Kaiserslautern have won just three of their last 27 competitive meetings against the Werkself. This will be the seventh encounter between the two clubs in the cup. Victory for the Black-and-Reds would mean a first domestic double following the first Bundesliga title - Bayer 04 would become just the fifth team since the formation of the Bundesliga to achieve this feat. FC Bayern Munich, 1. FC Köln, SV Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund have previously claimed the double.
The Red Devils, meanwhile, are in the DFB Pokal final for the first time since the 2002/03 campaign and the eighth time in total. FCK are also the first Bundesliga 2 side to reach the final of the competition since MSV Duisburg in 2010/11.
And a bit of information on Kaiserslautern coach Friedhelm Funkel: the 70-year-old was actually already "retired", as he explained at yesterday's press conference. However, in February he took the helm at the relegation-threatened Rhineland-Palatinate club. Not only has Funkel guided them to safety in the league but also to victory in the DFB Pokal semi-finals, where they overcame 1. FC Saarbrücken, who knocked out Bayern, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Mönchengladbach in the previous rounds. Today is Funkel's third appearance in the cup final as a coach - a joint record.
A turbulent campaign in the second tier, with a total of three different coaches, ended in 13th place for Kaiserslautern. With 59 goals, FCK only scored three fewer than champions FC St. Pauli (62) - remarkable for a team who only narrowly avoided relegation to the third division. It's at the back where the two-time cup winners have been particularly vulnerable. Dominating games also doesn't seem to suit FCK: when it comes to possession (44%) and pass completion (78.3%), their numbers are not impressive. Funkel was therefore clear in his assessment ahead of his third cup final: "I've never been more of an underdog. We need our best performance of the season." There's more on today's opponents in the in-depth opponent analysis.
Travel, food and drink, contact details and more: the Bayer 04 Fan Liaison team has put together all the information that the 27,000 travelling Leverkusen fans need ahead of the DFB Pokal final at Berlin's Olympiastadion. Click HERE!
Fans can also keep up to date with the trip to the capital with the live blog.
Another note: the Schwadbud at the BayArena is closed on Saturday.
The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Bastian Dankert as the referee for the final. The 43-year-old has officiated 13 competitive fixtures involving the Werkself to date, with a record of six wins for the Black-and-Reds, one draw and six defeats. Dingert will be assisted this evening by René Rohde and Marcel Unger, while Harm Osmers is the VAR.
This evening's match will be shown live on ARD in Germany.
Two keepers, lots of questions: Werkself captain Lukas Hradecky and U19 goalkeeper Jesper Schlich visited the BarmeniaGothaer children’s press conference in partnership with the Bayer 04 Lions Club on Wednesday afternoon. The duo faced interesting and at times unusual questions from around 50 inquisitive young journalists in the press conference room at the BayArena.
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A large number of sporting directors and officials from big clubs across Europe came to the BayArena on Tuesday for the second seminar in the UEFA Sporting Director Programme (SDP) in cooperation with the ECA.
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Full-back Janou Levels will leave Bayer 04 Leverkusen at the end of the season. The 24-year-old has activated her release clause and she will join Bundesliga rivals VfL Wolfsburg. She has signed a three-year contract.
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After returning from Hamburg and a day off on Easter Monday, the Werkself players were back on the training ground at the BayArena on Tuesday morning. Following the session, Amine Adli was very positive in a media interview about the remaining four matches including the forthcoming home game against FC Augsburg (Saturday, 26 April, 15:30 CEST): "We will give our all to end the season as well as we can!"
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