Holders VfL Wolfsburg will host the battle of the German Cup’s second round on Tuesday when runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich are guests at the Volkswagen Arena.
Wolfsburg lifted the cup last May in Berlin with a 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund, who knocked Bayern out in the semi-finals on penalties in Munich. Wolfsburg finished second to Bayern in the Bundesliga last season, but were routed 5-1 last month at the Allianz Arena when Robert Lewandowski scored five goals in just nine minutes.
With a place in the third-round at stake in Wolfsburg, Bayern are in no mood to rest on their laurels with Pep Guardiola’s side bidding to repeat their 2013 treble of UEFA Champions League, German Cup and Bundesliga titles. “This is a death or glory match,” said Bayern winger Arjen Robben.
Having warmed up for their Bayern clash with a 1-0 win at Darmstadt, Wolfsburg will be the underdogs on Tuesday despite home advantage after beating Guardiola’s German league champions on penalties in the pre-season Super Cup.
Halting Bayern’s star-studded strike force will be Wolfsburg’s main concern as their Brazilian centre-backs Naldo and Dante were exposed for pace when the sides met in the September rout.
Bayern have scored 33 goals in the first ten league matches and between them Munich strikers Lewandowski and Thomas Muller have scored 23 Bundesliga goals.
Werder Bremen are home to Cologne while Schalke are out for revenge against Borussia Monchengladbach at the Veltins Arena after the Royal Blues lost 3-1 at Gladbach on Sunday in the league .
