DFB Pokal Final: Kaiserslautern vs Bayer Leverkusen: Preview, Prediction & Betting Tips

The end of the football season is vastly approaching as the cup finals across Europe’s top five domestic leagues will be of focus this weekend. Kaiserslautern could potentially ruin a moment of history as they face a Bayer Leverkusen side chasing domestic/European immortality.

Location: Olympiastadion

Date: 25/05/2024

Kick-Off: 7:00 PM

The focus will inevitably be on Bayer Leverkusen and Xabi Alonso next weekend as they hope to become the first side in German league history to record an invincible domestic double. Bayer Leverkusen secured their maiden Bundesliga title with a 5-0 win over Werder Bremen and have since gone on to record a first-ever league campaign where they remained invincible over the 34-game period.

Leverkusen finished 17 points clear of second-placed Stuttgart and the Bundesliga champions already have a spot in the German Super Cup regardless of the outcome of the DFB Pokal final. The favourites for this game Bayer Leverkusen are also on the verge of remaining unbeaten for their entire season domestically and on the European stage.

Before this game takes place next weekend, Bayer Leverkusen face Atalanta in the Europa League final in Dublin on Wednesday. That game itself will be a difficult task as Atalanta have knocked out pre-tournament favourites on their way to Dublin.

Bayer Leverkusen began their DFB Pokal campaign with an 8-0 win over Teutonia 05 and then followed that up with a 5-2 victory over Sandhausen in the second round. In the round of 16, Leverkusen beat Paderborn 3-1 and then followed that up with a last-minute winner against Stuttgart in the quarter-finals. The semi-finals provided a routine victory for the Bundesliga Champions as they beat Fortuna Dusseldorf 4-0.

Kaiserslautern will be the clear underdogs for this DFB Pokal final against Bayer Leverkusen. The Bundesliga 2 side finished 13th in their respective league and are not expected to cause any upsets against Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen side. Kaiserslautern though are considered one of Germany’s more successful teams despite their current league standing.

Kaiserslautern has won four top-flight German League titles as well as winning the DFB Pokal on two occasions. Interestingly, Kaiserslautern have won the DFB Pokal more recently than Bayer Leverkusen. The team from the Bundesliga 2 started their DFB Pokal campaign with a 5-0 win over FC Rot-Weiss-Kobienz and then they followed that up with a 3-2 win over F.C Koln in the second round.

In the round of 16, Kaiserslautern beat F.C Nurnberg 2-0 and then they followed that up with an impressive 3-1 over Hertha Berlin. Kaiserslautern reached the final by beating F.C Saarbrucken 2-0 in what has been an impressive run from the Bundesliga 2 side.

There are European implications on the line in this game. If Bayer Leverkusen wins then Heidenheim will be playing European football for the first time in their history after finishing as the eighth-best-placed team in the Bundesliga. If Kaiserslautern were to win, they would take the second Europa League place.

KAISERSLAUTERN TEAM NEWS

Hendrick Zuck, Julian Nieheus, Ragnar Ache, Jan Elvedi and Ben Zolinski are all unavailable for the game against Bayer Leverkusen. Jean Zimmer and Almamy Toure are suspended for this game, although it may be different to the league rules.

BAYER LEVERKUSEN TEAM NEWS

Bayer Leverkusen have no fresh injury concerns for the final. Edmond Tapsoba and Robert Andrich were suspension risks for the Bundesliga Champions but avoided bookings against Augsburg in their final game.

The last meeting between the two teams took place in 2015 and that is largely down to Kaiserslautern’s absence from the Bundesliga in that time. Leverkusen won that encounter 2-0 thanks to goals from Hakan Calhanoglu and Stefan Kießling. The recent history between the two sides suggests that Bayer Leverkusen will be the favourites for this game.

In the last five meetings between the two teams, Leverkusen has won four out of the last five meetings with Kaiserslautern, with the Bundesliga 2 side winning only once. Interestingly, the last two times these two teams met were in the DFB Pokal.

In 2013/14, Kaiserslautern eliminated Leverkusen in the quarterfinals of the tournament following a 1-0 victory at the BayArena. Ruben Jenssen was the match-winner in extra time for Kaiserslautern that day.

This fixture usually provides a goal average of 2.86 goals scored per game between the two sides. In the last 20 meetings between the two sides, Bayer Leverkusen has the historical advantage. The Bundesliga champions have won 14, lost three and drawn three of the 20 games played.

In the DFB Pokal, the two teams have only met three times, with Kaiserslautern having the greater record in this tournament. The Bundesliga 2 side have won twice out of the three meetings between the two sides in the German Cup. Their first victory in the DFB Pokal over Leverkusen came in 2009.

It is worth noting that in the last 20 meetings between the two sides, neither side have been shown any dismissals. The last time there was a comfortable score-line between the two teams was in a 5-1 demolition in Bayer Leverkusen’s favour in 2006. In each of the last five meetings between the two teams, there has only been a maximum of four goals scored between the two sides.

Bayer Leverkusen’s form across all competitions this season has been nothing short of exceptional. At home, they’ve won 14 of the 17 games played at the BayArena and amassed the same form away from home as Leverkusen remained unbeaten. Alonso’s side averaged 2.65 points across the league overall this season.

Bayer Leverkusen has kept an impressive 47% clean sheet rate this season, having only conceded 0.71 goals per game in the Bundesliga this season. The main consistency for Bayer Leverkusen this season has been their ability to score at a consistent rate. The Bundesliga champions have scored 2.62 goals on average across the league this season.

Leverkusen have a tremendous record in scoring late winners/decisive goals this season. Following Josip Stanisic’s equaliser against Roma, Leverkusen has now recorded 17 goals scored past the 89th minute in games.

As for the away side, Kaiserslautern’s form is quite good heading into this game. The Bundesliga 2 side have won three out of their last five games in all competitions, which includes a brilliant 5-0 win over Eintracht Braunschweig thanks largely to a hat-trick from Marlon Ritter.

Kaiserslautern’s defensive record will be a cause for concern against Bayer Leverkusen. The second-tier German side has conceded an average of 1.94 goals per game this season and has failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their home games this season.

For Kaiserslautern to have any chance against Bayer Leverkusen, they would need to hope Ragnar Ache is in form. The German striker has 16 goals in the Bundesliga 2 this season and has averaged a goal every 112 minutes.

Whilst it's not out of the ordinary for a side to cause a shock, we expect it to be a routine victory for Bayer Leverkusen.

Kaiserslautern 0-4 Bayer Leverkusen

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The game will be live via Premier Sports 1.

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