There are two clashes between Bundesliga and 3. Liga sides in the next round of the DFB Cup to look forward to, with both games being played on Tuesday the 25th of October. At 18:30 CEST, Bayer 04 Leverkusen travel to newly-promoted third division side Sportfreunde Lotte, who have started the season well. Then at 20:45 CEST, Halleschen FC host Hamburger SV.
In these match ups, the teams from the 3. Liga won’t just have home advantage on their side, but also a positive record in penalty shootouts - six of the eleven times that a third division side have faced a Bundesliga team in a shootout, the lower ranked team have kept their nerve to come out on top.
Bielefeld into the semi-final
DSC Arminia Bielefeld are testament to this fact, after they made it into the DFB Cup semi-final in the 2014/15 season by overcoming two Bundesliga opponents on penalties. After winning 4-2 against Hertha BSC in the second round, they then went on to beat Brussia Mönchengladbach 6-5 in a shootout. However, their run came to an end when they faced VfL Wolfsburg in the semi-finals, who would go on to win the tournament that year. Thanks to this unlikely success story, Arminia wrote themselves into DFB Cup history as the most successful 3. Liga team ever.
In the same season, Chemnitzer FC knocked Bundesliga club FSV Mainz 05 out of the tournament on penalties. The match ended 5-5 in normal time, and so was the highest scoring match between a Bundesliga and a third division team in the history of the DFB Cup. Chemnitzer FC won the resulting shootout 5-4.
One goal per game
High scoring games are not uncommon in the DFB Cup. In fact, third division underdogs often strike against a team of a higher division. With 125 goals in 118 matches, an average of one goal per match is scored.
The highest recorded victories by third division teams have been by a three-goal margin. Kickers Offenbach beat VfL Bochum 1-0 in the first round in 2010/11, while VfL Osnabrück won 3-0 against Erzgebirge Aue in 2013/14 and Bielefeld beat SV Sandhausen 4-1 in the first round of the tournament in 2014/15.
Third division teams have been knocked out of the tournament in the second round on 81 occasions in the past, therefore the chances of them progressing is small. To be precise, the likelihood of a third division team qualifying for the third round is 31 percent.
