DFB Cup

Quarter-finals

B04 Leverkusen Bayer Leverkusen - STP St. Pauli St. Pauli

Leverkusen Bayer Leverkusen

St. Pauli St. Pauli

P. Schick
63'

M. Terrier
32'

BayArena

Florian Badstübner

82'

Tempers flare

Arthur goes into the back of Pyrka after the ball had gone and the two have to be separated.

80'

Substitution

Taichi Hara

Ricky-Jade Jones

Heading to the semis?

Pauli haven't threatened Leverkusen's backline enough this half, and the hosts head into the final ten minutes with a two-goal lead.

78'

Jones down

The Pauli forward looked to have twisted his ankle when getting a shot off and is receiving treatment.

75'

Off the post!

Hofmann receives the ball in a central area before pushing the ball out to the right. He lets fly from range, with his low, powerful drive bouncing off the outside of the far post and out of play.

72'

Pauli come again

They win another corner, which lands at the feet of Saliakas on the far side of the box. He creates some space to shoot but still sees his shot blocked.

70'

Sinani over

Andō pounces on a loose ball after some poor defending from Grimaldo. He crosses into the centre and the ball eventually falls to Sinani on the edge of the area, whose deflected effort loops over the bar.

68'

Breathing space

Leverkusen have looked more comfortable in this second half, and now have a goal to show for their efforts.

68'

Substitution

Jackson Irvine

Joel Chima Fujita

65'

Substitution

Jonas Hofmann

Martin Terrier

It's two! Schick slots it home

Leverkusen take a short corner and García bends a cross toward the far post, where Schick finishes first time into the far corner.

63'

Patrik Schick

GOAL!

2:0

60'

Vital interception

Andō gets to a dangerous cross from Quansah first, with the lurking Schick waiting behind him to make it 2-0.

Scrappy start

Neither side is taking too much care of the ball at the moment, with both searching for a goal.

58'

Substitution

Ezequiel Fernández

Exequiel Palacios

58'

Substitution

Arthur

Lucas Vázquez

54'

Too eager

Grimaldo makes a good run in behind the Pauli defence which puts him one-on-one with Voll, but the flag is raised.

50'

Yellow card

Tomoya Andō

Leverkusen get lucky!

Pyrka fizzes a ball in across the six-yard box, which finds Jones just a couple of yards out from goal. With the goal gaping he misses the ball, but is saved from his blushes by an offside flag.

46'

We're back!

And the visitors make two changes in an attempt to turn things around, with Jones and Saliakas replacing Pereira Lage and Oppie.

Kick-off!

45'

+ 3

Substitution

Ricky-Jade Jones

Mathias Pereira Lage

45'

+ 3

Substitution

Manolis Saliakas

Louis Oppie

Half-time: Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 St. Pauli

The hosts take a slender lead into the break after an entertaining first 45 here at the BayArena. Leverkusen had the majority of possession, but it was Pauli who threatened first through Fujita. Terrier then provided a moment of brilliance, arrowing in a precise volley from range to calm the Werkself's nerves. Pauli were the better side after conceding though, and will be disappointed to go into the break a goal down.

Half-time

45'

Two added minutes

Will we see another goal before the break?

44'

Yellow card

Aleix García

Far from over

Leverkusen may have the goal advantage but Pauli are putting up a fight, and could even be level.

40'

Kaars misses!

This time a cross from the right reaches Kaars inside the six-yard box, but the pace on the ball and the pressure from a Leverkusen defender leads to him putting his finish over the bar.

37'

Big chance!

An incisive ball inside Vázquez sets Oppie free and he has an open Kaars to aim for in the box. The Spaniard recovers in time to block the cross, and Pauli miss the chance to punish Leverkusen.

36'

How will Pauli react?

The visitors were making life difficult for Leverkusen before Terrier's moment of magic.

Goal! Terrier with a fantastic strike

Pauli fail to clear their lines from what seemed like a harmless situation. The ball sits up for Terrier, who takes it down before volleying into the far bottom corner from outside the area.

32'

Martin Terrier

GOAL!

1:0

27'

On the offensive

Pauli have looked threatening in these past few minutes, and now it's the hosts' turn to defend.

23'

Fujita goes close!

He combines with Kaars just inside the area before flashing an effort wide of the post. Blaswich was rooted to the spot.

22'

Causing themselves problems

Leverkusen miss an opportunity to clear on the edge of the box, almost providing the visitors with an opening.

Leverkusen probing

The hosts have been on top in these opening exchanges and are beginning to find space in the attacking third.

19'

Yellow card

Joel Chima Fujita

Incredible block!

Voll gives the ball away inside his own area and the hosts are quick to pounce. The ball ends up with Schick, who shifts the ball past a defender before firing toward goal. The ball never hits the net though, as Mets is in the right place at the right time to block.

14'

First sight of goal

A ball over the top sets Vázquez free and he crosses toward Terrier but Andō gets there first. Leverkusen can't make anything of the following corner.

13'

Dangerous on the break

Pereira Lage gets in behind down the left flank and finds Kaars with a cross, but he gets his finish all wrong and sees it go out for a goal-kick.

11'

No way through

Schick tries to combine with Tillman but the Pauli defence stands firm.

Finding their rhythm

The hosts are back on the ball and have Pauli stuck in their own half.

Early scare

Sinani swings in a good ball and a scramble ensues. The ball eventually falls to Kaars, but he sees his effort from close range blocked and Leverkusen clear.

