Preview: Hertha Berlin vs Freiburg - prediction, team news, lineups

Recent DFB Pokal finalists Freiburg will be looking to reach their third semi-final in five seasons when they travel to the German capital for a big clash with Hertha Berlin.

Both clubs are coming into this match on the back of league victories, meaning confidence is high in both camps ahead of a tasty encounter at the historic Olympiastadion.

Match preview

Returning to the Bundesliga is undoubtedly the main priority for Hertha Berlin this season, though it is fair to say that the Old Lady has made some serious ground in their DFB Pokal side quest.

The interesting thing about Hertha is that during their last seven years as a top-flight team, they never progressed past the third round in the cup.

However, since dropping to the wild west that is 2. Bundesliga, Hertha have now reached the quarter-final of the Pokal for the second time in three years.

Stefan Leitl’s men are naturally the underdogs ahead of their encounter with Freiburg, and that should not come as a major shock - especially when you realise that Hertha are winless at home in four straight matches.

It has been over two months since Hertha supporters have celebrated a home victory in any competition, and few are expecting that to change this Tuesday night.

On a positive note, the Berlin-based outfit are on a good goalscoring run, rattling the net seven times in their last three outings. They have also scored nine goals across their last two cup matches.

Freiburg appear to have built a fondness for the DFB Pokal in recent years, performing exceptionally well in the competition and even reaching the final in 2022.

Losing the showpiece to RB Leipzig was undoubtedly a big blow considering Freiburg have never won a major trophy (not counting their 2. Bundesliga titles).

Nevertheless, the Breisgau Brazilians have since managed to reach the semi-final in 2023, as well as the round-of-16 last season.

Fast forward to the current campaign, Julian Schuster has led his men to yet another cup quarter-final, and the head coach will be determined to go one step further - especially after drawing a team from the second division.

Freiburg will travel to the capital on the back of a 1-0 victory over Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga last weekend - a result which has pushed the club into seventh spot in the standings and just six points away from European places.

Hertha Berlin DFB-Pokal form:

W W W

Hertha Berlin form (all competitions):

D D D D D W

Freiburg DFB-Pokal form:

W W W

Freiburg form (all competitions):

D W W L L W

Team News

Hertha Berlin had one of their former investors, Lars Windhorst, named in the recent Jeffrey Epstein files, yet that still was not the biggest news story to come out of the club this month.

The update that really broke Hertha’s hearts is a potentially serious injury to their 16-year-old prodigy, Kennet Eichhorn, who has now missed three matches and could be out of action for an extended period.

Midfielders Diego Demme and Maurice Krattenmacher are also on the shelf and will not feature in the quarter-final.

When it comes to injuries, Freiburg will be without experienced defender Lukas Kubler, who continues to nurse a hamstring problem.

Fellow defender Philipp Lienhart has an abdominal strain and is also out of action, while Daniel-Kofi Kyereh has been out for three years and remains a doubt for Tuesday’s fixture.

Speaking of doubts, Philipp Treu missed out on selection for the Werder Bremen clash on Saturday, and his current status is uncertain ahead of the cup clash.

Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:

Ernst; Karbownik, Leistner, Gechter, Zeefuik; Klemens, Seguin; Winkler, Cuisance, Reese; Schuler

Freiburg possible starting lineup:

Atubolu; Rosenfelder, Ginter, Ogbus, Gunter; Eggestein, Osterhage, Beste, Manzambi, Grifo; Matanovic