Bayern will discover on Sunday night who they will face at the start of their historic cup mission in 2020/21. The record cup holders could be the first team in the history of the competition to lift the trophy for a third time in succession. But there's a long way to go until then and the draw for the first round is coming up on the ARD Sportschau – this year taking place under very special circumstances.
23 out of 32 possible opponents remain to be confirmed
With the draw to be made by DFB president Fritz Keller and DFB deputy general secretary Heike Ulrich, 23 of the 64 participants remain to be confirmed. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, 24 representatives of the state associations, who qualify via the relevant state cups, with the exception of FC Magdeburg in Saxony-Anhalt, have not been decided yet. So it is possible that Hansi Flick's team will be drawn out against a blank and that Manuel Neuer and Co. will have to wait for the "Amateurs final day" on 22 August to learn the opponents for the start of the road to Berlin.
First round ties from 11 to 14 September
The first round proper of the DFB Cup will be played from 11 to 14 September 2020. In addition to the previously mentioned Magdeburg, Bayern could face one of the bottom four teams from last year's second division (Karlsruhe FC, FC Nürnberg, SV Wehen Wiesbaden and Dynamo Dresden) as well as the top four teams in the third division (Würzburger Kickers, Eintracht Braunschweig, FC Ingolstadt 04 and MSV Duisburg). The Bayern Reserves also come under the latter category as champions of the third division – but second teams are not allowed to play in the DFB Cup any more.