnberg arrives from the second tier looking to nick a shock. 🔴⚫

Leverkusen are on a 4-win tear (one blip to Hoffenheim aside), cruising through their group. Nürnberg stay scrappy—draws and chaos their calling card—but they're walking into the toughest fixture on paper.

Key storylines:

- **Bayer's squad depth** means they can rotate freely despite losing four players to injury; **E. Fernández** and **A. García** hold the midfield while the Pokal chase stays alive
- **Nürnberg's defending** will be tested relentlessly by **P. Schick**, **E. Ben Seghir**, and **A. Moreira** running at them all night
- History crushing: Leverkusen have dominated this fixture 26 wins to 12 across 52 meetings

Expected lineups:

- **Bayer 04 Leverkusen**: M. Flekken, E. Tapsoba, F. Medina, M. Gutiérrez, J. Quansah, A. García, E. Fernández, P. Schick, E. Ben Seghir, I. Maza, A. Moreira
- **1. FC Nürnberg**: J. Reichert, A. Kalogeropoulos, E. Porstner, T. Janisch, F. Otto, A. Markhiev, J. Fernández, P. Scobel, J. Justvan, R. Ghrieb, A. Grimaldi

Prediction:

**Leverkusen 3–1 Nürnberg**

Home edge, quality gap, and Nürnberg's dodgy form make this a comfortable night for the Werkself. 🎯