Leverkusen handed German Cup derby date with Cologne

German Cup holders Bayer Leverkusen will host derby rivals FC Cologne in the quarter finals of the competition, after a draw on Sunday. 

Leverkusen take on their second division opponents having eliminated Bayern Munich in the last 16. Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt, both five-time winners, have already been eliminated. 

RB Leipzig, winners of two of the past three German Cups, will play at home against 2015 champions Wolfsburg. Leipzig have never lost a German Cup quarter final, winning four from four.

Six-time winners Werder Bremen, who have more German Cups than any other team besides 20-time winners Bayern, play at third tier Arminia Bielefeld.

Three-time winners Stuttgart will host Augsburg in the final last-eight clash.

Located just 15 kilometres away along the Rhine, Leverkusen and Cologne's rivalry has become increasingly bitter in recent seasons. 

Cologne blame Leverkusen for breaking a 'gentleman's agreement' between the clubs not to sign junior players from each other, when Bayer poached a then 17-year-old Florian Wirtz, now a Germany regular. 

In 2022, Cologne fans cheered as Wirtz was stretchered off with a torn ACL in a match between the sides. 

In May 2024, Leverkusen fans, fresh from winning a first-ever top-flight title, held up banners celebrating Cologne's relegation to the second division.

The German Cup final will be held on May 24 at Berlin's Olympic Stadium.

dwi/dmc