Schalke seek to conclude a turbulent, topsy-turvy season by winning their fifth German Cup title in the final today against second-division club Duisburg.

Schalke are the overwhelming favorites against a side that finished eighth in the second division and which will be missing several injured regulars at the Olympic stadium in Berlin. Duisburg are the first second-division team to make the final in seven years.

But Schalke are coming off six straight defeats in the Bundesliga and Europe, finishing 14th in the domestic title race only a year after coming second and being comfortably beaten in the Champions League semi-finals by Manchester United.

The match is a chance for Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to lift a trophy before he leaves the club. Neuer is widely believed to be heading to Bayern Munich, although a deal has not been officially confirmed.

After finishing runners-up in the Bundesliga in Felix Magath’s first season as coach, Schalke were hoping to finally end five decades of futility by winning the championship.

But after a disastrous start, Schalke became stuck in the bottom half of the standings and never recovered. Magath was fired and replaced by Ralf Rangnick.

It was under Magath that Schalke secured a spot in the German Cup final by beating titleholders Bayern. The team also reached the Champions League quarter-finals before the coaching switch, knocking out defending champions Inter under Rangnick before being badly outplayed in the next round.

Rangnick’s promising start included a 5-2 win in Milan, only for the team to slump badly at the end of the Bundesliga season. But Schalke had nothing to play for in the league and may have been saving themselves for the Cup final.

Schalke, entering their 12th Cup final, last won in 2002. Duisburg are in their fourth final and have never lifted the title.

In his first stint as Schalke coach, Rangnick finished as runner-up in the Bundesliga and lost the German Cup final in 2005.

Duisburg had a promising start in the second tier, looking like heading for promotion halfway through the season before slumping.

The team will be without captain Srdjan Baljak and Julian Koch, one of their top players. Both are out with knee injuries. Schalke are without major injury worries.