Draw of the round of 16 brings explosive duels

ZTwo controversial derbies, a Baden duel – and a complicated away game for the record champion: In the round of 16 of the DFB Cup, FC Bayern Munich has to play at FSV Mainz 05, Borussia Dortmund also has to deal with the district neighbors VfL Bochum away. It won’t be easy for defending champion RB Leipzig either, as the draw on Sunday evening in the German Football Museum in Dortmund showed. The Saxons play at home against TSG Hoffenheim.

“Interesting games that are really all open,” said DFB managing director Oliver Bierhoff on ARD. And the 54-year-old didn’t just mean the games of the three top Bundesliga teams from Munich, Dortmund and Leipzig. Because it should be explosive, especially in Frankfurt, where Eintracht will receive the second division club SV Darmstadt 98 for the Hessian derby.

“Of course it’s a hammer draw. DFB Cup, floodlights, Revierderby. We are very happy,” said Bochum’s sporting director Patrick Fabian about the duel with BVB. There is another Bundesliga duel between the current table leaders 1. FC Union Berlin and VfL Wolfsburg. Last year’s finalist SC Freiburg has to play the Baden duel at second division club SV Sandhausen.

VfB Stuttgart takes on SC Paderborn. “A very difficult task awaits us in the round of 16. Under the leadership of Lukas Kwasniok, SC Paderborn is doing a great job in the second division,” said Stuttgart’s sporting director Sven Mislintat. 1. FC Nürnberg also plays against Fortuna Düsseldorf.