For the sixth time in ten years, Bayer Leverkusen is playing in a quarter-final of the DFB Cup, and for the sixth time in their own stadium. SC Freiburg, on the other hand, has to travel – as usual. The draws of the past ten years have produced a few oddities.
The quarter-finals of the DFB Cup are stretched out over four days within a good week. It starts on Tuesday (February 3rd, 2025) in Leverkusen. Where else? Not that the Werkself always play in the first quarter-final. But if they are among the last eight teams, then they will also play in the arena on Autobahn 1 and 3.
Six out of six – that is Leverkusen’s record of home advantage in the quarter-finals since the 2015/16 season.
Werder Bremen’s record during this period was also six out of six, although the draw always led away from the Weserstadion.
Away teams advance more often
Statistically speaking, there is no reason for the people of Bremen to complain. In 40 quarter-final games played since the summer of 2015, the guests went further 21 times. However, the special feature that must be taken into account here is that a team from the 3rd league downwards always receives home advantage if they meet a club from the 2nd league or Bundesliga.
| Association | Quarter-finals (including home game) | Semi-finals (including home game) |
|---|---|---|
FC Bayern Munich | 7 (4) | 5 (3) |
Bayer Leverkusen | 6 (6) | 4 (2) |
RB Leipzig | 6 (3) | 5 (1) |
Werder Bremen | 6 (0) | 3 (2) |
VfB Stuttgart | 5 (2) | 2 (2) |
Eintracht Frankfurt | 4 (4) | 4 (0) |
FC Schalke 04 | 4 (3) | 1 (1) |
Borussia Dortmund | 4 (0) | 3 (1) |
Hamburger SV | 3 (2) | 2 (2) |
Hertha BSC | 3 (2) | 1 (1) |
1. FC Union Berlin | 3 (1) | 1 (0) |
Bor. Mönchengladbach | 3 (1) | 0 |
SC Freiburg | 3 (0) | 2 (1) |
VfL Wolfsburg | 3 (0) | 0 |
*All games played and drawn in the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the DFB Cup since the 2015/16 season by teams with at least three participations are considered
Automatic home rights for teams from the 3rd league downwards
This was the case six times in the 40 duels, including last season in the game between third division team Arminia Bielefeld and Werder. The East Westphalia team defeated Bremen, just like Bayer Leverkusen in the semi-finals, who had to travel simply because of their class.
The case was similar with Holstein Kiel, which competed as a second division team at Rot-Weiss Essen in the 2020/21 season, at that time still in the fourth division Regionalliga West.
If the Kiel team were able to live well with this draw, they were hit hard in the semi-finals, even though no spectators were allowed in the game at Borussia Dortmund due to the corona pandemic. The industry giant defeated the outsider 5-0.
Holstein Kiel on the fjord with greater opportunities
In the current quarter-finals, VfB Stuttgart would be a similarly clear favorite against the “Storks” if they were allowed to play in their own stadium. However, the game will kick off on Wednesday (February 4th, 2026) on the fjord, so Holstein will be given greater chances, not least because they knocked FC Bayern out of the competition in their own stadium in January 2021.
It looks similar in the duel between Leverkusen and FC St. Pauli. At Millerntor, the relegation candidate would certainly not be as clear an outsider as he is now in the Rhineland.
In the fourth game, FC Bayern enjoys home advantage, having reached the quarter-finals for the seventh time since the 2015/16 season, more often than any other club. He was awarded a home game four times, in one case the home game automatically went to SC Paderborn, then in the 3rd division. In the five semi-finals during the period under review, the Munich team was allowed to compete at home five times. Overall, according to popular opinion, they are also more likely to be lucky in the draws.
At Borussia Dortmund it is similar to that at Werder Bremen. BVB played all of its four games in the quarter-finals away from home, and of the three semi-finals it was only allowed to play the one against Holstein Kiel in its own stadium.
Eintracht Frankfurt with a curious balance sheet
The balance sheet at Eintracht Frankfurt is remarkable. The Hessians received home advantage four times in the quarter-finals and used it each time to move into the semi-finals. They then competed away from home, but still progressed three times.
Eintracht was in line with the trend, as only seven of the 20 semi-final games since the season were won by the home teams. However, from time to time the hosts were clear outsiders, such as 1. FC Saarbrücken in the 2019/20 season. He lost as a fourth division team – against Bayer Leverkusen.
