Hertha Berlin must defeat VfL Bochum at the Olympiastadion on Saturday, otherwise they will be relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time in a decade.

Bochum, meanwhile, head into the encounter six points clear of their forthcoming opponents, but they are only one position above the relegation zone.

Match preview

After being thrashed 5-2 by FC Koln last Friday evening, Hertha's time in the German top flight appears to be coming to an end having already flirted with relegation in recent years.

Die Alte Dame had moved into a 2-1 lead at RheinEnergieStadion courtesy of Stevan Jovetic's 33rd-minute strike, but Koln quickly restored their lead before half time, with goals from Timo Hubers and Denis Huseinbasic after the break taking the match away from their opponents.

As such, Hertha lie six points behind Bochum and safety with only six points to play for, meaning that they must win both of their final two matches and hope for plenty of favours elsewhere along the way if they are to pull off a great escape.

Pal Dardai, who is currently managing the club for the third time in his coaching career, did manage to guide Hertha to a crucial 2-1 win against Stuttgart earlier this month, suggesting that they may be able to squeeze out a victory on Saturday.

However, the likelihood of them doing the same away to high-flying Wolfsburg - who are chasing a Europa League qualification spot - on the final day appears to be extremely slim based on current form, suggesting that the club's hierarchy may already be planning for life in the second tier.

Bochum, on the other hand, ensured that they will head into the final two matches of the season with their destiny in their own hands after defeating Augsburg 3-2 last weekend.

The two sides exchanged blows before half time at Vonovia Ruhrstadion, with Arne Maier pulling one back for the visitors after Christopher Antwi-Adjei had opened the scoring inside the opening two minutes.

However, after enduring a winless streak of six matches, Jeffrey Gouweleeuw's own goal and Anthony Losilla's effort after the hour mark ensured that all three points would be heading to Bochum, who survived a late rally from their opponents after Kelvin Yeboah pulled one back with five minutes of normal time remaining.

Although their away form has improved in recent times, suggesting they have every chance of delivering a positive result against their woefully out of sorts opponents in the capital, Bochum are undoubtedly on the cusp of survival courtesy of their superb home form since appointing Thomas Letsch as manager last September.

Depending on results elsewhere, victory on Saturday could prove enough to ensure that Die Unabsteigbaren will compete in the Bundesliga for a third consecutive campaign, but either way it would keep them above the bottom three in the table.

Team News

Hertha will be without Jessic Ngankam through suspension after the forward received his fifth caution of the season as a substitute during the defeat to Koln, while Wilfried Kanga, Marton Dardai, Filip Uremovic, Tolga Cigerci and Kelian Nsona all appear likely to miss out through injury.

Suat Serdar and Agustin Rogel will expect to start after replacing Uremovic and Dardai following their withdrawals, but the latter's father and manager may resist the temptation to make changes en masse despite being thrashed against Steffen Baumgart's side.

Bochum, meanwhile, will travel without Konstantinos Stafylidis, Mohammed Tolba and Patrick Osterhage due to injury, while Moritz Broschinski is expected to remain at home due to suffering with tonsilitis.

Kevin Stoger will likely replace Stafylidis in the visitors' engine room, but it would be somewhat surprising if Letsch opted to make any other alterations to his starting XI after defeating Augsburg in a crucial clash last time out.

Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:
Christensen; Kenny, Kempf, Rogel, Plattenhardt; Tousart, Serdar; Lukebakio, Richter; Niederlechner, Jovetic

VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:
Riemann; Janko, Masovic, Ordets, Heintz; Losilla, Stoger; Asano, Forster, Antwi-Adjei; Hofmann

We say: Hertha Berlin 1-2 VfL Bochum

Hertha's race appears to be run as far as their time in the Bundesliga goes, and we can envisage Bochum massively increasing their own chances of survival while condemning their opponents to relegation with a victory on Saturday.

Having struggled to avoid defeat on the road for long periods of this season, Letsch's side have only lost one of their last four away games, so it would be surprising if they did not depart the capital with at least a point to their name.

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