Bayern Munich vs Freiburg Preview
Bayern have not won Germany's domestic cup since 2020, while Freiburg were beaten on penalties by RB Leipzig in last season's final.
After replacing Julian Nagelsmann as Bayern manager during the recent international break, Thomas Tuchel could scarcely have imagined his debut in the home dugout going any better than an emphatic 4-2 victory against title rivals Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
The latest installment of Der Klassiker's scoreline hugely flattered the visitors, too, considering they had trailed 4-0 to the Bavarians after only 50 minutes when Kingsley Coman's combination of determination and speed saw him meet a hopeful cross at the back post to firmly end the title clash as a contest.
Gregor Kobel's shocking blunder for BVB had set the tone for what followed, with the Switzerland stopper miskicking Dayot Upamecano's attempted through ball before seeing the ball run through into the back of his own net, with a subsequent quickfire brace from Thomas Muller helping Tuchel's side return to the top of the Bundesliga table.
With huge cup fixtures against Freiburg and Manchester City imminent, Tuchel will have his eyes firmly set on guiding Bayern to a treble within his first few months in charge of the club.
The 49-year-old has precedent of achieving similar in recent years, of course, having guided Chelsea to their second Champions League title despite only taking charge beyond the halfway stage of the 2020-21 campaign, and his new side will head into Tuesday's DFB-Pokal fixture as overwhelming favourites to progress to the last four.