The German Cup reaches the quarter final stage this week with three Bundesliga sides coming up against second division opposition, while Wolfsburg host Hamburg.
Tuesday 26th February
Borussia Dortmund v 1899 Hoffenheim
Stuttgart v Carl Zeiss Jena
Wednesday 27th February
Wolfsburg v Hamburg
Bayern Munich v 1860 Munich
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Borussia Dortmund – 1899 Hoffenheim
Thomas Doll’s Dortmund go looking for their first Cup triumph since 1989 but second division Hoffenheim stand in their way of a semi-final appearance.
BVB had a comfortable 4-1 away win over Magdeburg in the first round and then came from behind to beat Eintracht Frankfurt in the second round. In the round of 16 they overcame Bundesliga rivals Werder Bremen 2-1 to set up this quarter-final clash.
Hoffenheim are just outside the promotion places in the second division and travel to Dortmund on the back of a 2-0 home win over promotion rivals Freiburg.
The second division side needed extra time in the first round to beat Augsburg and then beat Greuther Furth in the second round. They then overcame Bundesliga Hansa Rostock in the last round, but face their biggest test on Tuesday against Dortmund.
Stuttgart – Carl Zeiss Jena
Last year’s beaten finalists are looking to go one better this year and lift the German Cup for the fourth time in their history.
The Swabians made heavy work of beating SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round, needing an injury time penalty from Roberto Hilbert to win. They needed extra-time in the next round against Paderborn with a goal from Mario Gomez two minutes from the end saving them from a penalty shoot-out.
Armin Veh’s side then played Werder Bremen II winning 3-2 although the win was more comfortable than the scoreline suggests.
The East German side’s Cup form stands in stark contrast to their league form. Henning Bürger’s side currently lie in the bottom four and will face a play-off at the end of the season if things don’t improve. They did however take a point from promotion chasing Mainz at the weekend.
Jena overcame FC Gera 03 in the first round, and then knocked out Cup holders Nürnberg on penalties in the next round. The round of 16 saw them up against another struggling Bundesliga club in Bielefeld. They needed extra time, but they prevailed 2-1 thanks to late penalty from Jan Simak.
Wolfsburg – Hamburg
The only all-Bundesliga clash of the quarter finals sees Felix Magath’s Wolfsburg entertaining Hamburg. The league match between the two in September ended 2-2 so there is not much between the two sides.
The ‘Wolves’ beat Würzburg with ease in the first round before a narrow 1-0 win away at high flying Karlsruhe in round two. Last time out they beat Schalke on penalties after the game had finished 1-1 following Karimov’s injury time equaliser.
Title contenders HSV thrashed Holstein Kiel 5-0 in round one before a 3-1 win over Freiburg in round to. In the round of 16 they defeated Rot-Weiss Essen 3-0 away from home.
Wolfsburg have been beaten finalists once, whereas Hamburg have won the Cup three times, the last being in 1987.
Bayern Munich – 1860 Munich
The most attractive tie of the rounds pits traditional Munich rivals Bayern with 1860. The Munich derby is a mouth-watering tie under normal circumstances, but when second division plays first with a place in the semi-final of the cup the prize, it is all the more interesting.
Bayern have lifted the trophy a record 13 times whereas their city rivals only have two wins to their name in 1942 and 1964.
Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side have been tested throughout this season’s competition as they aim for a league and cup double. They needed a penalty shoot out and some goalkeeping heroics from Oliver Kahn to get through their first round tie against Wacker Burghausen.
The second round paired them with traditional rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach but they on 3-1 to set up a last 16 tie with Wuppertal, which they won 5-2, although it was 2-2 at half time.
1860 have beaten SC Verl, FSV Mainz and Alemannia Aachen on the way to their quarter final clash with Bayern.
Goal.com - Germany - German Cup Quarter Final Preview