Hertha Berlin — Elversberg : Match Preview and Prediction for August 29,2025

Hertha’s Bundesliga 2 Journey

Hertha Berlin has seemingly settled into life in the 2. Bundesliga, showing little indication of an imminent return to Germany’s top flight with each passing season.

Disappointing Start to the Season

The Berliners have endured a faltering start to the current campaign, beginning with a 1-2 away defeat to Schalke. This fixture, in essence, was a derby between two historically prominent but recently struggling clubs that once regularly featured in the Bundesliga. Their subsequent home fixture against Karlsruher SC brought considerable hopes for securing their first points. While they did manage to earn a point, Stefan Leitl’s side arguably didn’t merit a victory, creating only a couple of genuine chances in 90 minutes. The third round also offered no major surprises. Although Hertha played on relatively even terms away to Darmstadt, it ultimately resulted in a goalless draw, 0-0. This start is far from what the Hertha faithful had envisioned for their team.

Cup Success and Pre-Season Woes

Their only notable achievement so far has been a hard-fought victory over Preußen Münster (0-0) in the DFB-Pokal Round of 64. Even then, they only progressed to the next stage after a penalty shootout, winning 5-3. Problems with offensive and defensive balance were evident even during the pre-season. Matches against lower and amateur division teams are excluded from this assessment. However, when facing opponents of their own caliber or even lower, significant difficulties immediately surfaced. Initially, they suffered a 0-1 defeat to Brøndby, followed by a 1-1 draw with Motherwell. Their sole pre-season victory came against Austria Wien (2-1).

Elversberg’s Contrasting Fortunes

For Elversberg, the situation presents a stark contrast. While their pre-season friendlies were abysmal, with only one victory in six matches, their league performance has been entirely different.

Strong League Start Despite Pre-Season Troubles

The visitors completely flopped in their pre-season preparation, losing all four of their final warm-up games with an aggregate score of 5-14! It seemed reasonable to expect a similar outcome in the 2. Bundesliga. However, Vincent Wagner’s side began their campaign with a narrow 1-0 home victory over Nuremberg. Subsequently, they couldn’t stand up to the challenge away against Bochum (0-2), a team recently relegated from the Bundesliga. Such a result was somewhat anticipated. Yet, in the third round, they replicated their earlier home success, this time overcoming Kaiserslautern 2-1.

DFB-Pokal Progression

Elversberg also kept pace with their upcoming opponents by reaching the Round of 32 in the national cup, securing a 1-0 away win against Ulm.

Improved Defensive Performance

Wagner has managed to noticeably improve the team’s defensive play following the pre-season. Currently, the visitors concede, on average, exactly one goal per game. This is a significant improvement compared to the average of 2.83 goals conceded per game across their six pre-season friendlies.