When the final whistle goes in tonight’s DFB Cup round of 16 match between last year’s semi-finalists 1. FC Union Berlin and VfL (kick-off 20:45 CET), the Wolves will be happy if a very special personal record has also been continued. Should the Green-and-Whites make it through the knockout showdown, head coach Niko Kovac – who lifted the trophy with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018 and with Bayern Munich in 2019 – will have won his 17th consecutive domestic cup match.
More facts and figures
- Recent history: The Wolves won 1-0 at home following Union’s promotion to the Bundesliga in 2019, and remained unbeaten in the following three meetings between the two sides (one home win, two away draws) before losing out at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei for the first time in 2021 with a 2-0 defeat. Max Arnold and Co don’t have happy memories of their last visit to Köpenick on Matchday 7 of this season either, when Union also won 2-0.
- Tough place to visit: Union are a force to be reckoned with at home and are unbeaten in 14 Bundesliga games at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. Moreover, the Wolves have never won in their four previous visits there (D2 L2).
- Union’s cup journey: Urs Fischer’s side needed extra time to get past regional league outfit Chemnitzer FC 2-1 in the first round, before beating Bundesliga 2 side 1. FC Heidenheim 2-0 at home in round two.
- The Wolves’ cup journey: Kovac’s men also laboured through the first round against fourth-tier opposition, with Omar Marmoush’s stoppage-time winner sending them through to the next round after a typical cup battle away to FC Carl Zeiss Jena. That was followed by a highly charged local derby at Eintracht Braunschweig, which VfL won 2-1 thanks to goals from Mattias Svanberg and Jakub Kaminski.
