Hertha Berlin vs. Kaiserslautern: DFB Cup LIVE blog and team news

In what is an all second-division tie, Hertha Berlin and Kaiserslautern will do battle for the second time in less than a month on Tuesday (kick-off 6pm CET).

Hertha's Luca Schuler scored against his former side to settle the teams' Bundesliga 2 contest at a packed Fritz-Walter Stadion in early November, a result that halted the Red Devils' impressive five-game unbeaten run in all competitions.

With Hertha on the up, there is very little to separate the former Bundesliga giants in the second-tier standings right now. The hosts sit just three points above Lautern in fifth after Matchday 14, adding extra spice to Tuesday's mouthwatering tie in the German capital.

Watch: Kaiserslautern 0-1 Hertha Berlin - highlights

The Old Lady's win at Holstein Kiel on Saturday was their sixth in a row in all competitions - and their ninth in their last 11 matches. Even so, coach Stefan Leitl admits his team will need to "push themselves to the limit" if they are to progress on Tuesday evening.

A Kaiserslautern victory at Eintracht Braunschweig would have kept the Red Devils level on points with Hertha in Bundesliga 2, but a 2-0 defeat by coach Torsten Lieberknecht's former employers left them in seventh place, six points off automatic promotion. However, Lautern will take heart from their last visit to the Olympiastadion back in February, when Luca Sirch's second-half effort earned them a narrow win.

LIVE blog!

3 - 1

(3 - 1)

Hertha

SECOND HALF

Kaiserslautern

DFB Pokal
Round of 16 Round of 16 Olympiastadion

52'

Reese goal hungry

The hosts storm forward through Cuisance. Reese eventually collects possession, cuts across the area and floats a left-footed shot well wide of the upright.

50'

Youngster impressing

Eichhorn picks up possession in the middle of the park and the home fans raise their voices in expectancy. The teen looks to pick out Schuler with a darting pass through the middle. The ball has a touch too much power on it.

47'

Simoni error

The Lautern keeper comes - and flaps - at a Hertha set-piece. Reese is there at the far post and looks to take advantage. His shot is deflected wide.

46'

Defensive swap

The visitors introduce Leon Robinson for the second half.

46'

Substitution

Leon Robinson

Jan Elvedi

46'

Back underway

Hertha get the second-half going ...

Half-time: Hertha 3-1 Kaiserslautern

The Old Lady were cruising towards the quarter-finals after goals form Luca Schuler, Marten Winkler and history maker Kennet Eichhorn had the Olympiastadion dancing. However, Marlon Ritter's strike right before the break has given Kaiserslautern a sniff. This tie is not over yet.

© IMAGO/Ulrik Pedersen/DeFodi Images

45'

+ 2

Red Devils back in it?

Ritter's accurate shot from outside the area sails towards the near post, hits the inside of it, and nestles into the net. Kaiserslautern have a big lifeline just before half-time.

45'

+ 2

Marlon Ritter

GOAL!

3:1

45'

Gyamfi booked

Poor Gyamfi's miserable first half is complete after the referee flashes a yellow card in the defender's direction.

45'

Yellow card

Maxwell Gyamfi

43'

Woodwork again!

Simon Simoni makes a superb double stop to keep Kaiserslautern semi-decent here. The Albanian custodian gets something on Reese's powerful effort from the right, with the ball subsequently battering the crossbar. Schuler is there on the follow-up bbut is denied by the alert Simoni, who makes a brilliant reaction save.

40'

Winkler down

The Hertha man takes a clearance straight to the face and needs treatment.

Last eight in sight

The hosts will take some stopping from here, particularly as they look like scoring whenever they storm forward. Kaiserslautern will be all too aware that tonight's hosts haven't conceded in their last six games in all competitions.

© IMAGO/Sebastian Räppold/Matthias Koch

33'

Visitors suffering

Winkler finds some space and gets a low shot at goal away. His effort is deflected an inch wide of the upright. Goalkeepr Simon Simoni was getting nowhere near that had it been on target.

