Joshua Kimmich says there is more to Bayern Munich's success than winning titles, but that does not take away his desire to beat Stuttgart in the DFB-Pokal final.

Bayern are in the showpiece for the first time in six years (2020 – 4-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen).

It is their longest drought between finals in the competition since a 12-year wait between 1986 and 1998, but Bayern are determined to add to their Bundesliga title with a 21st DFB-Pokal success.

"From the outside, it is the titles that count," Kimmich said.

"In the past ​few years, we have been consistent at a high level. ​We will ⁠try to win it, but I will not judge a season based on just one match.

"Whether we win or lose is something we can influence to a certain extent, but I'm ​not measuring success just by titles.

"But when you ​look back in 10 years' time, you want to have won as many titles as possible. So, we'll ​give it our all."

While Bayern are playing in their 25th final, Stuttgart are playing in their eighth, having won four of the previous seven, including last season's, beating Arminia Bielefeld 4-2.

However, two of the other three such matches have come against Bayern, with Stuttgart losing 5-2 in 1986 and 3-2 in 2013.

"We'll need an extraordinary performance, and we're determined to take this last step," said head coach Sebastian Hoeness.

"We got a taste for it, and you could feel that throughout our entire cup run.

"We qualified for the Champions League via the Bundesliga, we've handled high-pressure situations, and now we can achieve something wonderful in the DFB Cup final."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Bayern Munich – Harry Kane

Since Harry Kane joined Bayern in August 2023, no other Bundesliga player has scored as many goals in all competitions against a single opponent as Kane has against Stuttgart (11 in seven matches). This season alone, Kane has scored five goals in three competitive matches against them.

Kane has also scored seven goals in this DFB-Pokal season, the most by a player in a single campaign since Robert Lewandowski in 2018-19 (also seven for Bayern).

Stuttgart – Deniz Undav

Deniz Undav has been directly involved in nine goals in nine appearances in the DFB-Pokal since the start of last season (five goals, four assists), which is the joint-most in this period alongside Kane (eight goals, one assist).

Undav has been directly involved in at least one goal in each of his last four DFB-Pokal matches (three goals, two assists), his longest such run in the competition. In the 2025 final, he scored one goal and assisted another.

MATCH PREDICTION: BAYERN MUNICH WIN

Bayern have won 87 of their 131 competitive matches against Stuttgart since the Bundesliga's inception (D22 L22).

No other team has recorded as many victories against a single opponent in German professional football. Under Vincent Kompany, Bayern have won all five of their competitive matches against Stuttgart.

Bayern have progressed in nine of their 10 DFB-Pokal matches against Stuttgart. The last time both teams met in the final was 13 years ago, with the Bavarians, under Jupp Heynckes, winning 3-2.

Stuttgart have reached the DFB-Pokal final in two consecutive campaigns for the first time and have also progressed through 11 consecutive cup rounds for the first time. Their current 20 consecutive cup matches with a goal scored is a club record as well.

Bayern and Stuttgart will meet in the DFB-Pokal final for the third time, after 1986 and 2013 – only the fixture Bayern v Borussia Dortmund has been played more often in the final (four times).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Bayern Munich – 69.7%

Draw – 16.6%

Stuttgart – 13.7%