The 2024/25 DFB-Pokal Round-of-16 will feature a mega-matchup between defending Bundesliga champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen and German record champions FC Bayern München. Leverkusen legend Rudi Völler - who happened to be a guest on last night's draw on German public television program ARD Sportschau - joked that his club probably won't treat his involvement in the event as a harbinger of good luck.

In addition to Leverkusen-Bayern, there shall be two other duels between top-tier sides in the competition's third round. RB Leipzig shall host Eintracht Frankfurt in another massive showdown between potential top-four clubs. VfL Wolfsburg will also welcome TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. Stuttgart (against struggling second division side Regensburg) and Freiburg (against 3. Liga upstarts Arminia Bielefeld) receive easier paths.

Newly appointed SV Darmstadt 98 trainer Florian Kohfeldt also receives a chance at revenge against the club that launched his coaching career. Kohfeldt's Lillien will travel to Bremen at the beginning of December. The 42-year-old heads home to the Hanseatic city-state for the first time since being sacked on the penultimate match-day of the 2020/21 campaign.