- Luck befalls the title defenders, Leverkusen, as Bayern heads to Mainz.
Unfortunate draw for the trophy mantle holder: Bayer Leverkusen welcomes SV Elversberg, a second-tier football team, in the second round of the DFB-Pokal. Reigning champions FC Bayern Munich are assigned to face FSV Mainz 05. Only four Bundesliga face-offs are scheduled, including Eintracht Frankfurt versus Borussia Mönchengladbach, VfL Wolfsburg against Borussia Dortmund, and RB Leipzig against FC St. Pauli. This was the result of the draw held in Dortmund.
Leverkusen has the chance to right their wrongs from their humiliating first-round defeat two years ago in Elversberg, where they lost 3:4. "A home game certainly suits us well. Against Elversberg, we aim to put our first-round exit in 2022 behind us," stated Leverkusen's sporting director Simon Rolfes. They will treat the lower-tier opponent with due respect and give their all, "to progress far in the cup this campaign as well".
Challenging DFB-Pokal draw for last year's runner-up Kaiserslautern
As the sole survivor from the fourth tier, Kickers Offenbach will host second-tier team Karlsruher SC, while third-tier sides Arminia Bielefeld will face 1. FC Union Berlin and Dynamo Dresden will square off against SV Darmstadt 98. Previous year's finalist 1. FC Kaiserslautern will lock horns with German vice-champions VfB Stuttgart. "Obviously, this is a significant test for us, but we're excited and ready to take it on," asserted FCK coach Markus Anfang.**
The second-round encounters will take place on October 29/30. The quarterfinals are also scheduled this year (December 3/4). The final will take place on May 24, 2025, at the Berlin Olympic Stadium.
Despite FC Bayern Munich being the reigning champions, they face a tough challenge against FSV Mainz 05 in the second round of the DFB-Pokal.Simultaneously, last year's runner-up Kaiserslautern also has a testing draw as they prepare to face German vice-champions VfB Stuttgart.
