Exactly one week after securing a place in the second round of the domestic cup competition with a 6-5-penalty shoot-out win over Energie Cottbus, on Sunday evening, the draw was made for the next round. At Germany’s ‘Museum of Football’ in Dortmund, comedian Carolin Kebekus conducted the draw, which pitted VfB against 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
"It’s a tradition steeped tie against a strong opponent. It’s bound to be a heated affair and a fantastic atmosphere," commented VfB head-coach Hannes Wolf. VfB Sporting Director Michael Reschke commented on the draw: "An exciting tie. It’s always something very special when you play on the Betzenberg. We are really looking forward to this game. We have the clear goal of progressing to the next round, but we are well aware that it will be a tough challenge against FCK."
1. FC Kaiserslautern, who progressed past Oberliga side SV Eichede (Schleswig-Holstein) in the first round with a 4-0 victory, have currently just one point on the board from three games in the '2. Bundesliga' and are thus in sixteenth place in the table. The two sides went head-to-head twice last season – with VfB running out as winners on both occasions. The home game on September 17th, 2016 ended 2-0, whilst Simon Terrode made the difference with a headed goal in the 52nd minute, as the match ended 1-0.
The games in the second round of the cup will be played out on October 24th and 25th. The exact schedule will be set at a later date. Four of the games on each match-day will be played at 18:30 CET, with the other four kicking-off at 20:30 CET.
