DFB Cup

Quarter-finals

KSV Kiel Holstein Kiel - VFB Stuttgart VfB Stuttgart

Kiel Holstein Kiel

Stuttgart VfB Stuttgart

Wed, 04.02.202619:45 PM

Holstein-Stadion

Shared beginnings

Both Hoeneß and Rapp took their first steps into senior management at Hoffenheim. Rapp took charge of four Bundesliga games at the end of the 2019/20 season, three of which were wins and one of which was a 4-0 humbling of Borussia Dortmund. Hoeneß was there for longer, managing them between 2020-2022, starting his time there just as Rapp's ended.

Hoeneß's Kiel record

The Stuttgart boss has faced Kiel just three times, but is yet to taste defeat. His first of two victories against them came as Hoffenheim manager in this very competition, beating them 5-1 in the second round in 2021/22. The next two meetings came in the 2024/25 Bundesliga campaign, where his Stuttgart side won 2-1 at home before being held to a 2-2 draw in Kiel.

Holstein's home worries

The Storks have won just four of 10 home games in Bundesliga 2 so far this campaign, which isn't the ideal preparation for the visit of the scintillating Stuttgart. They're no stranger to a giant killing though, having beaten Bayern Munich at the Holstein-Stadion in the second round of the Cup in 2020/21.

New signings to shine?

Kiel added Hamburg's Jonas Meffert and Hoffenheim's Umut Tohumcu (loan) to their ranks in the winter window, both of whom will bring valuable experience to their squad. Meanwhile, Stuttgart's Jeremy Arévalo (middle) could be given the opportunity to make his mark, having only made a couple of brief substitute appearances since joining from Racing Santander in January.

Who will join Leverkusen?

Kasper Hjulmand's side were the first to book their place in the semi-finals last night, beating St. Pauli 3-0 at the BayArena thanks to goals from Martin Terrier, Patrik Schick and Jonas Hofmann. Last season's winners Stuttgart will be desperate to join them, but will have to navigate a tricky tie against Kiel first.

Early Kiel team news

Alexander Bernhardsson and Carl Johansson remain out due to long-term injuries. Marco Komenda (pictured) and Frederik Roslyng are available again after recovering from illness, while Ivan Nekić is an option after suspension ruled him out of the Bundesliga 2 loss to Fürth.

Early Stuttgart team news

Nikolas Nartey, Dan-Axel Zagadou and Tiago Tomás will all have to miss the cup clash due to injury. Sebastian Hoeneß revealed that as Fabian Bredlow is a doubt due to a calf injury, Alexander Nübel will start in goal.

Marcel Rapp on facing Stuttgart

"Our expectations aren’t as high as in Bundesliga 2, with no disrespect to our opponents there. We’re going into the game against Stuttgart as the underdogs, and we want to seize that opportunity.”

Sebastian Hoeneß on facing Kiel

"There may be situations we have to overcome together, so it’s going to be particularly important to play with determination, focus and purpose. We have the chance to take a big step forward in our third competition as well.”

Get the scarves out

As of Tuesday, the forecast for Kiel on Wednesday evening was for temperatures of a rather chilly -3 degrees Celsius, coupled with strong winds.

Kiel form

Losing just two of their last eight games at the Holstein-Stadion (W4, D2, L2), Marcel Rapp's side enjoyed a 2-0 win over promotion chasing Paderborn last month. The Storks' defeat against Greuther Fürth at the weekend was also their first in six games since their December DFB Cup victory over Hamburg.

Stuttgart form

VfB's dramatic late triumph against Freiburg means that since their round of 16 win over Bochum, Hoeneß's men have suffered just two defeats in their last 11 matches across all competitions as they continue their remarkable rise.

0:59

Watch: Stuttgart 1-0 Freiburg

The cup holders come into Wednesday's game feeling pretty good, having seen Demirović grab a last-minute stunner against Freiburg. A win that pushed VfB up to fourth in the table.

2:13

Watch: Kiel 1-2 Greuther Fürth

Kiel's preparation for Wednesday proved less than ideal on Saturday as they lost 2-1 at home to bottom of the table Greuther Fürth in Bundesliga 2. The result sees Kiel drop to 11th in the table, just four points above the relegation places.

2:03

Watch: Kiel 2-2 Stuttgart

The last time these teams met was in the Bundesliga in March. On that day, the game finished 2-2 in Kiel as Kiel captain Steven Skrzybski scored a double in between goals from Jamie Leweling and Ermedin Demirović.

Head-to-head

Perhaps surprisingly, Kiel have a remarkably solid record against Stuttgart. The two sides have met six times in total, with the Storks winning three of those meetings. However, they were unable to get the better of Stuttgart in the Bundesliga last season, as it finished 2-2 in Kiel and 2-1 in Stuttgart. This will also be the third DFB Cup meeting between the sides. Both teams have beaten the other once in the cup, with Kiel progressing in 1970 and Stuttgart in 2015.

Kiel - the story so far

Kiel are one of two non-Bundesliga teams through to the quarter-finals, where they'll try to make it a hat-trick of giant-killing wins after dumping out Wolfsburg (1-0) and Hamburg (on penalties) in the previous rounds. The Storks also took care of business against fourth-tier Homburg in their competition opener (2-0).

Stuttgart - the story so far

Stuttgart's cup defence got off to a shaky start as they edged into the second round courtesy of a penalty shootout win over Bundesliga 2's Eintracht Braunschweig. It's been a smoother ride to the quarters, though, with Die Schwaben beating both Bundesliga rivals Mainz and second-tier Bochum 2-0 in regulation time.

Welcome!

Holders VfB Stuttgart visit Bundesliga 2's Holstein Kiel in the 2025/26 DFB Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday (kick-off: 8.45pm CET). Stay tuned for build-up and live match coverage from the Holstein-Stadion!