Hertha Berlin take on Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Both teams will be looking to bounce back from disappointing defeats last time out.
Match preview
Indeed, having flirted with relegation for several seasons now, Hertha's start to the campaign has not suggested that is likely to change this time around.
In his early games in charge, Sandro Schwarz has been unable to implement any tangible improvement on Die Alte Dame's playing style or results, with last weekend's 1-0 defeat away to Borussia Monchengladbach leaving them with only one point after three matches.
Dodi Lukebakio is generally Hertha's most threatening player having created and scored their only two league goals so far this season, and the forward demonstrated his searing pace by running in behind Gladbach's defensive line before wildly blazing wide of the post early on.
In truth, that was the closest that Hertha came to beating Yann Sommer, with Maximilian Mittelstadt's blatant handball allowing Alassane Plea to break the deadlock from the penalty spot in the 34th minute, before Filip Uremovic was given his marching orders after the break for another handball.
Despite Jonas Hofmann squandering the opportunity to double his side's lead from the spot, Hertha could not find any meaningful response, but they must do so on Saturday if they are to get out of their current slump.
Dortmund, meanwhile, will feel that they should be heading to Berlin having won three out of three matches, but Edin Terzic's side threw away a two-goal lead against Werder Bremen last weekend.
Two strikes from distance from Julian Brandt and Raphael Guerreiro either side of half-time looked to have provided BVB with a third straight victory, which would have ensured that they kept pace with Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga, but their newly-promoted opponents had other ideas in a sensational finale at Westfalenstadion.
Like Dortmund the week beforehand at Freiburg, three substitutes scored for Bremen, with Lee Buchanan providing hope for his side with a delightful finish into the top corner with only one minute of normal time remaining, before Niklas Schmidt and Oliver Burke dramatically struck in injury-time to turn the match on its head.
Terzic will not only be disappointed by his team's collapse, but also their general performance across the course of the match, with Bremen enjoying more possession, shots and corners, suggesting that they were good value for their victory despite leaving it late.
If they are to avoid falling too far behind Bayern even at this early stage of the season, a much better result and performance is required in Berlin on Saturday.
- L
- D
- L
- L
- L
- D
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- L
Team News
Hertha's poor form is not being helped by an injury crisis at the club, with Kelian Nsona, Lee Dong-Jun and Jessic Ngankam all out of action due to knee injuries.
Myziane Maolida, Derry Scherhant and Linus Gechter are all unlikely to feature against Dortmund, while Uremovic will sit out one match through suspension after his dismissal against Gladbach.
Marton Dardai is likely to slot into centre-back as his replacement, while David Selke and Jean-Paul Boetius could both start as Schwarz rings the changes in an attempt to gain a positive reaction.
Dortmund, meanwhile, expect to remain without Sebastien Haller for several months as the forward continues his recovery from a testicular tumour.
Donyell Malen missed the defeat to Bremen with a muscle injury and is a major doubt for the trip to Berlin, as is Mahmoud Dahoud after the midfielder was withdrawn during the defeat to Bremen due to an issue with his shoulder.
However, BVB should have Karim Adeyemi available again as the forward has recovered from his muscle strain, while Niklas Sule is in line for his first league start as Terzic considers shoring up his defence with a move to a 3-4-3 formation.
Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:
Christensen; Kenny, Dardai, Kempf, Plattenhardt; Serdar, Sunjic, Tousart; Lukebakio, Selke, Boetius
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Sule, Hummels, Schlotterbeck; Meunier, Can, Bellingham, Guerreiro; Adeyemi, Modeste, Reus
We say: Hertha Berlin 1-3 Borussia Dortmund
We expect Dortmund to bounce back with a victory on Saturday, with a potential change in formation likely to suit their set of players.
Defensively, they were too wide open considering that they had a two-goal lead against Bremen, so they should have a better balance and too much overall strength for a struggling Hertha side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
