Bayer Leverkusen and Hertha Berlin will square up this Saturday in the 28th Round of the 2021/22 Bundesliga season.
Venue: Europa-Park Stadion (Freiburg)
Key Statistics
Bayer Leverkusen have kept just two clean sheets across their last 15 matches.
Their return of 41 goals conceded is the worst tally of any side in the current top ten.
The hosts are one of just two Bundesliga sides to take the majority of their points on the road this campaign.
Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick is averaging a goal every 76 minutes in this season’s Bundesliga.
Paulinho is Leverkusen’s 16th different Bundesliga goalscorer in 2021/22. League-wide, only Hoffenheim boast a greater spread (17 players).
Hertha Berlin have no win in their last eight road trips (D2, L6).
The visitors are third bottom of the away table, with eight points, nine goals scored and 33 against.
Stevan Jovetic is Hertha’s six-goal top scorer this season, but Ishak Belfodil leads the way for the calendar year with two.
Felix Magath has lost 15 of 29 Bundesliga meetings with Leverkusen as a coach. He has only suffered more losses (18) in games against Bayern Munich.
Head to head
Bayer Leverkusen are winless in their last five Bundesliga games against Hertha (D2, L3).
Latest performances in all competitions
Bayer Leverkusen: W-L-L-L-D
Hertha Berlin: W-L-L-L-L
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen resume their Bundesliga campaign with a home fixture against relegation-threatened Hertha Berlin.
Gerardo Seoane’s team went into the international break off the back of a 0-2 win away at the Volkswagen Arena against Wolfsburg. They laboured for most of the game, finding it difficult to break down their stubborn opponents. But a host of changes in the second half saw substitute Charles Aranguiz combine with fellow substitute Paulo Paulinho to score his first of two inside six minutes since coming on to hand his team all three points.
The hosts sit third in the Bundesliga table, five points behind Dortmund and three points ahead of RB Leipzig and fifth-placed Freiburg.
Head coach Gerardo Seoane knows very well that anything short of a win against Hertha Berlin will put them at risk of missing out on their ultimate goal, which is Champions League qualification.
His side have won just two of their last five matches including home and away losses to Atalanta in the Europa League and must do better this time to avoid having a catastrophic end to what has been a decent season.
Meanwhile, Seoanne has not been lucky with injuries, with his injury list continuing to grow. Florian Wirtz has been ruled out of the season, a fate also suffered by Jeremie Frimpong. Timothy Fosu-Mensah is also out for the foreseeable future, and to make matters worse, young winger Amine Adli picked up an injury on international duty with France’s U21s.
One piece of good news though is the return of Czech striker Patrick Schick, who is back in training and pushing for a start. Despite their woes, Die Werkself remain favourites against Hertha Berlin.
Possible Bayer Leverkusen starting line-up
Lukas Hradecky; Kossounou, Jonathan Tah, Edmond Tapsoba, Mitchel Bakker; Andrich, Charles Aranguiz; Belarabi, Moussa Diaby, Paulinho, Lucas Alario.
Injured: Jeremie Frimpong
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Kerem Demirbay
Hertha Berlin
Capital based club Hertha Berlin find themselves fighting a relegation battle to remain in the German topflight.
In contrast with their Saturday hosts, Hertha Berlin’s woes are performance-related and not due to injuries.
Veteran tactician Felix Magath was brought in to stop the rot and he has so far done the trick, picking up his first win in his first attempt against Hoffenheim on matchday 27 with the game ending 3-0. The win ended a nine-game winless run for the Old Lady of Germany.
Although the multiple Bundesliga winner was not in the dugout to witness the win due to Coronavirus, he is now out of isolation and will lead his team to the Bay Arena.
Going into this game, Hertha Berlin currently occupy the relegation play-off place of 16th, with just one goal difference separating them from the two teams directly above them.
Felix Magath will certainly ride his luck when going toe to toe against a depleted Bayer Leverkusen side. With a better head-to-head record in their last five matches, Hertha Berlin will fancy themselves getting a good result against Gerardo Seoane’s team as they continue to fight for survival.
Possible Hertha Berlin starting line-up
Alexander Schwolow; Peter Pekarik, Boyota, Kempf, Linus Gechter; Niklas Stark, Maximilian Mittelstädt; Suat Serdar, Santiago Ascacibar; Ishak Belfodil, Stefan Jovetic.
Injured: None
Doubtful: Jarstein
Suspended: None
Prediction
Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Hertha Berlin
