'The top game of all': Unbeaten leaders Hertha head to Kaiserslautern
Hertha Berlin travel to third-placed Kaiserslautern as 2. Bundesliga leaders with 25 points. Coach Stefan Leitl expects a major test on Saturday and set the tone: 'Get out there and deliver!'
Archive image · Photo: Gunnar Klack / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Hertha Berlin go into Saturday's match at 1. FC Kaiserslautern as the unbeaten leaders of Germany's second division, with eight wins and a draw from nine league games, most recently a 1-0 win over Arminia Bielefeld. On Wednesday they beat amateur side SSV Jeddeloh II 2-0 in the German Cup. Kaiserslautern are third on 18 points, seven behind Hertha, and according to Hertha have the league's best defence.
"On this matchday, it is the top game of all," Leitl told Thursday's pre-match news conference. He said Kaiserslautern's results in Nuremberg and Hanover spoke for themselves. His team was prepared and would bring intensity and discipline. "We are going there to win," the coach said.
Kaiserslautern won 1-0 at Nuremberg in their last league game and knocked Hannover 96 out of the cup 2-0. Kick-off at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion is at 1 p.m. (1200 GMT) on Saturday. Hertha expect around 5,000 travelling fans.