Bayern Munich draw Energie Cottbus for first round of DFB-Pokal

The draw for the first round of the DFB-Pokal for next season has been completed at the German football museum in Dortmund and Bayern Munich have been drawn to face relegated 3. Liga side Energie Cottbus. The match will take place at some point between the 9th and 12th of August and Cottbus’ home venue, Stadion der Freundschaft, before the Bundesliga kicks off and one week after the DFL-Supercup vs. Borussia Dortmund. The DFB can, however, change the venue in order to accommodate enough fans, travelling Bayern fans in particular.

On paper, there’s absolutely no reason why Bayern should have any concern with not getting past Energie Cottbus, but both non-league sides FC Drochtersen/Assel and SV Rodinghausen gave Bayern plenty of trouble in the first and second rounds last season, respectively. In both matches, Bayern did field strong starting lineups and still made hard work of both occasions. Granted, the pouring rain during the match against Rodinghausen didn’t make matters nay better for either team but both performances were certainly below par for Bayern.

A record on the horizon for Niko Kovac

After coming under a lot of scrutiny for Bayern’s poor run of form towards the beginning of the season, Niko Kovac silenced a majority of his critics when Bayern secured the domestic double at the end of the season. If his side were to go the distance again in the DFB-Pokal, the Croatian will become the first manager to win the title in three consecutive seasons, since he won it in the 2017/2018 season with former club Eintracht Frankfurt. Additionally, it would be the fourth consecutive time he’s managed a team in the DFB-Pokal since Frankfurt had made it to the final in 2017 but lost 2-1 to Borussia Dortmund, who were then managed by current Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel.

(Photo by Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images)