BVB welcomes league rivals
FC Bayern travels to the proud Saarland in the DFB Cup
October 1, 2023, 7:53 p.m
1. FC Saarbrücken against Bayern Munich, BVB against TSG Hoffenheim and Stuttgart against Union Berlin. The second round of the DFB Cup promises some big games. FC St. Pauli can also look forward to an attractive opponent, defending champion Leipzig has a very difficult draw.
New attempt for FC Bayern Munich. Because it’s hard to believe: the last time the 20-time DFB Cup winner was in the final in Berlin was in the 2019/2020 season. In the historic triple year under the then coaching sensation Hansi Flick, FCB made short work of Bayer Leverkusen in the final. In the 4:2 (2:0) on July 4, 2020 in the deserted Olympic Stadium, David Alaba, Serge Gnabry and the double packer Robert Lewandowski were on the scorers list. Jérôme Boateng started in central defense. He had to be substituted injured after 69 minutes.
If Bayern really decide to re-sign the now 35-year-old, the 2014 world champion could help avoid another debacle in the next round. The 2020 win was followed by two second-round defeats at Holstein Kiel (2020/2021) and Borussia Mönchengladbach (2021/2022). Last season, the record cup winner was eliminated in the quarter-finals at home against SC Freiburg in one of coach Thomas Tuchel’s first games.
The hands of world champion Skhodran Mustafi laid the foundation for the giants from Munich to perhaps reach the final in the second round of the DFB Cup in the football museum in Dortmund. We’re heading to the proud Saarland, to the third division team 1. FC Saarbrücken. They have little hope. “Absolute blast. Super attractive from the opponent,” said coach Rüdiger Ziehl in the “Sportschau”, “but hardly feasible in terms of sport.” He still promised to include pictures of the legendary 6-1 win against FC Bayern Munich in 1977 in the preparation. The last meeting in a competitive game was also over 30 years ago. On April 23, 1993, Bayern defeated Saarland 6-0. After that, Saarbrücken disappeared from the Bundesliga.
Dortmund meets a good friend
After winning the DFB Cup in 2021, runner-up Borussia Dortmund no longer left a lasting impression in the competition. A round of 16 defeat at FC St. Pauli (2021/2022) and a quarter-final exit (2022/2023) at RB Leipzig did not exactly cause euphoria around Borsigplatz. They want to reach the round of 16 at home against TSG Hoffenheim at least this year. They only won 3-1 away against the team from near Sinsheim on Friday.
The reigning cup winners RB Leipzig should feel completely different. The Saxons won the last two final games in Berlin. First they defeated SC Freiburg when they were outnumbered, then they beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in a very tough game. Now they have to travel to the Mittelland Canal around the turn of the month. They are expected there by the Wolfsburg team, who have started the season well, with coach Niko Kovac and goal scorer Jonas Wind.
Schalke has to go to the neighborhood
In addition to Bayern, Dortmund and Leipzig, the Adler and VfL Wolfsburg have also been able to enter the competition’s winners’ list in recent years. The cup actually has its own rules, because this hasn’t applied to the Bundesliga for eleven years. Bayern always win. Bayer Leverkusen also wants to ensure that this changes. Coach Xabi Alonso’s team travels to second division relegated SV Sandhausen and is of course the top favorite there.
Other notable pairings include the game between the surprise team VfB Stuttgart and the crisis club Union Berlin as well as the game between the second division high-flyers FC St. Pauli and the chaos club FC Schalke 04.
All games in the second cup round on October 31st and November 1st at a glance:
Bundesliga against Bundesliga
Borussia Monchengladbach – 1. FC Heidenheim
VfB Stuttgart-Union Berlin
Borussia Dortmund – TSG Hoffenheim
VfL Wolfsburg – RB Leipzig
2nd Bundesliga against Bundesliga
SC Freiburg – SC Paderborn
Hertha BSC – FSV Mainz 05
1. FC Kaiserslautern – 1. FC Cologne
2nd Bundesliga against 2nd Bundesliga
FC St. Pauli – FC Schalke 04
1. FC Nuremberg – Hansa Rostock
Holstein Kiel – 1. FC Magdeburg
Third league against Bundesliga
Viktoria Cologne – Eintracht Frankfurt
SV Sandhausen – Bayer 04 Leverkusen
1. FC Saarbruecken – FC Bayern Munich
Third league against 2nd Bundesliga
Arminia Bielefeld – Hamburger SV
SpVgg Unterhaching – Fortuna Dusseldorf
Regional league against 2nd Bundesliga
FC Homburg – SpVgg Greuther Furth