It will be three Goliaths against a trio of Davids when the German Cup resumes on December 15 and 16. Bavarian juggernauts Bayern Munich will enjoy home advantage against Germany’s smallest top-flight club Darmstadt. Bayern beat the Lillies 3-0 in the Bundesliga when they met on matchday five this season.
Borussia Dortmund have to travel to Augsburg, who currently sit bottom of the Bundesliga table. Thomas Tuchel’s men thrashed the Acorn Boys 5-1 in late October and have only lost to them once in nine matches.
Leverkusen will pay a visit to Unterhaching, a venue that carries extremely unpleasant memories for the Pharmaceuticals. In 2000, Leverkusen needed only a draw in Haching to win a first-ever Bundesliga title, but ended up losing, partly because of an own goal scored by a young Michael Ballack. Since then, however, Haching has dropped all the way to the fourth division.
Borussia Mönchengladbach will host fellow Bundesliga side Werder Bremen. Werder beat the Foals 2-1 in the third matchday of the current season, but Gladbach have since recovered from their nightmare start, reeling off six straight wins. They’ll be the favorites in that encounter.
Stuttgart will enjoy home advantage against second-division Eintracht Braunschweig. Hertha Berlin, whose record of rarely drawing home cup matches remains unbroken, will have to travel down to face second-tier Nuremberg.
Second-division strugglers 1860 Munich will test their mettle at home against second-tier promotion candidates Bochum. And the only third-division side left in the competition, Erzgebirge Aue, will welcome second-division Heidenheim.
