POWER AT HOME: Schalke have only lost one DFB-Pokal quarter-final at home (16 games): 1967 against Bayern, where they lost 3-2.
GOAL-HUNGRY: Werder Bremen have failed to score in just one of their last 35 trips away from home in the DFB-Pokal – the 2-0 semi-final in Bayern in April 2016. They boast the best attack of all the teams left in this season’s DFB-Pokal, having scored 14 goals. Schalke have only scored half as many in the same time (seven).
TOP ASSIST-MAKER: Max Kruse, who set up two goals in the last 16 clash with Dortmund, has been involved in seven goals in his last three Pokal games (two goals, five assists) and is the leading assist-maker in the competition this year.
THREE SECOND DIVISION SIDES: With Hamburg, Heidenheim and Paderborn, there will be three second division sides in the quarter-finals this year – a feat not achieved in eight years. In 2010/11, Aachen, Cottbus and Duisburg were all still standing during the quarters, with the Zebras making it all the was to the final (where they were beaten 5-0 by Schalke).
GETTING POINTS ON THE ROAD: All four penalty shootouts in the cup this season were won by the away team. In fact, the last seven penalty shootouts in the competition have been won by the away side. The last home team to win on penalties was Borussia Dortmund in the second round in the 2016/17 season against Hertha (3-2).
VAR: Starting from the quarter-finals, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will be used in every DFB-Pokal match. At the game in Paderborn, a mobile van will be used.
Hamburg have been very strong defensively in the DFB-Pokal this season; Max Kruse has impressed with numerous goals and assists; and there’s a case for Heidenheim in Munich. DFB.de has compiled the best facts ahead of the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal, which will take place on the 2nd and 3rd of April.
REPETITION: Paderborn are in the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal for the second time in a row. In 20 attempts in the competition, they’ve never got past the quarter-finals. Last season SC Paderborn faced FC Bayern in the quarters, where they faced their biggest defeat in their DFB-Pokal history (6-0).
CRUMBLING DOWN: The last time HSV were in the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal was 10 years ago, in the 2008/09 season. At the time, HSV were still in contention for the cup, league and UEFA cup. Between the 22nd of April and 10th May, they faced Werder Bremen in all three competitions, playing them a total of four times. After those games, all three competitions were out of their reach.
STRONGHOLD: HSV haven’t conceded in the DFB-Pokal for 199 minutes – beaten only by RB Leipzig, who have gone 231 minutes without conceding.
TOP GOALSCORER: Hamburg’s Pierre-Michel Lasogga is, alongside Köln’s Simon Terodde and Düsseldorf’s Dodi Lukebakio, the best goalscorer in this year’s competition. The last person to score more goals for HSV in a DFB-Pokal campaign was Ivica Olic in the 2008/09 semi-final run (six goals).
FAVOURITE OPPONENTS: This is the third time Augsburg will face RB Leipzig in the DFB-Pokal. Augsburg prevailed in both previous meetings, winning 1-0 in 2011/12 and 2-0 in 2013/14. FCA is the only team to have beaten RB Leipzig in the cup twice.
GOALLESS: Both Bundesliga meetings between Augsburg and RB Leipzig this season have ended 0-0.
DEBUT: After their 1-0 win over VfL Woflsburg in the last 16, RB Leipzig will make their first ever appearance in the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals.
BEST DEFENCE: Having played three games in the DFB-Pokal this season, RB Leipzig have only conceded one goal (in the 3-1 win over Viktoria Köln) and boast the best defence of all competitors left.
LATE DANGER: In all three rounds that they’ve played so far, Augsburg have scored the decisive goal after the 60th minute. In the first round, Andre Hahn scored in the 65th minute to make it 2-1 against TSV Steinbach. In the second round, Michael Gregoritsch scored in the 86th minute to make it 2-2 against Mainz, putting the game into extra time where Caiuby was able to convert in the 105th minute to grab the victory for Augsburg. Lastly, Gregoritsch scored the only goal in the 1-0 win over Holstein Kiel in the 85th minute.
FAMILIAR FACES: This is the 12th time in a row that Bayern have made it to the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal. The last time the Munich side were knocked out beforehand was in the 2006/2007 season, where they lost 4-2 to Aachen in the last 16.
STRONG AWAY RECORD: 1. FC Heidenheim have won their last seven games away in the DFB-Pokal. There are only three teams who are unbeaten away in the DFB-Pokal (excluding penalties): Hertha BSC (12 games), Mönchengladbach (13) and their opponents from Munich (29).
TWO-TIME: FC Bayern have only exited the competition after being beaten at home by a second division side twice before. In 1978, FCB were beaten by VfL Osnabrück 5-4, and in 1991 against FC Homburg, where they lost 4-2.
MEAGRE: With just six goals in the first three games, Bayern sit with Leipzig and Augsburg as the teams with the weakest attack out of all clubs left. Heidenheim have already scored ten goals, sitting in second place behind highflyers Bremen (14).
COACH RECORDS: Under Florian Kohfeldt, Werder have won all games they’ve played against Schalke. In his last five games against Bremen, Huub Stevens has lost none (four wins and one draw). His last defeat to Werder was over ten years ago (a 1-0 loss with HSV in the Bundesliga in 2008).
DRAMA 14 YEARS AGO: The last meeting in the Pokal between Schalke and Bremen was almost 14 years ago, on the 19th of April 2005, where both teams met in the semi-finals in Gelsenkirchen. After 90 minutes, the game ended 1-1, and after 120 minutes, it stood at 2-2. It took 14 penalties until Schalke were named victorious, winning 5-4. The hero of the night was keeper Frank Rost, who not only saved three of Bremen’s penalties, but also took Schalke’s last penalty to give them the win against his former club. Schalke ultimately lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich in Berlin.
POWER AT HOME: Schalke have only lost one DFB-Pokal quarter-final at home (16 games): 1967 against Bayern, where they lost 3-2.
GOAL-HUNGRY: Werder Bremen have failed to score in just one of their last 35 trips away from home in the DFB-Pokal – the 2-0 semi-final in Bayern in April 2016. They boast the best attack of all the teams left in this season’s DFB-Pokal, having scored 14 goals. Schalke have only scored half as many in the same time (seven).
TOP ASSIST-MAKER: Max Kruse, who set up two goals in the last 16 clash with Dortmund, has been involved in seven goals in his last three Pokal games (two goals, five assists) and is the leading assist-maker in the competition this year.
THREE SECOND DIVISION SIDES: With Hamburg, Heidenheim and Paderborn, there will be three second division sides in the quarter-finals this year – a feat not achieved in eight years. In 2010/11, Aachen, Cottbus and Duisburg were all still standing during the quarters, with the Zebras making it all the was to the final (where they were beaten 5-0 by Schalke).
GETTING POINTS ON THE ROAD: All four penalty shootouts in the cup this season were won by the away team. In fact, the last seven penalty shootouts in the competition have been won by the away side. The last home team to win on penalties was Borussia Dortmund in the second round in the 2016/17 season against Hertha (3-2).
VAR: Starting from the quarter-finals, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will be used in every DFB-Pokal match. At the game in Paderborn, a mobile van will be used.
