Borussia Moenchengladbach will look to rubber-stamp their good form thus far this season when they face the equally in-form Schalke 04 in the last 16 of the German Cup on Wednesday.
Gladbach, five-time German champions and twice winners of the UEFA Cup, lie in an impressive fourth place in the Bundesliga, only months after they preserved their elite status with a relegation play-off win over VfL Bochum.
However, they may well be without their impressive attacking midfielder Marco Reus, who returned from a big toe injury for the 1-0 win over Mainz at the weekend but suffered a knock to his knee during the match.
Schalke, though, will provide a tough challenge as not only are they the holders but also come into the match on the back of a 5-0 thumping of Werder Bremen, in which veteran Spanish striker Raul scored a hat-trick.
Raul also scored the only goal when the two sides met in the league in August.
Wednesday will also see fourth division outfit Holstein Kiel eyeing a potential giant-killing as they host struggling Mainz.
Fixtures (1800GMT unless otherwise stated)
Wednesday:
Hertha Berlin v Kaiserslautern, Holstein Kiel v Mainz, VfB Stuttgart v SV Hamburg (1930GMT), Borussia Moenchengladbach v Schalke 04 (1930GMT)
Source: AFP
