Hertha BSC vs. Eintracht Frankfurt preview: Can Hertha trouble the Europa League holders?
Hertha BSC began the season with a defeat to local rivals Union Berlin, but they will look to bounce back against an Eintracht Frankfurt side who have lost to Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in their last two matches.
| Oliver Glasner. | Photo: Sven Mandel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Hertha BSC
After being involved in a relegation playoff last season, Hertha are hoping they can avoid a relegation battle in the 2022-23 campaign.
However, the start to the season has not been encouraging with a first-round DFB-Pokal exit followed by a defeat to local rivals Union Berlin on the opening weekend of the Bundesliga season.
An entertaining Pokal tie against Eintracht Braunschweig finished 4-4 after 120 minutes of action, but Hertha were eliminated after losing 6-5 on penalties.
They had an opportunity to respond last weekend against their rivals Union, but it proved to be another disappointing result.
Union were 3-0 up after only 54 minutes, and although Dodi Ludebakio grabbed a consolation late on, a 3-1 defeat to their city neighbours would have done nothing to inspire confidence in the Hertha squad.
As a result of the derby day defeat, Hertha have now lost their last three Bundesliga games, but they will be hoping that their first home match of the season can yield their first victory of the new campaign.
Team News
Dong-jun Lee and Kelian Nsona are both sidelined with knee injuries, but Lucas Tousart will be available for Hertha after serving a suspension.
Eintracht Frankfurt
Frankfurt will be looking for their first points of the Bundesliga season after losing heavily to Bayern Munich in the opening matchday.
Die Adler may have cruised to a 4-0 victory over Magdeburg in the first-round of the DFB-Pokal, but they face a much tougher test against Bayern Munich in their Bundesliga opener.
They were already trailing by five at half time, and although Randal Kolo Muani netted Frankfurt's first league goal of the season, Jamal Musiala scored late on to secure a 6-1 victory for Bayern.
They was an improvement in performance in the midweek UEFA Supercup against Champions League winners Real Madrid, but goals from David Alaba and Karim Benzema condemned the Europa League holders to a 2-0 defeat.
As they turn their attention back to league matters, Frankfurt boss Oliver Glasner will be concerned that his side are winless in their previous nine Bundesliga matches.
Although, Saturday's visitors can take confidence from the fact they have won four of their last seven league meetings against Hertha, while they have only lost once in that period.
Frankfurt will also be looking for other players to step up this season, with Filip Kostic set to join Juventus, and they will hope they can quickly adapt without the Serbian.
Team News
Jerome Onguene misses out for the visitors, with the defender unavailable due to an injury issue.