Kaiserslautern-Bayer Leverkusen is the final of the 2023-24 edition of the German Cup and is played Saturday at 8 p.m.: predictions and likely lineups.
After 51 consecutive useful results – an all-time record at European level – Bayer Leverkusen fell on the most important night, failing their Triplete goal. Xabi Alonso’s team went back to losing after exactly one year and did so in the Europa League final against an Atalanta side that was simply stronger in every respect and that from the first minutes, with its relentless offensive pressing and man-to-man duels, took away all certainty from the Aspirins, who were in constant trouble and never really able to get back into the game.
A stark 3-0 thrashing that prevented Bayer Leverkusen from triumphing in Europe almost 40 years after their first and only continental success, in what was then still called the Uefa Cup. A thunderous thud that did not, however, erase the resounding season of Werkself, which was able to win its first Bundesliga while remaining undefeated. The Rossoneri, moreover, have a chance to turn the page immediately and try to forget the defeat in Dublin in their last match of the season, the German Cup final against Kaiserslautern. A competition that Bayer Leverkusen has not won since 1993 and has only come close in 2002, 2009 and 2020, finishing second. Should they win, the “one-two” would become a reality: only six German clubs so far have managed to win both the Bundesliga and German Cup in the same year. On paper, the one with the Red Devils looks like an obvious match. Kaiserslautern, in fact, is the first club not participating in the Bundesliga to reach the cup final since the 2010-11 edition.
Miracle Kaiserslautern
The men led by Friedhelm Funkel, who finished thirteenth in the Zweite Liga, took advantage of a relatively easy draw, in which the only Bundesliga team they faced was Cologne.
Their season, we said, was not exhilarating if we exclude the path to the national cup. Salvation came only in the last few days of the championship and mainly thanks to the three victories obtained since the end of April, including the bombastic one with Braunschweig in the last round (5-0). Funkel may be without Nigerian center forward Ache, 16 goals on the season, who was absent last Sunday. All hands on deck instead for Alonso, who will not play with a false nueve this time, relying on one between Boniface and Schick in attack.
The prediction
A final, you know,is always a final but in this case surprises are unlikely. Let’s assume a fairly wide victory for Bayer Leverkusen, eager to redeem the ugly defeat in the Europa League final and to pull off the historic league-cup double. The Aspirins should be able to score two to four goals, finishing ahead in both halves of the game.
The likely lineups for Kaiserslautern-Bayer Leverkusen
KAISERSLAUTERN (3-4-2-1): Krahl; Touré, Kraus, Tomiak; Zimmer, Kaloc, Raschl, Puchacz; Ritter, Redondo; Hanslik.
BAYER LEVERKUSEN (3-4-2-1): Kovář; Stanišić, Tah, Tapsoba; Frimpong, Andrich, Xhaka, Grimaldo; Hofmann, Wirtz; Boniface.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 0-3
