Less than a month after playing out a four-goal Bundesliga thriller, Union Berlin and Bayern Munich face off one more time in the DFB Cup on Wednesday (kick-off 8.45pm CET).
“Union’s strength from set pieces is well known – [they] are always a threat,” said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany after the Bundesliga champions were pushed all the way in an enthralling 2-2 draw on Matchday 10.
Steffen Baumgart’s men led twice thanks to Danilho Doekhi’s double, but the game will likely be remembered for a sensational strike from Colombian star Luis Díaz. Harry Kane’s late leveller, which came in the third minute of added time at the end of the second half, means a feeling of unfinished business surrounds Wednesday’s cup tie in the capital.
Watch: Union Berlin 2-2 Bayern Munich – highlights
“Of course we’re annoyed that we conceded in added time, but if someone had told me that before the match, I certainly would’ve said it’s a partial success,” Baumgart said after the game. “Overall, we saw a great match between two teams who desperately wanted to win.”
Baumgart’s charges will have to do an awful lot better than in Saturday’s defeat to Heidenheim, who registered only their second league win of the season at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
Bayern, meanwhile, left it late to defeat St. Pauli at the Allianz Arena at the weekend, and they will likely require similar levels of patience and resolve to break down Die Eisernen on Wednesday. “Wins like that are part of a season,” Kompany said after the Matchday 12 victory. “They give us confidence. The lads deserve great credit – we always keep going.”
LIVE blog!
DFB Pokal
Round of 16 Round of 16 Stadion An der Alten Försterei
Neuer saves
We’re straight down the other side. This time, it’s Ansah who curls the ball towards goal but it’s at a comfortable height for Neuer, who parries the ball clear.
Díaz offside!
Gnabry finds Díaz, who placed the ball in the back of the net, but the Colombian strayed offside.
Off the line!
Gnabry puts Díaz through on goal who is 1v1 with Rønnow. The Dane gets an important touch which takes the momentum out of the ball, allowing Leite to clear it off the line.
Over!
It’s all Union at the moment. Bayern are camped deep inside their own penalty area, allowing Jeong to cut inside from the right before the Union attacker fires his left footed effort over the crossbar. Union are taking the game to Bayern here.
Chance!
Schäfer has an excellent chance to equalise for Union, but his low driven effort from inside the area is met by an equally superb save from Neuer.
Can they find an equaliser?
Union have responded well, but can they find the all important equaliser?
© IMAGO/Marco Steinbrenner/DeFodi Images
What a save!
As Bayern look to restore their two goal cushion, Kane cuts inside from the left, driving a low effort towards Rønnow’s goal from just outside of the area, but the Dane is alert to pull off an excellent save, turning Kane’s effort around the post.
Taking the game to Bayern
Union are up for this! Jeong threads a ball through to Ansah in a 2v1 situation, but the forward is unable to bring the ball under control just outside Bayern’s penalty area.
© IMAGO/Matthias Koch
Penalty!
It’s another penalty for the hosts after Kane caught Leite in the face while attempting to clear the ball.
Forced change
Pavlović can’t continue, and is replaced by Goretzka.
Injury
Pavlović has gone down and is receiving treatment.
We are under way!
Union get the ball rolling, with both teams remaining unchanged.
Kick-off!
Half-time: Union 1-3 Bayern
Union haven’t been without their chances, but it’s the visitors who hold a comfortable lead. Kimmich’s set-piece delivery has been on point, with both of Bayern’s first two goals coming from a corner, before Querfeld halved Bayern’s deficit to one from the spot after Tah handled the ball. Leite’s own goal from an Olise free-kick restored Bayern’s two-goal cushion.
© IMAGO/Marco Steinbrenner/DeFodi Images
Half-time
Three for Bayern!
After Union pressure, it’s Bayern who add another. Olise, who won a free-kick, delivers a dangerous ball towards the far post. Leite tries to clear the ball but sends it over Rønnow.
Wide!
The hosts are still with the better chances. This time, a free-kick is whipped in which is met by Leite, but it’s just wide of Neuer’s goal.
Added time
The fourth official has signalled three additional minutes.
Wasteful
Ansah passes the ball to Rothe, who is seeing a lot of the ball on the left. This time though, his cross lands on the roof of Neuer’s net.
Showing fight
That goal has given Union momentum. They’re playing with a certain energy now as they chase an equaliser before the break.
Union reduce the deficit
After a brief VAR review, Tah was judged to have handled the ball in the area. Querfeld made no mistake in stepping up and firing the ball into the bottom corner.
© Maja Hitij
It’s that man again
Kane has scored in every round of this season’s DFB Cup.
© Maja Hitij
Promising
Karl is playing with confidence in his maiden campaign with Bayern’s first team, and the youngster is oozing confidence. Unfortunately after working the space, this time his pass is under-hit.
Relentless
Bayern are hungry for more, even when they’re not in possession. The visitors aren’t letting up when it comes to pressing the ball.
Over
Union continue to look for a response and it’s Kemlein again who tries his luck from range but just like his first effort, the ball sails over. Bayern are doing a good job at keeping the hosts away from their goal
Bayern double their lead!
Another Bayern corner, and it’s the same result. Kimmich again whips the ball into a dangerous area, and it’s met by, Kane who heads the ball into the far corner.
© IMAGO/Marco Steinbrenner/DeFodi Images
From distance
Kemlein has a go from range, but it sails over.
Turning up the pressure
As Bayern look to double their lead, it’s Olise who’s again at the heart of the move. He tries his luck but it doesn’t trouble Rønnow in the Union goal.
Can Union respond?
