Kaiserslautern have won just three of their last 27 competitive meetings against the Werkself. This will be the seventh encounter between the two clubs in the cup. Victory for the Black-and-Reds would mean a first domestic double following the first Bundesliga title - Bayer 04 would become just the fifth team since the formation of the Bundesliga to achieve this feat. FC Bayern Munich, 1. FC Köln, SV Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund have previously claimed the double.
The Red Devils, meanwhile, are in the DFB Pokal final for the first time since the 2002/03 campaign and the eighth time in total. FCK are also the first Bundesliga 2 side to reach the final of the competition since MSV Duisburg in 2010/11.
And a bit of information on Kaiserslautern coach Friedhelm Funkel: the 70-year-old was actually already "retired", as he explained at yesterday's press conference. However, in February he took the helm at the relegation-threatened Rhineland-Palatinate club. Not only has Funkel guided them to safety in the league but also to victory in the DFB Pokal semi-finals, where they overcame 1. FC Saarbrücken, who knocked out Bayern, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Mönchengladbach in the previous rounds. Today is Funkel's third appearance in the cup final as a coach - a joint record.
A turbulent campaign in the second tier, with a total of three different coaches, ended in 13th place for Kaiserslautern. With 59 goals, FCK only scored three fewer than champions FC St. Pauli (62) - remarkable for a team who only narrowly avoided relegation to the third division. It's at the back where the two-time cup winners have been particularly vulnerable. Dominating games also doesn't seem to suit FCK: when it comes to possession (44%) and pass completion (78.3%), their numbers are not impressive. Funkel was therefore clear in his assessment ahead of his third cup final: "I've never been more of an underdog. We need our best performance of the season." There's more on today's opponents in the in-depth opponent analysis.
Travel, food and drink, contact details and more: the Bayer 04 Fan Liaison team has put together all the information that the 27,000 travelling Leverkusen fans need ahead of the DFB Pokal final at Berlin's Olympiastadion. Click HERE!
Fans can also keep up to date with the trip to the capital with the live blog.
Another note: the Schwadbud at the BayArena is closed on Saturday.
The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Bastian Dankert as the referee for the final. The 43-year-old has officiated 13 competitive fixtures involving the Werkself to date, with a record of six wins for the Black-and-Reds, one draw and six defeats. Dingert will be assisted this evening by René Rohde and Marcel Unger, while Harm Osmers is the VAR.
This evening's match will be shown live on ARD in Germany.
Bayer 04 host Borussia Mönchengladbach at the BayArena on matchday 12 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The schedule for the game remains to be confirmed. The latest information on ticket sales.
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Bayer 04 host Eintracht Frankfurt at the BayArena on matchday 14 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The schedule for the game remains to be confirmed. The latest information on ticket sales.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 0-1 loss at Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the women's DFB-Pokal 2026/27
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“As far as mentality and determination are concerned, we have nothing to reproach ourselves for,” Robert Andrich said up after the first home defeat for the Werkself this term. In terms of their play, too, the Black and Reds put in a respectable performance for long stretches of this intense and physical match, outperforming VfB Stuttgart in most areas. It was only in terms of efficiency in front of goal that the Swabians had the edge over the Werkself. Head coach Carles Martínez wants to learn from this so that, in future, they can “win this sort of match too”. The Werkself review.
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career working as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personal Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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