Stuttgart coach Bruno Labbadia wants a reaction from his side to a defeat he claims cost him five years of his life on Wednesday.

Labbadia saw his side go down 2-0 to Bayern Munich without even a fight in a DFB-Pokal quarter-final tie on Wednesday, his 46th birthday.

He is now hoping for a belated present from his side against Hertha Berlin on Saturday, not only for himself, but also for the club's suffering fans.

"I always thought that you grew one year older on your birthday, but on Wednesday, I aged five years," he said.

"I really had not expected a performance like that.

"We were very motivated before the game, but after just two or three moves in the first 20 minutes, we lost our way.

"We have got to try and find out why we were so fearful against Bayern. I would prefer it if a player makes three mistakes rather than just hides."

His side's 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen should be used as a benchmark for Saturday's clash.

"We did well against Leverkusen and showed the will to recover from going behind and equalising," said Labbadia at the pre-match press conference.

Hertha Berlin were also knocked out of the DFB-Pokal this week, although they put up a stronger fight against Borussia Monchengladbach before falling in extra-time to a controversial penalty.

Hertha fell to their fourth straight defeat, and a fifth defeat on Saturday could see the capital club drop into the relegation zone and cap a miserable week.

"The referee said that he would not sleep for a week, but the damage done to us is a lot greater," said Berlin's general manager Michael Preetz at a press conference on Thursday.

"As a club, we have been deprived of a potential semi-final appearance and the chance of reaching the cup final, and that's without even considering the several million euros that were at stake.

"But as bitter as it all is, we have to forget about the cup game.

"We now have to force luck back onto our side tomorrow [Saturday]."

Labbadia has confirmed that Gotoku Sakai will take the place of the suspended Cristian Molinaro as left full-back while Hubnik is eligible to play for Berlin, despite being given a one-match ban from the German Football Association for his red card on Wednesday.

That ban will apply to Berlin's next cup fixture in the first round in August.