Hertha BSC will host SV Elversberg in a DFB-Pokal second-round match at the Olympiastadion on Tuesday. The team enters the match in good form, having won four of their last six matches, including two consecutive home victories that ended a winless streak at their stadium. Their most recent match saw a dramatic 1-0 win over Fortuna Düsseldorf, with Maurice Krattenmacher scoring in the 96th minute.
Hertha secured their place in the second round back in August with a challenging penalty shootout victory against Preußen Münster. Despite having only 30% possession and being outplayed for much of the match, they advanced after Charalampos Makridis missed a penalty.
Last season, Hertha reached the Round of 16 before being eliminated by FC Köln. The team has reached at least that stage in seven of their last ten Pokal campaigns, with a semi-final appearance in 2015/16. Head coach Stefan Leitl expressed optimism about their chances, emphasizing the need for a disciplined and passionate performance against a strong opponent.
In terms of team news, there are no new injury concerns reported. However, Deyo Zeefuik, Dawid Kownacki, Leon Jensen, and Pascal Klemens will remain sidelined.
On the other hand, SV Elversberg, managed by Vincent Wagner, has made a strong start to the season and is currently in the promotion race. They are looking to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat to Arminia Bielefeld, which marked their first loss in eight league games. Elversberg advanced to this round with a controlled 1-0 win against Ulm, where Felix Keidel scored the decisive goal.
This marks Elversberg's 12th DFB-Pokal campaign, but they have yet to progress past the second round. They will aim to improve upon last year's performance, where they were eliminated at this stage by Bayer Leverkusen. Team news for Elversberg indicates that only Luis Seifert and Luca Pfeiffer will miss the match due to injury.
Historically, Elversberg has a strong record against Hertha, winning the last four encounters, including a 0-2 victory in August. Additionally, this match carries personal significance for coach Stefan Leitl, as he has never defeated Elversberg in five previous attempts throughout his career.
Predicted lineups for the match are as follows:
Hertha BSC (4-2-3-1): Ernst (GK) - Gechter, Leistner, Dardai, Karbownik - Eichhorn, Seguin - Winkler, Krattenmacher, Reese - Grønning
SV Elversberg (4-2-3-1): Kristof (GK) - Keidel, Pinckert, Rohr, Mickelson - Malanga, Poreba - Stange, Conté, Zimmerschied - Ebnoutalib
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