Hertha Berlin host FC Koln at the Olympiastadion in the nation's capital on Saturday - both teams' last fixture before the World Cup break.
Neither side has had the rub of the green this season, with Koln crashing out of the Europa Conference League a week prior to this fixture, and 16th-placed Hertha failing to make progress after surviving relegation in May.
Match preview
© Reuters
Hertha fans must be looking at this season's results and counting themselves incredibly unlucky.
Compared to the batterings relegation rivals VfL Bochum and Schalke 04 have suffered, Hertha have looked competitive in many of their fixtures this season.
Almost all of the Old Lady's defeats this season have been settled by one-goal margins; even against a vastly-superior Bayern Munich side last Saturday, Hertha managed to peg back a three-goal lead to a 3-2 scoreline, managing more shots on target than the Bavarian giants.
On Wednesday, Hertha struggled in the first half against a Stuttgart side themselves struggling to get points on the board, and they may have been lucky to go into the break level thanks to a back-post volley from Hertha's star man Dodi Lukebakio.
Hertha grew into the game as the minutes passed, and may have got to stoppage time happy with a point away from home, but a towering header from Konstantinos Mavropanos in the eighth minute of stoppage time wiped away any happiness Sandro Schwarz was feeling on Tuesday.
Schwartz has now suffered three defeats in a row, sitting in 16th place with just two wins this season.
They may be able to boast a decent defensive record in spite of their form - only ninth in the table for goals conceded - but their profligacy going forward and their inability to command leads has cost them points consistently.
© Reuters
The away side this weekend have experienced a gruelling campaign thus far.
After a decent start to this season picking up wins away to Wolfsburg and at home against Borussia Dortmund, Steffen Baumgart's Koln side have suffered miserably competing in both the league and in Europe.
Humbling defeats at the hands of Borussia Monchengladbach and Mainz 05 have demonstrated an increasing gulf between the Billy Goats and the top half of the Bundesliga table.
Baumgart will be looking for his attackers to step up to the plate in Berlin; though his left-side partnership of Austrian Florian Kainz and captain Jonas Hector has proven crucial for Koln's attack this season, they will be needing more contributions in front of goal from both young striker Steffen Tigges and Armenian international Sargis Adamyan, who between them have scored just four goals this season.
Against a resurgent Bayer Leverkusen side, Baumgart may be pleased that his team created plenty of chances and, like Hertha, challenged their opponents right up to the final whistle. However, just like the Berliners, the tie ended with nothing to show for all of their competitiveness.
Both sides, therefore, will want to prove their quality with three points before their extended break. The match may prove a bellwether decider over which team will be sucked within the New Year's relegation battle.
Team News
© Reuters
Veteran striker Stevan Jovetic remains a doubt for Hertha going into the weekend after the Montenegrin suffered a muscle strain in training at the end of last month and has not featured for his side since.
Korean forward Lee Dong-jun missed the game in midweek with a stomach bug, but may be in contention to feature at the weekend.
Young winger Kelian Nsona (knee) and defender Jessic Ngankam (muscle) remain out until the New Year.
Meanwhile, experienced striker Mark Uth (hip) will likely miss the next game, with the young Tigges starting in his place.
Florian Dietz will be out for the foreseeable future with a cruciate ligament injury, joining Dejan Ljubicic, Dimitrios Limnios and Sebastian Andersson in the medical room.
Centre-back Timo Hubers may be back in contention for the weekend after picking up a small knock in the game against Nice last week.
Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:
Christensen; Kenny, Rogel, Kempf, Plattenhardt; Richter, Tousart, Serdar, Boetius; Selke, Lukebakio
FC Koln possible starting lineup:
Schwaebe; Schindler, Soldo, Hubers, Hector; Martel, Skhiri; Maina, Duda, Kainz; Tigges
We say: Hertha Berlin 1-1 FC Koln
Neither side looks capable of settling the score in the final third this weekend. It is very possible that the in-form Lukebakio will take the game to Koln, the Belgian having scored an impressive seven goals this season.
However, against an aggressive and direct Hertha side, Koln may retreat into a more cautious play, leaving two sides with poor finishing struggling to break their opponents down.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
