On Saturday, May 21, the two biggest teams in Germany compete for the German Cup as Bayern Munich take on Borussia Dortmund. The game will be played at the Olympiastadion Berlin in the city of Berlin and is scheduled to kick off at 19:00 BST.
The Munich team beat Nottingen, Wolfsburg, Darmstadt 98, VFL Bochum and Werder Bremen to get to the final, while their opponents had to get past Chemnitzer FC, Paderborn, Augsburg, Stuttgart and Hertha Berlin to get to the final.
Bayern Munich has won this competition a record 17 times, the most recent of which was 2014, while Borussia Dortmund have won the competition 12 times, the most recent of which was 2012.
Bayern Munich look to extend recordBayern Munich, who have won the competition way more than anyone else, will be hoping to make it a domestic double with yet another win in the DFB Pokal. It will be the perfect sendoff gift for their outgoing manager and something for new manager Carlo Ancelloti to build on.
The Bavarians, managed by the outgoing Pep Guardiola are in good form, with three wins, one draw and one defeat in their last five games in all competitions. These wins include a Champions League win against Athletico Madrid (2-1 on May 3), and consecutive league victories against Ingolstadt (1-2 on May 7), and Hannover 96 (3-1 on May 14).
The league leaders could only manage a draw in their league game against Borussia Moenchengladbach (1-1 on April 30), but suffered defeat at the hands of Athletico Madrid in the Champions League (1-0 on April 27).
Borussia Dortmund look to end a fine season with a trophyBorussia Dortmund can look back at their accomplishments this season with pride, after their less than stellar campaign last year. They pushed the league winners all the way till the final weeks, got to the quarter final of the Europa League, and are in the German Cup final. They will however like to get their hands on the trophy to make it an even better campaign.
Der BVB, managed by Thomas Tuchel, are in good form, with three wins, one draw and one defeat in their last five games in all competitions. These wins include league wins against Hamburger SV (3-0 on April 17), and Stuttgart (0-3 on April 23). They also defeated Hertha Berlin in the semifinals of the DFB Pokal (0-3 on April 20).
The 3 time German Cup winners could however only manage a draw against FC Cologne (2-2 on May 14), but suffered defeat at the hands of Eintracht Frankfurt (1-0 on May 7).
The strike force of Thoman Muller and Robert Lewandowski have been absolutely lethal this season, scoring 32 and 42 goals respectively in all competitions. Both of these players are the most likely source for goals for Bayern Munich in this game. Borussia Dortmund also have players who have been very impressive this season, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang with 39 goals and 8 assists in all competitions and Henrikh Mkhitaryan with 23 goals and 24 assists in all competitions. These two along with Marco Reus will provide the attacking impetus for Dortmund in this game.
This is a very tough one to call, as both of these teams boast players with exceptional quality, and coaches of high pedigree. Bayern Munich are supposedly the marginally superior side, but I see Borussia Dortmund putting it all on the line, and walking away with victory in this encounter.
