The newly promoted capital club will have to stage a massive upset in order to stay away from the relegation zone as they host the reigning German champions.
Hertha Berlin will host Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, February 18, at the Olympiastadion with the aim to achieve all three points and stay clear of the danger zone. However, it could be a huge task considering the Berlin giants
have not won any of the last five games in the league.
Hertha Berlin
The capital club will go into the game fresh from a 5-0 hammering at the hands of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/VfB-Stuttgart-c40879 in their last league game. Assistant manager, Rene Tretschok, already has an uphill task of saving his team from relegation as the
team has been extremely poor since the winter break.
Berlin are currently 15th on the league table, two points clear of the relegation zone but a loss against Dortmund might push them further down the standings. A win, though, will increase the team’s chances of avoiding
the drop and will help them regain confidence. The Old Lady have not been able to win their last five games and have lost at home three times since coming back from the break.
Borussia Dortmund
Jurgen Klopp’s men can hardly put a foot wrong this season and are clear favourites of extending their lead atop the league standings. The Borussians have been unbeaten since the winter break and have been in impressive form.
Klopp’s men have recorded 15 goals in their last five outings compared to Hertha Berlin, who have found the net just once. Dortmund are unbeaten against the capital club since 2008 and it looks highly unlikely that the fact will
change.
Team News
Hertha Berlin
The hosts are likely to go in with a 4-4-2 formation. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Maik-Franz-c23162 will not be available for the home side due to injuries. Midfielder,
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Andreas-Ottl-c5757, will also be unavailable after picking up a red card in his club’s last league game against Stuttgart.
Borussia Dortmund
The reigning German champions will go in with a 4-3-3 formation. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Shinji-Kagawa-c33364.
The trio is still recovering from injury and could be fit ahead of the game against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Hannover-96-c39492 on February 26.
Players to Watch
Berlin will need their defence to impress in order to keep the opposition at bay and get something out of the game. Able goalkeeper, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Thomas-Kraft-c34971, has certainly not been helped by his back four but the player will have to be at
his best against a formidable Dortmund attack. Kraft must be up for the challenge in what could be his side’s most important 90 minutes of the season.
In the absence of Kagawa and Gotze, Lewandowski will be the player who is most likely to hand his team an early advantage away from home. The http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Poland-c2983 international has been in terrific touch this season and has already scored 14
times from 21 league appearances.
Prediction
Hertha http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Berlin-c7536 do not stand a chance of getting the better of Dortmund but the opposite result is definitely on the cards. The Westfalenstadion outfit is favourite to emerge victorious with a 4-0 score-line.
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