Kaiserslautern vs Bayer Leverkusen Predictions

• Bayer Leverkusen have covered a -2 handicap in three of their four DFB Pokal games against lower-level opposition this season
• Kaiserslautern have faced only one top-flight team – recently relegated Cologne – during their run to the final
• Robert Andrich has scored six goals in his last 17 starts and has started Leverkusen’s last four DFB Pokal matches

Leverkusen looking good to bounce back in Berlin

Bayer Leverkusen have a chance to bounce back from their Europa League Final disappointment and claim a domestic double when they head into Sunday’s DFB Pokal showpiece as big favourites to beat second-tier Kaiserslautern.

Leverkusen’s unbeaten season is no more after Xabi Alonso and his men succumbed to an Atalanta masterclass in Dublin, but that record had sailed close to the wind many times before and was perhaps fortunate to have lasted so long.

This clash at Berlin’s Olimpiastadion will be chance for redemption for the Bundesliga champions as they take on a team that knocked out only one top-tier team on their route to the final.

Kaiserslautern’s cushy cup run ends here

Kaiserslautern , who finished a lowly 13th in the 2. Bundesliga, scraped past Cologne in the early stages before beating second-tier rivals Nurnberg and Hertha Berlin in the last-16 and quarter-finals respectively. They then defeated 3.Liga giant-killers Saarbrucken in the semis.

That cushy cup run ends on Sunday when they will meet a Leverkusen side looking to end their campaign on a high and with plenty of fresh players restored to the line-up. Alonso is likely to make several changes with Victor Boniface, Robert Andrich, Nathan Tella and possibly Patrik Schick all in line for recalls.

Boniface, who has bagged two goals in his last two starts, is an obvious anytime goalscorer candidate, but midfielder Andrich has bagged six times in all competitions since February and is worthy of support at a considerably larger price than the Nigerian’s 8/15 odds. Leverkusen will win this game barring any miracles and their record against other second-tier outfits this season suggests it will be by more than two goals.