With three competitive game wins behind them, Hertha BSC will visit 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday evening (8:30 p.m.). But the Palatinate team has rarely lost recently – and has one of the most accurate shooters in the league.
- Hertha BSC has recently won three competitive games in a row
- Coach Leitl will have to do without defender Gechter on Saturday evening in Kaiserslautern
- With Prtajin, Kaiserslautern has one of the most accurate players in the 2nd Bundesliga
Three facts about the game
1. Hertha BSC has not lost a league game at the Betzenberg in Kaiserslautern since November 2003 (four wins, two draws).
2. 1. FC Kaiserslautern has been unbeaten since the end of September.
3. On Saturday evening (8:30 p.m.) the “Old Lady” (8th place, 17 points, +4 goal difference) could overtake FCK (6th place, 20 points, +7) in the second division table with a win.
To person
Mitti had “no choice” when it came to his club membership because he was born in the Palatinate and there is nothing else there than that 1. FC Kaiserslautern gave. The 32-year-old has been part of the FCK blog for many years.”Meeting point Betze“, who reports about the club almost every day. Only the “Betze”, the Betzenberg Stadium, can put the structurally weak region in a good mood, says Mitti. But even this one rarely manages to do that.
The sporting situation at 1. FC Kaiserslautern
With 20 points from the first eleven games, Kaiserlautern is currently in sixth place in the 2nd Bundesliga table – and is therefore three points ahead of Herthan, who also have a goal difference that is three goals worse than the Palatinate team.
The FCK hasn’t lost at all since the end of September – and yet FCK fan and blogger Mitti describes the course of the season so far as “extremely mixed. The expectations were high. After the first few match days we were brought back down to earth very quickly. Since then we have won and drawn against opponents against whom you would not have actually expected,” says the expert, who has been an FCK fan since birth and has been part of the club for years as part of the blog “Treffpunkt Betze”.
“We are currently dissatisfied, even though we are doing well. You have the feeling that a lot of teams are playing at the top of this league this year and there is no one who can get away from everyone,” said Mitti.
Hertha should pay particular attention to these players
In the form of Ivan Prtajin, 1. FC Kaiserslautern has one of the best snappers in the 2nd Bundesliga. So far this season, the Croatian newcomer has scored eight goals and one assist in eight appearances: “He’s putting everything together,” says Mitti. Apart from this top striker, “the problem is that our squad is extremely bad. We have a good first eleven, but absolutely nothing behind it. Recently there was a 16-year-old on the bench – our second team plays in the top league, mind you. And Torsten Lieberknecht is not known for relying on young players. That means: we simply don’t have anyone else.”
The coach has to regularly substitute striker “Dickson Abiama, who always seems like a fan who has won a competition and is now allowed to play with the professionals,” said Mitti.
This is what moves the FCK fans
Déjà vu in the DFB Cup is casting its shadow ahead. In the round of 16 (December 2nd, 6 p.m.) the FCK will be guests at Hertha BSC – as before in the quarterfinals almost two years ago; in that season in which Kaiserslautern even went into… final moved in and narrowly lost 1-0 to the then superior team Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The Berlin lot “was very positively received,” reports Mitti. “This is one of the best away trips. The Olympic Stadium is one of the most beautiful stadiums ever, it fits a lot of people and is always worth a trip.”
And otherwise? “There are two camps among FCK fans when it comes to sporting leadership: “On the one hand, managing director Thomas Hengen in particular is constantly criticized,” says Mitti. “On the other hand, we have recently become better every year, the squad is more valuable every year and we have also improved in terms of ranking.” And: “The FCK fan thinks very short-term – and we are perhaps particularly stupid in that regard. If we win three games, we’ll immediately dream of promotion.”
That’s what the coaches say
Stefan Leitl (Hertha BSC): “It’s a highlight, 8:30 p.m. on the Betze. I assume that the game will be sold out. We have 5,000 fans from Berlin there – fantastic atmosphere. And then it’s about pure football on the Betze. We have to find ways and solutions to counter this. We have gained a lot of self-confidence in the last few weeks. The respect from the opponent is there – just like it is with us.”
Torsten Lieberknecht (1. FC Kaiserslautern): The matchday press conference with FCK coach Lieberknecht will not take place until Friday (2:30 p.m.).
This is how Hertha could play
Hertha coach Leitl is once again forced to make personnel changes. Defender Linus Gechter had to in the home game against SG Dynamo Dresden with thigh problems and is not available.
“Of course we hoped that it would be enough. He was on the pitch individually on Thursday and unfortunately gave negative feedback,” said Leitl at the matchday press conference on Thursday. “He’s a player I don’t want to be without, so it’s difficult to replace him.”
Julian Eitschberger, who was already substituted against Dynamo, should start in Gechter’s place at the back right. Leitl will only decide on Friday “after the final training session” whether Deyovaisio Zeefuik, who was also recently injured, will be included in the squad.
The possible starting eleven for the “Old Lady”: Ernst – Karbownik, M. Dardai, Leistner, Eitschberger – Eichhorn, Demme – Reese, Cuisance, Krattenmacher – Grönning
The forecast
The opponent expert’s tip: Mitti has very clear ideas for next Saturday evening. “I expect a game with lots of goals because Prtajin is fit again,” said the FCK fan. Specifically, that means: “It will be a really nice, defensive 4:4. No team loves conceding goals from 30 meters away as much as ours – and Reese can do that quite well. It will still be 0-0 until the 82nd minute and then it will escalate completely.”
Editor’s tip: It should be really high-scoring. “Pure football on the Betze” ends with a 3-2 away win for Hertha BSC.
Broadcast: DER TAG in Berlin & Brandenburg, November 6th, 2025, 6 p.m
