Hertha Berlin host Wolfsburg on Sunday as the 2020-21 Bundesliga season continues, with the home side in desperate need of picking up points in order to climb up the table.
Wolfsburg, meanwhile, remain unbeaten having picked up their first win of the campaign last weekend.
Match preview
It has been a disappointing start to the campaign for Hertha, who have now lost four of their first five games and loom dangerously close to the relegation zone as a result.
Bruno Labbadia's side were perhaps unfortunate in their 2-1 defeat to league leaders RB Leipzig at the weekend, with Jhon Cordoba's well-taken finish capping a superb counter-attack to give them the lead in the early exchanges before Dayot Upamecano's first league goal in 30 months levelled the proceedings at half time.
Hertha fans were left screaming "Was Zeefuik?!" at their television screens, however, when Deyovaisio Zeefuik earned himself two yellow cards within just five minutes after coming on as a substitute at the interval. The red card left his side with a mountain to climb to gain a result, especially against a side who thrive with possession as much as Julian Nagelsmann's Leipzig.
Cordoba turned from hero to zero when his clumsy trip on Willi Orban in the 77th minute allowed Marcel Sabitzer to gleefully convert from 12 yards and earn Leipzig another three points at Hertha's expense. Labbadia will be desperate to ensure similar mistakes are not made on Sunday, with the risk of slipping into the relegation zone a very real possibility should they lose for a fifth successive match.
Having drawn their opening four matches, Wolfsburg finally earned a first win of the Bundesliga season with a convincing 2-1 win over Arminia Bielefeld.
Midfielder Renato Steffen was particularly bright in the early exchanges, firing wide before earning his side a dangerous free kick on the edge of the area after a clever touch and turn brought a dangling opposition leg. Wout Weghorst immediately punished the Bundesliga newcomers with his second goal of the season after a strategic move straight from the training ground allowed him a simple finish from 12 yards.
As against Bayern last week, Arminia were naïve in continually playing out from the back, and it was not long before Wolfsburg punished them in similar fashion with Maximilian Arnold pouncing on a loose pass into midfield to give his side a two goal cushion. However, Arminia's first shot on target in the 80th minute was converted by Sven Schipplock, who brilliantly drilled into the bottom corner from distance, before the visitors almost earned a smash-and-grab point via Manuel Prietl's deflected strike, but it struck the post before going out of play.
Oliver Glasner will be keen to ensure that his players see out the game in a more convincing fashion should they take the lead against Hertha, with their forthcoming opponents possessing more individual quality to punish any lapses in concentration.
Hertha Berlin Bundesliga form: WLLLL
Hertha Berlin form (all competitions): LWLLLL
Wolfsburg Bundesliga form: DDDDW
Wolfsburg form (all competitions): WDLDDW
Team News
Zeefuik will miss the match against Wolfsburg through suspension, with Santiago Ascacibar and Jordan Torunarigha also missing through hamstring and ligament injuries respectively.
Labaddia will be tempted to mix things up given his side's dismal run of losses, with Krzysztof Piatek and Javairo Dilrosun pushing for starts in attack.
Glasner, meanwhile, is unlikely to make many changes to a side which performed well against Arminia despite a late scare and remains unbeaten in the league this season.
Joshua Guilavogui was substituted in the victory, though, and will miss out on the trip to the German capital with a torn muscle. William da Silva (cruciate ligament rupture), Marin Pongracic (mononucleosis), Kevin Mbabu (ligament) and Paulo Otavio (muscle) are long-term absentees, while Josip Brekalo is quarantining due to coronavirus.
Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:
Schwolow; Pekarik, Boyata, Alderete, Mittelstadt; Stark, Tousart; Lukebakio, Cunha; Cordoba, Piatek
Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Casteels; Baku, Lacroix, Brooks, Roussillon; Schlager; Steffen, Mehmedi, Arnold, Philipp; Weghorst
We say: Hertha Berlin 2-2 Wolfsburg
While both sides will be looking to earn an invaluable win, we can see an entertaining fifth draw in six games for Wolfsburg given how evenly matched the two sides look on paper despite Hertha's recent troubles.
