Hertha BSC 2026/27 preview: transfers, pre-season, predicted line-up and expectations | OneFootball

Hertha BSC begin 2026/27 seeking a reset in the 2. Bundesliga after last season’s promotion bid faded, and, according to BuLi News, face a fourth straight year at this level.

Promotion was the aim but inconsistency told. After seven wins in a row in October and November, they took only six from the final 20 league matches and finished seventh with 51 points.

Leitl starts his second full season after replacing Christian Fiel midway through 2024/25. The 48-year-old has 22 wins, 13 draws and 15 defeats from 50 matches, a 44 percent win rate, and earlier led Greuther Fürth up in 2021.

The window has been defined by exits. Captain Fabian Reese has joined fellow 2. Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, with Michael Cuisance to Lens, Kennet Eichhorn to Bayer Leverkusen and goalkeeper Tjark Ernst to Feyenoord.

The only arrival so far is midfielder Oluwaseun Adewumi on loan from Burnley, leaving sporting director Benjamin Weber with work to do before the deadline. Pre-season brought emphatic wins over Frohnauer SC 15-0 and SV Lichtenberg 9-0, plus further successes, while draws with Mamelodi Sundowns 1-1 and FC Köln 2-2 kept them unbeaten.

Academy opportunities beckon, with 18-year-old Boris Mamuzah Lum, who made six league appearances last term, pushing for a regular role. Predicted XI, 4-2-3-1: Gersbeck, Eitschberger, Gechter, Dardai, Zeefuik, Seguin, Sessa, Winkler, Lum, Brekalo, Schuler.

The league opener is at VfL Bochum on Friday 7 August, then Heidenheim visit before an away trip to Eintracht Braunschweig.

Expectations are tempered. Consolidation appears the realistic aim, with a serious promotion tilt unlikely unless reinforcements arrive, though early momentum could put Hertha in the mix and a top nine finish would be respectable.

Source: BuLi News