The hosts look for a quick reply through Doekhi, who scored twice in their previous meeting and heads Rothe’s cross into the hands of Neuer.
Bayern lead!
It’s unfortunate for the hosts as Kimmich’s corner hits Ansah on the thigh and deflects into the back of his own net.
Action at both ends
Olise is again proving the dangerman for the visitors. The Frenchman lays the ball off to Karl, who shoots first time but it’s blocked by Rothe.
Chance for Union!
It’s their first of the game. After a throw-in, Pavlović’s header falls to Rothe, who volleys it towards Neuer’s goal but it’s blocked by Laimer, who deflects the ball out for a corner, which is then cleared by Kane.
Union confident
After their 2-2 draw against Bayern in November, Union know they can trouble Bayern, and they’re confident here, pressing the visitors in their build-up.
Early chance!
Bayern almost get off to the best possible start. Olise breaks through on the right and cuts inside before trying his luck from the edge of the penalty area, but it’s saved by Rønnow.
We are off!
Bayern get the ball rolling!
Kick-off!
5:01
Neuer still setting the goalie standard
More on those teams
Kompany makes three changes to the team that beat St. Pauli: Upamecano, Stanišić and Olise come in for Kim, Bischof and Guerreiro. There’s also three changes for Union: Trimmel and Köhn are benched with Schäfer and Rothe returning. Haberer replaces Oliver Burke in attack.
Union starting line-up
Rønnow – Doekhi, Querfeld, Leite – Schäfer, Khedira, Kemlein, Rothe – Haberer, Jeong – Ansah
Union subs
Raab, Burcu, Juranovic, Skarke, Ljubicic, Trimmel, Král, Nsoki, Köhn
Bayern starting line-up
Neuer – Laimer, Upamecano, Tah, Stanišić – Kimmich, Pavlović – Olise, Karl, Díaz – Kane
Bayern subs
Urbig, Kim, Gnabry, Goretzka, Jackson, Bischof, Ito, Guerreiro, Boey
A cup first
These two sides have never met in the DFB Cup, with all 13 of their meetings to date coming in the Bundesliga. Union are yet to beat them, but they have registered five draws against Bayern within those 13 previous meetings.
Steffen Baumgart on facing Bayern
“We have a big game to look forward to – and we want to treat it as such. We need to keep our chins up [after Saturday’s defeat to Heidenheim] to give ourselves the best possible chance of reaching the next round. It’s a big challenge at home, in front of a sell-out crowd. It’s nice to have another opportunity to face the best side in Germany – and one of the best teams in Europe, in my opinion.”
© IMAGO/Matthias Koch
Vincent Kompany on facing Union
“Of course I want to return to Berlin [for the final]. You can always say you want to win everything – but it takes work and attitude. If we show tomorrow how hungry we are for the final, then we have a good chance. We want to put in a good performance and win. We’re prepared for anything – for 90 minutes or another 30.”
© IMAGO/Ulrich Wagner
Head-to-head
Union are still waiting for their first win against Bayern – they came close in that recent 2-2 draw. However, they have managed five draws in their 13 meetings with the record champions, although the Bavarians have won eight.
© IMAGO/Michael Taeger
Early Union team news
Robert Skov is out as he continues his recovery from a calf issue. Andrik Markgraf and Dmytro Bogdanov are also sidelined, but other than that, head coach Steffen Baumgart has a full squad at his disposal.
© IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto/Jan Rollinger
Early Bayern team news
Jamal Musiala and Alphonso Davies are currently the only two absentees for Bayern. Dayot Upamecano was not in the matchday squad against Pauli, but it has been confirmed that he was only rested and is not carrying an injury.
© IMAGO/dts Nachrichtenagentur
Bayern form
Bayern’s campaign has been close to perfect. They started the season with 16 wins in all competitions – a European top-five league record – before drawing against Union in the league. Otherwise, the 3-1 defeat against Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League is the only game they have lost this term.
© Alexander Hassenstein
Union form
Before the weekend, Union had lost just one of their last six games in all competitions. They currently sit comfortably in mid-table after 12 matchdays, having won four games so far.
© IMAGO/O.Behrendt
2:03
Watch: Union Berlin 2-2 Bayern Munich – previous meeting
Another late goal, this time from Harry Kane, denied Union all three points when they hosted the reigning champions before the international break.
2:03
Watch: Bayern Munich 3-1 St. Pauli – highlights
Bayern were pushed all the way by Pauli, but injury-time goals from Luis Díaz and Nicolas Jackson secured an 11th Bundesliga win in 12 for Bayern.
2:03
Watch: Union Berlin 1-2 Heidenheim – highlights
Despite being 1-0 up in the 90th minute, Union still emerged empty-handed against Heidenheim at the weekend as they conceded twice late on.
Union – the story so far
Union began their cup campaign with a straightforward 5-0 away win at fourth-tier FC Gütersloh. In the second round, they came up against last year’s finalists Arminia Bielefeld, winning 2-1 after extra time.
© IMAGO/Matthias Koch
Bayern – the story so far
Bayern began their DFB Cup campaign a week and a half after the rest of the competition due to their Franz Beckenbauer Supercup commitments. In the first round of the competition, the Bundesliga champions travelled to third division Wehen Wiesbaden, where they only narrowly overcame their opponents thanks to a 94th-minute winner from Harry Kane. In contrast, the second round proved far easier as Bayern won 4-1 away at Cologne.
© Alex Grimm
Welcome!
Welcome and thank you for joining us for build-up and live coverage of the DFB Cup Round of 16 match between Union Berlin and Bayern Munich. The game is scheduled to kick off at 8:45 p.m. CET on Wednesday.
About the clubs
