Hertha BSC vs Freiburg Prediction: A competitive cup tie in the capital

Bayer Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart booked their places in the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal last week with 3-0 wins over St Pauli and Holstein Kiel, respectively. The biggest of the four quarter-final ties, Bayern Munich vs RB Leipzig, rounds off the final-eight games on Wednesday, but first, on Tuesday (19:45 GMT), we have the only remaining second-tier side, Hertha BSC, taking on Uefa Europa League club SC Freiburg at the Olympiastadion.

Below are my Hertha BSC vs Freiburg predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds.

Sports Welcome Offer

New customers only. Deposit via Debit Card & place first bet £10+ (1/1+) on Sports in 7 days. £30 Sports & £20 Acca Free Bets within 10 hrs of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility, payment excl. & T&Cs Apply.

Sports Welcome Offer

New customers only. Deposit via Debit Card & place first bet £10+ (1/1+) on Sports in 7 days. £30 Sports & £20 Acca Free Bets within 10 hrs of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility, payment excl. & T&Cs Apply.

Team News

Diego Demme, Kennet Eichhorn, Niklas Kolbe, Maurice Krattenmacher and Deyovaisio Zeefuik (all unspecified) could all miss Tuesday's cup tie for Stefan Leitl's Hertha BSC.

Football Odds

Freiburg boss Julian Schuster, meanwhile, is likely to be without Lukas Kubler (hamstring) and Philipp Lienhart (abdominal), while Philipp Treu (unspecified) is doubtful after missing Saturday's 1-0 Bundesliga victory over Werder Bremen.

Hertha BSC vs Freiburg Odds

Hertha BSC, who beat Munster (0-0, 3-5 on pens), Elversberg (3-0) and Kaiserslautern (6-1) to reach the quarter-finals, are 11/5, or a 31.3% chance, to triumph in regulation time on Tuesday, while Freiburg, who overcame Fortuna Dusseldorf (1-3) and Darmstadt (2-0) en route to the final eight, are 23/20 to win in 90 minutes, implying a 46.5% probability of success.

The draw, which would send the tie to extra time, is offered at 23/10, while Freiburg To Win & Both Teams To Score has been boosted from 3/1 to 4/1.

Anytime Goalscorer - Igor Matanovic (SCF) @ 15/8

Freiburg forward Igor Matanovic has scored seven club goals this season, and four of them, all in the Bundesliga, have come this calendar year.

The 22-year-old Croatia international found the net in Freiburg's first domestic cup tie of the campaign, opening the scoring in the first minute of their 3-1 win at Fortuna, and the 6ft4in striker is fancied to pose problems for Hertha on Tuesday.

Today's Football Fixtures

Hertha kept a clean sheet in a 3-0 victory over Elversberg on Saturday, but conceded four goals across their two previous matches, drawing 2-2 at Karlsruher and 2-2 at home to Darmstadt.

Both Teams To Score and Total Goals Over/Under +2.5 - Yes & Over 2.5 @ 21/20

Hopes are high for a competitive cup tie on Tuesday, with home advantage helping to bridge the gap in quality between the two teams.

Neither side are in great form recently, with Hertha winning just one of their last seven games (D5, L1), and Freiburg winning just three in the same period (D1, L3), and the Bundesliga club are winless in their last four away matches (D1, L3).

Hertha have been poor at home, too, failing to win any of their last four (D3, L1) at the Olympiastadion.

Freiburg have beaten two second-tier sides en route to the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal, and in their away tie, at Fortuna, they failed to keep a clean sheet, conceding to Anouar El Azzouzi in the 20th minute of a 3-1 win.

Schuster's side haven't recorded a shutout in their last six away games, and I fancy the hosts to get up for this one, so I'm backing both teams to score in Berlin, while I'm adding in over 2.5 total goals, too, which there has been in Hertha's last three matches (BTTS-Yes landing in two).