Berlin will give fellow Group D team EV Zug a warm welcome to the Wellblechpalast knowing that they bettered them over two legs when the teams previously met in the tournament.

It was in the 2016/17 competition where these two sides shared their only encounter. EV Zug had reached the knockout stages for the first time after going undefeated in the Group Stage and were facing a Berlin side that had only won two of their four games, registering a measly goal difference of minus one. The Germans took this on the chin and refused to take any prisoners when it came to the first leg, producing a dominant home performance that left Zug with a four-goal mountain to climb if they were to overturn the deficit. An outstanding performance in the second-leg from backup netminder Marvin Cüpper prevented the Swiss from doing this as he only let through one of the 41 shots fired towards his net that day.

After playing second fiddle in their domestic leagues, both teams have returned to five pre-season games and find themselves in in fine form leading up to the match. EV Zug have won four out of their five games, most recently beating Adler Mannheim 2-1. Berlin have won all their games, beating opponents from countries including the Czech Republic, Russia and Serbia.

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