Bayer Leverkusen, the title defender, will face 1. FC Köln, a second-division team, in a Rhineland derby at home in the DFB Cup quarterfinals, as determined by the draw on Sunday afternoon at the German Football Museum in Dortmund.
Several top favorites, such as FC Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund, are no longer in the competition. Arminia Bielefeld, a third-division team, is still in the running, and will face Werder Bremen in the quarterfinals. VfB Stuttgart will play against FC Augsburg, and RB Leipzig will face VfL Wolfsburg. DFB Vice President Peter Frymuth was the draw master, and Handball National player and Olympic silver medalist Julian Köster acted as the “Lotto fairy”.
The quarterfinals will be played on February 4 and 5, as well as February 25 and 26, 2025. The semifinals are scheduled for April 1 and 2, 2025. The final at the Berlin Olympic Stadium will take place on May 24, 2025.