German Cup: Stuttgart stunned by Greuther Fuerth

Markus Babbel's days as Stuttgart coach appear to be numbered after his players were dumped out of the DFB-Pokal by second division opponents Greuther Furth.

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Bernd Nehrig (R) of Greuther Fuerth celebrates his goal.

The pressure was already mounting on Babbel after a run of negative results in the Bundesliga and Champions League left the 2007 league champions hovering just above the relegation zone and almost out of Europe.

The DFB-Pokal tie was regarded as his last chance to lead his side around the corner, but a goal from Bernd Nehrig after half an hour saw Babbel's team fall in the third round and leave the coach's future hanging by a thread.

"We now have five straight defeats," he told reporters. "This is bitter and a very difficult situation and it is not getting easier. I do not know what the club's position is regarding myself."

It was a bad night for Borussia Dortmund too as they crashed out of the competition 3-2 to third division opponents Osnabruck. A brace from Angelo Barletta and a Benjamin Siegert strike saw Osnabruck continue their giant-killing streak after seeing off Hamburg in the last round.

Nuri Sahin scored the first consolation for Dortmund with a Lucas Barrios strike six minutes into stoppage time coming too late to make any difference.

Cologne avoided a similar embarrassment as they knocked fourth division survivors Eintracht Trier out of the competition. Goals from Milivoje Novakovic, Youssef Mohamad and Maniche ensured Cologne continue to fly the flag as the only Bundesliga side so far to have made it to the quarter-finals.

Augsburg won Tuesday's other game, a battle of two second-division sides, with a convincing 5-0 triumph over Duisburg.

Schalke, Werder Bremen and Hoffenheim will all be hoping to restore some pride for the Bundesliga in Wednesday night's ties as they face 1860 Munich, Kaiserslautern and Koblenz respectively. There will be at least one top-flight outfit joining Cologne in the last eight as Bayern Munich travel to Eintracht Frankfurt.