First corner

The visitors get the first corner of the game, making the most of a breakaway after early Leverkusen possession.

Kick-off!

Off we go!

Pauli get tonight's action underway.

Blessin's glory days

The Pauli manager has experience in going all the way in a domestic cup, having won the Belgian cup with Union St. Gilloise in 2024.

Time for a change?

Six games without a win in the league, the Kiezkickers will see this as an opportunity to turn their season around with a big win in the cup.

Schick returns

The talismanic striker returns to the starting line-up for the Werkself, eager to remain unbeaten against Pauli. He's only faced them twice, resulting in one win for Leverkusen and a draw in the other game, scoring once in that time.

More on those teams

For the hosts, Kofane, Arthur and Fernández drop to the bench having started in the win over Frankfurt, with Schick, Vázquez and Palacios replacing them. For Pauli, Vasilj, Jones, Smith and Saliakas drop to the bench in favour of Voll, Kaars, Oppie and Pereira Lage.

Starting line-up: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Leverkusen subs

Omlin, Tape, Arthur, Badé, Hofmann, Fernández, Culbreath, Kofane, Poku

Starting line-up: FC St. Pauli

St. Pauli subs

Vasilj, Saliakas, Ritzka, Dźwigała, Robatsch, Irvine, Ceesay, Hara, Jones

Hjulmand out for cup success

In the Leverkusen boss' previous role in club management, at FC Nordsjaelland in his native Denmark, he managed to take them as far as the semi-finals in their domestic cup, but he never managed to jump that hurdle in his six seasons there.

Pauli's cup habit

This is the third time since the 2021/22 campaign that the Kiezkickers have reached the quarter-final of the cup. They reached this stage most recently in 2023/24, when they were beaten 6:5 on penalties by Fortuna Düsseldorf. Before that, in 2021/22, they were beaten 2-1 by Union Berlin.

Early St. Pauli team news

Ben Voll will start in goal for Pauli while Hauke Wahl is sidelined, confirmed Alexander Blessin. Taichi Hara, who only joined the Hamburg club on Saturday, will be named amongst the substitutes, but "may well get 20 or 25 minutes."

Early Leverkusen team news

Kasper Hjulmand confirmed that Ibrahim Maza is unavailable for Tuesday's clash, but he hopes to have the Algerian back for Sunday. Nathan Tella, Eliesse Ben Seghir and Mark Flekken are also absent.

Kasper Hjulmand on the DFB Cup

"I love the Cup. I think we are all motivated to win something and we have the potential here two games from the final."

Alexander Blessin on facing Leverkusen

"It's a do-or-die game. There are no points at stake. Our previous outings in the DFB Cup have been interesting and intense – with good performances and a favourable outcome – and we’re hoping for the same at Leverkusen. We want to enjoy it. It's the quarter-final and a chance to move one step closer to the final."

Kasper Hjulmand on facing St. Pauli

"I’ve got too much respect for our opponent. They made things tough for us in the league meeting, but we need to play our game tomorrow and show our identity."

Leverkusen form

Leverkusen's 2026 started with three straight defeats against Stuttgart, Hoffenheim and Olympiacos, but Kasper Hjulmand's men have bounced back from a difficult start to the year with successive victories over Werder Bremen, Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League, and Eintracht Frankfurt.

St. Pauli form

Alexander Blessin's side have won just one of their last eight games since they defeated Gladbach in the last 16 to progress to this stage. They have, however, drawn two of their past three, including against RB Leipzig last midweek when Martijn Kaars equalised in the third minute of stoppage time.

Pauli seek to make history

The Hamburg-based club have only made the semi-finals of the DFB Cup on one occasion. That was during the 2005/06 season, when they were eventually beaten 3-0 by Bayern.

1:05

Watch: Frankfurt 1-3 Leverkusen

Leverkusen put themselves back into Champions League qualification contention on Saturday with a dominant 3-1 win away at Frankfurt. Arthur, Malik Tillman and Aleix García were amongst the goals.

1:04

Watch: Augsburg 2-1 St. Pauli

St. Pauli were plunged into further relegation trouble on Saturday as they lost to fellow strugglers Augsburg.

2:03

Watch: St. Pauli 1-2 Leverkusen

These two sides last met in September when Leverkusen won 2-1 at Pauli thanks to goals from Edmond Tapsoba and Ernest Poku.

Head-to-head

The two sides have met 25 times throughout their histories, and the results are pretty even, with Leverkusen having won nine games and Pauli eight. However, recent history has very much favoured the hosts, with Leverkusen unbeaten against Pauli since 2007. Incidentally, though, that particular Pauli win was a cupset.

Leverkusen - the story so far

Ibrahim Maza scored the only goal as Leverkusen won a heavyweight last-16 tie with Borussia Dortmund. The 2023/24 winners needed extra-time to see off Bundesliga 2's Paderborn in the previous round, having opened their cup campaign with a 4-0 win at minnows Sonnenhof Großaspach.

St. Pauli - the story so far

Pauli scraped past fourth-tier Eintracht Norderstedt on penalties in the first round. They also went the distance against Bundesliga bedfellows Hoffenheim, before ousting Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1 inside 90 minutes in the round of 16.

Welcome!

And then there were eight! Bayer Leverkusen host Bundesliga rivals St. Pauli in the 2025/26 DFB Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday (kick-off: 8.45pm CET). Stay tuned for build-up and live match coverage from the BayArena!