Who will achieve cup glory?

By Ben Sully   @SullyBen

Current DFB-Pokal holders RB Leipzig will battle it out with Eintracht Frankfurt in Saturday’s final at the Olympiastadion.

RB Leipzig

After winning the Pokal last season to lift a major trophy for the first time in their history, Leipzig will look to retain the trophy when they take to the pitch on Saturday.

Leipzig’s cup campaign began with an 8-0 victory over Teutonia Ottensen and a 4-0 win against Hamburger SV, before they eliminated Hoffenheim in the last-16. A quarter-final tie with Borussia Dortmund presented die Roten Bullen with a tough test, but goals from Timo Werner and Willi Orbán ensured Leipzig progressed courtesy of a 2-0 victory.

In the semi-final, Leipzig were looking to claim another cup win over Freiburg after beating Chrisitan Streich’s side in last year’s final. It proved to be a far easier outing for die Roten Bullen this time around, as they cruised to a 5-1 victory to book their place in the Pokal final for the third consecutive season.

Leipzig boss Marco Rose is looking to win his first piece of silverware since 2019 when he won the Austrian Bundesliga and the domestic cup during his time as Red Bull Salzburg boss.

Leipzig will certainly head into Saturday’s final in a confident mood after winning their last five competitive games and securing a third-place finish in the Bundesliga.

Team News

Rose is still unable to call upon the services of Andre Silva and Peter Gulacsi, who are both ruled out through injury. Josko Gvardiol is suspended for Saturday’s contest after being sent off in the semi-final tie with Freiburg.

Eintracht Frankfurt

Frankfurt are hoping to lift the domestic cup for the sixth time in their history and for the first time in five years. Oliver Glasner’s side breezed through the opening rounds against Magdeburg and Stuttgarter Kickers without conceding.

They were made to work for their win by Darmstadt in the last-16 after trailing by a 2-1 scoreline. However, they worked their way back into the contest, before going on to claim a 4-2 victory.

After dispatching Union Berlin in the quarter-finals, die Adler travelled to the Mercedes-Benz Arena to face Stuttgart in the final four. Oliver Glasner’s side went into half time with a one-goal deficit, but they came out fighting in the second period. Goals from Evan Ndicka and Daichi Kamada gave Frankfurt the lead, before Randal Kolo Muani add a third from the penalty spot. Although Enzo Millot pulled a goal back, die Adler held firm to advance to the DFB-Pokal final for the ninth time in their history.

Frankfurt finished the Bundesliga season in seventh position, and as a result, they know that they will play some form of European football next season. As it stands, they will compete in the Europa Conference League, but they will seal a place in the Europa League if they can win the Pokal on Saturday.

The contest also represents Glasner’s final game as Frankfurt boss, and his players will be desperate to bid farewell with a piece of silverware.

Team News

Frankfurt will go into the final without Lucas Alario and Hrvoje Smolcic, who miss out with injury issues.

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