FC Cologne aim to carry their Bundesliga 2 form into the DFB Cup when they welcome the capital club Hertha Berlin in Wednesday’s round of 16 at the RheinEnergieStadion.

The home side, who beat Bundesliga debutant Holstein Kiel in the second round, are unbeaten in five games ahead of the midweek clash against an opponent in indifferent form, as evidenced by two defeats in four.

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Despite the disappointment of failing to beat 10-man Hannover this weekend, Cologne extended their unbeaten streak under Gerhard Struberputting them in a good position ahead of Wednesday’s Pokal match.

The current five-match streak began with a cup win over Holstein Kiel, a 3-0 second-round triumph to end a two-game losing streak.

After beating a top club last time out, Cologne are now aiming for a win against a second-tier club to advance to the last 16 of the competition for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign.

The Billy Goats have already beaten Hertha in Berlin in early November and are aiming for a back-to-back victory against the capital club this season.

With only one defeat against their visitors during the round of 16 (four victories), the locals are aiming for their fifth in nine matches and their third on the trot.

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Struber’s men have reason to be optimistic given the Old Lady’s recent indifferent results: Cristian FieldThe German team has one victory in its last four matches, a 3-1 success in Bundesliga 2 against Magdeburg to close the month of November, losing to Wednesday’s opponents (0-1) and Darmstadt (1-3) before losing the lead twice against Ulm at 1-0 and 2-1 to draw 2-2.

Hertha’s current results follow a Pokal victory against Bundesliga club Heidenheim (2-1), a cup result which marked the club’s third consecutive victory in all competitions, extending their unbeaten run to four.

Although the next four matches have seen a slight drop in results, Die Alte Dame will hope to achieve an encouraging result in North Rhine-Westphalia and secure back-to-back Pokal quarter-final appearances, having reached this stage last season.

However, they must improve on a disappointing run of results against Cologne after failing to beat their opponents in two years since a 2-0 home success in November 2022.

The victory ended a three-year wait against the Billy Goats, and Fiel hopes his players will raise their performance level to end a losing streak against the Cologne team.

FC Cologne DFB-Pokal form:

Form of FC Cologne (all competitions):

Hertha Berlin DFB-Pokal form:

Hertha Berlin form (all competitions):

Team News

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Jacob Christensen is the only reported absentee at Cologne, with a serious knee injury ruling out the Danish midfielder for the foreseeable future.

Although Tim Lemperlé (seven goals) and Damion Downs (six) lead the Billy Goats’ goal rankings in the second tier, Luca Waldschmidt‘s brace was crucial in beating Kiel in the previous round, and the midfielder aims to play a leading role if the top scorers draw blanks.

Pascal Klémens will be assessed for Hertha after his late substitution during the capital club’s recent victory at Magdeburg. However, Martine Winkler (muscle) and John Brooks (ankle) should play no role for Fiel’s men.

Florian Niederlechnerwho scored this weekend, has two Pokal goals and is aiming to add to his growing tally for the away team.

Possible starting lineup for FC Cologne:
Schwabe; Pauli, Hubers, Heintz; Ljubicic, Martel, Huseinbasic, Paqarada; Waldschmidt; Lemperlé, Downs

Possible starting lineup of Hertha Berlin:
Ernst; Kenny, Leistner, Dardai, Zeefuik; Cuisance, Demme, Sessa, Scherhant; Niederlechner, Maza

We say: FC Cologne 2-1 Hertha Berlin

Despite Cologne’s current form and their commendable showing against their opponents on Wednesday, Struber’s side must be wary of Hertha’s encouraging away record this season: four wins, two draws and one defeat.

Either way, the Billy Goats should rely on a marginal home victory to inflict the Berlin club’s third defeat in five and extend their winning streak against the visiting team.

For data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this match please click here.

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