Borussia Dortmund will face Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16 of the 2025-26 DFB-Pokal Cup as the draws were made on Sunday. The match will be held at BVB's home ground, the iconic Signal Iduna Park, on 2 December.
Champions of the cup on five occasions, Die Borussen survived a 120-minute slog against Eintracht Frankfurt in the last round, prevailing 4-2 on penalties as Dortmund custodian Gregor Kobel denied Faris Chaibi in the decisive kick after the sides finished 1-1 after extra-time.
Now, Niko Kovac's side face a significant challenge on their way to a first quarter-final appearance in the Pokal cup since the 2022-23 season. Leverkusen have won their last three away games in all competitions, including a 4-2 defeat of Paderborn in the second round of the German Cup, where the side fought back from a 2-1 deficit in extra time. They've also progressed from the last-16 ties of the cup in the last two years.
Borussia Dortmund will play against Bayer Leverkusen (H) in round 3 (R16) of the DFB Pokal
— BVB Central (@TheBVBCentral) November 2, 2025
It will be just 3-4 days after they play in the Bundesliga pic.twitter.com/pj0j8jUtw6
Dortmund have failed to beat Leverkusen at home in their last two games, drawing 1-1 in April 2024 before losing 3-2 in January this year. However, their most recent encounter ended in a resounding 4-2 victory for BVB at the BayArena, which coincided with the penultimate matchday of the 2024-25 Bundesliga season.
Interestingly, the sides are set to clash in the league just three days before their cup encounter, as Leverkusen hosts Dortmund on 29 November in the Bundesliga, before Dortmund welcomes Die Werkself to the Westfalenstadion on 3 December in the cup.
Despite both teams competing in the DFB-Pokal every season, this marks their first-ever meeting in the competition, and it promises to be an exciting tie, with both teams making good starts to their domestic campaigns.
While Niko Kovac's Yellow and Blacks are in third place in the Bundesliga with 20 points from nine games, Kasper Hjulmand's Black and Reds are in fifth, having accrued three points fewer than the former.
Meanwhile, defending champions VfB Stuttgart have been drawn alongside second-tier Bochum, while German champions Bayern Munich face Union Berlin. RB Leipzig face the second division side Magdeburg.
All the matches will take place on 2-3 December 2025.