First appearance in ten years: After securing a 2-0 win against fellow 2. Bundesliga side Paderborn in the quarter-finals, Hamburger SV are making their first DFB-Pokal semi-final appearance in ten years. In their last appearance in 2009, the Rothosen fell to a Nordderby defeat on penalties at home against Werder Bremen.
Overcoming the final hurdle: HSV have lost each of their last three DFB-Pokal semi-finals. Alongside the heartbreak on penalties against Werder, the Rothosen lost away in Stuttgart in 1997 (2-1) and in Bochum in 1988 respectively (2-0).
1987 champions: HSV last celebrated a semi-final victory 32 years ago as they secured a 1-0 win against Borussia Mönchengladbach to send them to the 1987 final. HSV went on to secure their third, and most recent, Pokal triumph in the final, defeating Stuttgarter Kickers 3-1 in the final.
Semi-final debutants: After securing a last-gasp 2-1 victory after extra time in Augsburg in the quarter-finals, RB Leipzig face HSV in their first ever DFB-Pokal semi-final.
Lasogga chasing Hrubesch’s record: HSV striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga has scored six goals in this season’s DFB-Pokal and he is currently the competition’s top scorer. Only Jimmy Hartwig and Horst Hrubesch have scored more Pokal goals for HSV in a single season. Both Hartwig and Hrubesch scored seven goals in the 1980/1981 season.
Strong defences: HSV and Leipzig have conceded the least amount of goals of the remaining four teams in this season’s DFB-Pokal. HSV have conceded just three goals while Leipzig have conceded two.
A good omen for the Rothosen: HSV have kept three consecutive clean sheets in this season’s competition, going 289 minutes without conceding – the longest current streak in the competition. The last time Hamburg kept four consecutive Pokal clean sheets, they won the competition in 1976.
No team has won the DFB-Pokal on more occasions than FC Bayern München and SV Werder Bremen. On Wednesday evening, the two teams meet in Bremen for a place in this season’s final in Berlin. Werder have an impressive home record both this season and in this competitions while Bayern look to secure their second win against the Green-Whites in just four days. Meanwhile, in tonight’s first semi-final, HSV haven’t conceded a DFB-Pokal goal in 289 minutes as they prepare for their first appearance in the final four in ten years against RB Leipzig. DFB.de provides you with all the facts you need to know ahead of this week’s matches.
Record champions: Wednesday’s clash between Werder and Bayern sees the two record winners of the competition go head-to-head. Bayern have won the DFB-Pokal on 18 occasions and have reached 22 finals while Werder have won the competition six times, reaching their 10th final in 2010. The Green-Whites lost to Bayern on that occasion but won the DFB-Pokal the previous season. Bayern reached the final last season but lost to Eintracht Frankfurt.
1293 goals: If history is anything to go by, goals are guaranteed in this season’s second semi-final. Bayern have scored 729 goals in the competition while Werder have scored 564. No other team has scored as many goals in this competition.
One win in eight matches: Werder have only won one of their eight DFB-Pokal matches against the record champions. However, their only win came in the 1999 final as Bremen goalkeeper Frank Rost wrote his name into the Green-Whites history books. Rost scored Werder’s final penalty and also denied Lothar Matthäus’ spot-kick to send the trophy to Bremen (1-1 after extra time, 5-4 on penalties).
Unbeaten home run: Werder haven’t lost any of their last 37 home DFB-Pokal matches. They have won 33 of them, needing penalties to win the other four. This is a competition record which stretches back to 1988. Eintracht Frankfurt were the last side to defeat Bremen in the Weser-Stadion in that season’s semi-finals as a 1-0 win put the visitors on track to a Pokal triumph.
Kovac Pokal final again? In his first season as FC Bayern head coach, Niko Kovac could become just the third coach to reach the DFB-Pokal final in each of his first three seasons in charge of a participating team. With Eintracht Frankfurt, the Croatian led his side to the 2016/17 final where they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Borussia Dortmund. Kovac and the Eagles returned to Berlin the following season and won the title against future employees FC Bayern (3-1). Only Hermann Lindemann in the 1950s and Hans Schmidt in the 1930s have reached three consecutive finals in their first three seasons in charge of a participating team. Kovac will look to join this exclusive group on Wednesday night.
Pokal fox in the box: Three players currently in the top ten for all time competition goals could feature on Wednesday night. Werder’s Claudio Pizarro is currently eighth on the list with 32 goals while FC Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Müller are joint ninth on the list, just three goals behind the Peruvian (29). In this season’s competition, Lewandowski has scored three goals while Müller and Pizarro have scored two each.
Müller set to break record: Thomas Müller will become the first player to make ten DFB-Pokal semi-final appearances if he plays on Wednesday night. The Bavarian will move clear of current joint record holders Philipp Lahm, Uli Borowka and Heinz Flohe (9 appearances each alongside Müller).
First appearance in ten years: After securing a 2-0 win against fellow 2. Bundesliga side Paderborn in the quarter-finals, Hamburger SV are making their first DFB-Pokal semi-final appearance in ten years. In their last appearance in 2009, the Rothosen fell to a Nordderby defeat on penalties at home against Werder Bremen.
Overcoming the final hurdle: HSV have lost each of their last three DFB-Pokal semi-finals. Alongside the heartbreak on penalties against Werder, the Rothosen lost away in Stuttgart in 1997 (2-1) and in Bochum in 1988 respectively (2-0).
1987 champions: HSV last celebrated a semi-final victory 32 years ago as they secured a 1-0 win against Borussia Mönchengladbach to send them to the 1987 final. HSV went on to secure their third, and most recent, Pokal triumph in the final, defeating Stuttgarter Kickers 3-1 in the final.
Semi-final debutants: After securing a last-gasp 2-1 victory after extra time in Augsburg in the quarter-finals, RB Leipzig face HSV in their first ever DFB-Pokal semi-final.
Lasogga chasing Hrubesch’s record: HSV striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga has scored six goals in this season’s DFB-Pokal and he is currently the competition’s top scorer. Only Jimmy Hartwig and Horst Hrubesch have scored more Pokal goals for HSV in a single season. Both Hartwig and Hrubesch scored seven goals in the 1980/1981 season.
Strong defences: HSV and Leipzig have conceded the least amount of goals of the remaining four teams in this season’s DFB-Pokal. HSV have conceded just three goals while Leipzig have conceded two.
A good omen for the Rothosen: HSV have kept three consecutive clean sheets in this season’s competition, going 289 minutes without conceding – the longest current streak in the competition. The last time Hamburg kept four consecutive Pokal clean sheets, they won the competition in 1976.