30'

Olympiastadion bouncing

Just prior to scoring, the young teen almost netted an absolute worldie, spinning on the edge of the area and flashing a sensational shot from the right that cracked the crossbar. Hertha kept the move going and Dardai slipped a pass into Eichhorn, who finished with aplomb.

30'

History is made!

Would you believe it!? Kennet Eichhorn has just become the youngest-ever goalscorer in the DFB Cup and Hertha's youngest-ever goalscorer.

30'

Kennet Eichhorn

GOAL!

3:0

29'

Lautern chance

Skyttä slices a shot well wide of the target when the ball was popped back to him on the edge of the area.

26'

Skyttä booked

A poor challenge from the Finn on Kolbe and that'll be a yellow card.

26'

Yellow card

Naatan Skyttä

23'

Red Devils need a lift

Visiting coach Torsten Lieberknecht is understandably livid on the sidelines. His Kaiserslautern team have been at fault for both goals thus far and it could be even worse, what with Hertha hitting the post earlier.

20'

WHAT A GOAL!

Kaiserslautern give up possession in the Hertha area and Marten Winkler pounces. The 23-year-old bursts into space, keeps on running and gets into the visiting box. From there, Winkler beats two men and slots a tidy finish under Simon Simoni! Insane goal.

20'

Marten Winkler

GOAL!

2:0

Top entertainment

Fans of Bundesliga 2 will already know that the division is one of Europe's most entertaining and this Pokal game has been a fabulous advertisement for Germany's second-tier. We've had a goal, plenty of incident and action and a blistering atmosphere to boot and not yet 20 minutes on the clock.

© IMAGO/Ulrik Pedersen/DeFodi Images

13'

Dárdai booked

The Hertha man catches Ritter late and goes into the referee's notebook.

13'

Yellow card

Márton Dárdai

10'

Off the woodwork!

Amazing. Gyamfi is involved again as he can only divert a Cuisance pass into Luca Shuler's path. The striker batters a brilliant strike across the goalkeeper and looks on as it smashes against the inside of the post and away to safety.

8'

Lautern power back

A lovely volley from the left from Kleinhansl smashes into the side-netting. That would have been a very tidy equaliser. Fantastic opening to this game in the German capital.

6'

Hosts hit the front!

He scored against Kaiserslautern in the teams' recent league meeting and Luca Schuler is at it again early doors at the Olympiastadion. A desperately poor pass back from Gyamfi is intercepted by the Hertha forward, who races away towards goal, rounds the Lautern keeper and powers home into the empty net.

6'

Luca Schuler

GOAL!

1:0

3'

What. A. Chance!

Prtajin is involved again, this time getting his head to the ball when completely unmarked inside the six yard area. The Croatian forward can't get any power behind his effort and Tjark Ernst is relieved to claim with ease in the Hertha goal.

2'

Prtajin warning

Lautern's Ivan Prtajin goes in a bit too hard on Marton Dardai and the visiting No. 9 gets a strong telling off from the ref.

1'

Away we go!

Kaiserslautern - in red shorts and white shorts - get this eliminator underway.

Electric atmosphere

The Olympiastadion is resplendent in blue and white as both teams emerge from the tunnel and take to the pitch ahead of tonight's Round of 16 tie.

More on that Hertha team

Stefan Leitl makes two changes to the side that beat Holstein Kiel at the weekend. Kolbe replaces the suspended Zeefuik, while Leistner is preferred to Karbownik in central defence.

© IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto/Alexander Neis

More on that Kaiserslautern team

Torsten Lieberknecht makes three alterations to the Kaiserslautern side beaten 2-0 at Eintracht Braunschweig in Bundesliga 2. Simoni, Kleinhansl and Gyamfi come in, replacing Krahl, Haas and Robinson.

