Hertha Berlin host RB Leipzig on Saturday evening in a potentially crucial match at both ends of the Bundesliga table.
Hertha head into the weekend's action occupying the relegation playoff spot, while Leipzig are two points adrift of the Champions League qualification spots.
Match preview
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Having only won one of their last six league games, Hertha appear to be in real jeopardy of falling into Germany's second tier after struggling to find any real consistency during Sandro Schwarz's debut campaign at the club.
Scoring goals has certainly not been an issue for Die Alte Dame in recent weeks, with Jessic Ngankam's late strike away to Freiburg last time out earning his side a crucial point away from home. The 22-year-old's effort meant that Hertha have now scored in seven successive league fixtures.
However, Schwarz's side have kept only two clean sheets in their last 21 league outings, with only Werder Bremen and VfL Bochum conceding more goals than them so far this season. That is a record which must be improved if Hertha are to have a solid shot at escaping relegation danger.
Although finishing third from bottom would not necessarily be a disaster given that many of these players have recently experienced surviving a two-legged playoff against Hamburger SV last May, Schwarz will be keen to avoid the turmoil that those fixtures can bring to everyone connected to the club.
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Leipzig, meanwhile, suffered a significant dent to their hopes of claiming a top-four spot by falling to a 3-0 defeat at home to Mainz 05 last weekend.
The visitors arrived unbeaten in six matches and never looked likely to see that streak come to an end once Marcus Ingvartsen had fired them into an early lead, with Bo Svensson's side always looking dangerous in transition thereafter. Second-half strikes from Ludovic Ajorque and Dominik Kohr ultimately took the game away from the hosts.
However, Die Roten Bullen kept their hopes of winning a trophy this season alive on Wednesday evening, with Marco Rose getting one over on his former club Dortmund in the form of a 2-0 win in the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals.
It was a richly deserved victory for Leipzig, who dominated throughout the encounter, forcing Gregor Kobel into nine saves in total. The Switzerland stopper could not prevent Timo Werner's and Willi Orban's efforts, though, with their strikes sending Germany's domestic cup holders through to the last four.
Rose will be keen for his players to fully refocus on achieving their primary goal this season, though, in the form of qualifying for the Champions League for the fifth successive season. Anything fewer than claiming all three points in the capital on Saturday would represent a disappointment, particularly having lost three of their last four league matches.
Team News
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Hertha appear to have several key players unavailable at present, with Stevan Jovetic, Jean-Paul Boetius, Chidera Ejuke, Kelian Nsona and Rune Jarstein all expected to miss out against Leipzig on Saturday.
Ivan Sunjic was not selected against Freiburg due to personal reasons but the former Birmingham City midfielder may return to the hosts' matchday squad at the Olympiastadion this weekend, but Suat Serdar's additional energy may see him preferred in the engine room.
Leipzig, meanwhile, will hope to have Christopher Nkunku available for selection again after his recent thigh issues, but the France forward has been absent from his side's last two matchday squads and may have to settle for a spot on the bench.
Fellow forward Yussuf Poulsen is also nearing a return from a calf injury, but Peter Gulasci and Xaver Schlager remain long-term absentees and may not feature again this season.
Rose may continue with the 3-4-3 formation after its success against Dortmund in midweek, meaning that Werner may continue through the middle at the expense of Andre Silva.
Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:
Christensen; Uremovic, Kempf, Dardai; Richter, Tousart, Cigerci, Serdar, Plattenhardt; Lukebakio, Ngankam
RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Blaswich; Simakan, Orban, Gvardiol; Henrichs, Laimer, Haidara, Raum; Szoboszlai, Werner, Olmo
We say: Hertha Berlin 1-2 RB Leipzig
Despite facing the threat of relegation, Hertha are certainly not a bad side under Schwarz whatsoever, and they can consider themselves slightly unfortunate to be as low in the table as they are based on their performances this season.
Their misfortune could continue on Saturday, with Leipzig appearing to put their recent poor league form behind them after comfortably dispatching Dortmund in midweek. We can envisage a narrow away win.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Brett Curtis
