Hertha Berlin coach Lucien Favre is still trying to put a brave face on his side's dismal start to the season.

The club from the German capital failed to beat FK Ventspils, a side whose previous three scalps in Europe included minnows from Luxembourg and the Faroe Islands, in their midweek UEFA Europa League opener.

But despite the 1-1 draw at the Olympia Stadion, Favre remains optimistic ahead of tomorrow's Bundesliga clash with fellow strugglers Freiburg.

"We have got to remain positive," he said. "The game was not as bad as many people are saying.

"The team needs faith. Morale is not as bad as we think."

A crowd of only 13,000 turned up to witness yet another disappointing performance from Berlin and not many more will be expected tomorrow as the crowd figures slump from the average of over 50,000 throughout last season.

The enthusiasm has disappeared, but general manager Michael Preetz has called on his club's followers not to turn their back on the team.

"We need to stand together in a phase like this," he said on the club's website. "The fans in the East Stand were fantastic and we are very thankful for that."

Berlin have won just once all season, the same as their opponents Freiburg who are not, however, under the same amount of pressure.

As a newcomer to the league, their expectation levels are not as high as Berlin, who finished fourth last term and only narrowly missed out on a place in the Champions League and their coach Robin Dutt believes this could benefit them.

"Very important points are at stake for both sides, but Hertha appear to have to cope with more pressure," he said.

"I assume that the threat of a fifth straight defeat - and that against a newcomer to the league - attracts more pressure than our position.

"Maybe that puts us at a slight psychological advantage, but we need points and we don't always want compliments."

Cedric Makiadi could play out wide on the left wing for Freiburg while their hosts welcome two key players back into their side.

Gojko Kacar and Raffael are both fit after missing out in midweek.