FC Schalke 04 has reached the round of 16 in the DFB Junior A Cup. The Königsblauen failed to reach the final against this opponent in the preseason.

Last season, it was the final, now the duel is already in the round of 16 of the DFB Cup A-Junioren. On Saturday, FC Schalke 04’s U19s will host 1. FC Köln (11 a.m., RS live ticker).

Then the Königsblauen want to take revenge for the bitter defeat in the final of the last edition. At the end of April, both teams delivered an entertaining exchange of blows in Babelsberg – with the better end for the Cologne team.

Initially, FC led 2:0, then Schalke turned the game into 3:2 within 17 minutes of play, but the Cologne team managed to equalize – and finally scored in extra time for the final score of 4:3. Now it’s back to square one, with not too many of the players from Saturday’s final likely to be on the pitch due to their age.

“There is a certain positive explosiveness in a match between last year’s two finalists,” Schalke coach Norbert Elgert was quoted as saying by club media ahead of the game. “Cologne is similarly strong as last year, however, they have recently lost to three very strong opponents in the league. We will do everything we can to advance one round – we want that at all costs. “