© IMAGO/Sportfoto Zink / Wolfgang Zink

Hertha starting XI

Ernst - Gechter, Leistner, Dardai, Kolbe - Seguin, Eichhorn - Reese (c), Cuisance, Winkler - Schuler

Hertha subs

Gersbeck, Eitschberger, Karbownik, Demme, Krattenmacher, Sessa, Grönning, Kownacki, Thorsteinsson

Kaiserslautern starting XI

Simoni - Sirch, Gyamfi, Elvedi - Abiama, Kunze, Şahin, Kleinhansl - Skyttä, Ritter (c) - Prtajin

Kaiserslautern subs

Krahl, Haas, Aremu, Hofmeister, Raschl, Robinson, Alidou, Hanslik, Tachie

Kaiserslautern team news

French right-back Paul Joly recently joined a lengthy injury list for Kaiserslautern that includes Mahir Emreli, Jisoo Kim, Kenny Prince Redondo and Simon Asta, but Maxwell Gyamfi is available after missing Saturday's defeat at Eintracht Braunschweig through suspension

© IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto/Alexander Neis

Hertha team news

John Anthony Brooks and Leon Jensen remain sidelined through injury and Deyovaisio Zeefuik will miss Tuesday's tie through suspension, but Maurice Krattenmacher, Niklas Kolbe und Luca Schuler have all recovered from knocks and Diego Demme is also available after missing the victory over Holstein Kiel.

© IMAGO/nordphoto GmbH / Engler

Stefan Leitl on facing Kaiserslautern

"Kaiserslautern are an absolutely top-level team in the second division. We saw how difficult the match there was and we know how difficult it can be now. But this time, it’s a different competition and a different approach. Both teams have to win in order to advance."

© IMAGO/nordphoto GmbH / Engler

Torsten Lieberknecht on facing Hertha

"Our opponents will do everything they can to get through this round and to make their big dream of a home final come true. We saw Hertha’s strengths [when we last faced them], which particularly came into play when we forgot to maintain good defensive cover during our attackings. At the same time, we saw that we were playing against a team we were on equal footing with."

© IMAGO/Steven Mohr

2:14

Watch: Holstein Kiel 0-1 Hertha Berlin - highlights

Hertha, meanwhile, leapfrogged their midweek guests by beating Kiel and moving to within one point of the top-three.

2:14

Watch: Braunschweig 2-0 Kaiserslautern - highlights

It was far from perfect preparation for Lautern at the weekend as they slipped to seventh after being beaten 2-0 by lowly Eintracht Braunschweig.

Hertha hopfeful

The Old Lady's 1-0 win at Kiel on Saturday was their sixth consecutive success in all competitions - without conceding a single goal - propelling them into the Bundesliga 2 promotion picture.

© IMAGO/Sebastian Räppold/Matthias Koch

Lautern looking to build

Torsten Lieberknecht's side have only won of their last four, but are still in the promotion hunt in seventh place after a strong start to the season. They would not mind another cup run after losing to Leverkusen in the 2023/24 final.

© IMAGO/Jan Huebner

2:14

Watch: Kaiserslautern 0-1 Hertha Berlin

Luca Schuler scored the winner when the sides clashed in Bundesliga 2 in early November.

Kaiserslautern - the story so far

Die Roten Teufel are still yet to play a DFB Cup game at home this season. In the first round, they downed fifth-tier RSV Eintracht 7-0 on the road, before edging past Greuther Fürth 1-0 in the second round thanks to Naatan Skyttä's early winner.

© Alexander Hassenstein

Hertha - the story so far

The Berlin outfit eeked out a win on penalties (5-3) away to Preußen in the first round after going the full 120 minutes without scoring before claiming an emphatic 3-0 win over Elversberg thanks to goals from Michaël Cuisance, Sebastian Grönning, and Jon Thorsteinsson.

© IMAGO/Sebastian Räppold/Matthias Koch

Welcome!

Welcome and thank you for joining us for build-up and live coverage of the DFB Cup Round of 16 match between Hertha Berlin and Kaiserslautern. The game is scheduled to kick off at 6:00 p.m. CET on Tuesday.

About the clubs

Hertha BSC

Olympiastadion

1. FC Kaiserslautern

Fritz-Walter-Stadion