Favourites tag & Kane factor: Facts on Magdeburg match-up

After the comfortable 4-1 win over VfL Osnabrück to kick off the DFB Cup season, FC Bayern face Bundesliga 2 opposition again in the second round. The Munich men are looking to continue their strong record against teams from Germany’s second division in Wednesday’s meeting with 1. FC Magdeburg (20:45 CET): in the last 21 cup clashes against second-tier sides, FCB have progressed on 20 occassions. The only exception was the exit at Holstein Kiel on penalties in the 2020/21 second round. That slip-up should remain an anomaly, though.

Even fixture so far

Bayern and Magdeburg have played each other competitively three times before. In the 1974/75 season, the two sides met in an all-German clash as West and East champions in the European Cup. The Bavarians triumphed 5-3 on aggregate and went on to win the title. Magdeburg got their revenge in 2000, though – playing in the Oberliga (fourth tier) at the time, they sensationally dumped out Bayern on penalties in the DFB Cup second round. Although FCB could again console themselves with the Champions League trophy at the end of that season.

Kane a class apart in the cup

Harry Kane is currently in a league of his own in the DFB Cup. The English striker has scored at least once in each of his last seven appearances in the competition, equalling the record set by Gerd Müller between 1967 and 1968 as well as Thomas Müller from 2013 to 2014. Since the formation of the Bundesliga, another Müller, Dieter, is the only player to have embarked on a longer goalscoring run in the DFB Cup (10 games from 1976 to 1977 for 1. FC Köln).

Kane has netted no fewer than 13 goals in his nine cup games to date – no other player has reached that mark as quickly since the formation of the Bundesliga. With the exception of the 4-0 victory at 1. FSV Mainz 05 in the 2024/25 second round – in which he still managed an assist – the striker has scored at least one goal in every game in the competition.

More facts on cup match against Magdeburg

32nd consecutive appearance in round two – The 4-1 win over Osnabrück made it 32 times in a row that FC Bayern have made it through their first DFB Cup fixture of the campaign – a current record in the competition.

Knocked out six times – Magdeburg have lost their last six meeting against higher-league opponents in the cup, since beating Bundesliga team Augsburg 2-0 as a third-tier club in the 2017/18 first round.

Second round second time – Magdeburg have reached the second round of the cup in successive years for the first time. Last time they advanced to the round of 16 before losing 3-1 at RB Leipzig.

Two slip-ups in 33 goes – Bayern are playing a home match against lower-league opponents in the DFB Cup for the first time since the 2018/19 quarter-finals, when they beat 1. FC Heidenheim 5-4. In 33 home games in the cup against lower-league teams, the record cup winners have been knocked out just twice. In 1978/79 with a 5-4 defeat to Osnabrück in the second round, and more recently in 1991/92, also in the second round, losing 4-2 against FC Homburg.