Hertha BSC vs. Borussia Dortmund preview: Can Schwarz claim his first win as Hertha boss?
Sandro Schwarz will look to claim his first win as Hertha BSC boss when his side face Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
The visitors are looking to bounce back after conceding three late goals to leave 3-2 to Werder Bremen last weekend.
The visitors are looking to bounce back after conceding three late goals to leave 3-2 to Werder Bremen last weekend.
Hertha BSC
After four competitive games, Hertha are still searching for their first win of the season. They began with a penalty shootout defeat to Eintracht Braunschweig before their league campaign opened with a 3-1 loss to their city rivals Union Berlin.
A Suat Serdar strike was not enough to help Hertha clinch three points in their first home encounter of the season against Eintracht Frankfurt, with Daichi Kamada equalising in the second half.
Another winless outing followed last weekend despite Sandro Schwarz's side performing well against Borussia Mönchengladbach. However, Alassane Pléa's 34th-minute penalty condemned Hertha to a narrow 1-0 defeat that leaves Schwarz waiting for his first win in charge of Die Alte Dame.
While Hertha are still without a win this season they are also winless in their previous six Bundesliga matches, with four of those contests ending in defeat.
Their poor start to the season has left them in the relegation playoff spot, and although early in the campaign, they will be desperate to avoid another relegation battle this term.
Ahead of Saturday's contest, they will look to draw inspiration from the 3-2 win they recorded in their last home meeting against Borussia Dortmund.
Team News
Although Filip Uremovic is suspended for Saturday's contest after being sent off last weekend, the defender picked up an injury in training, which could rule him out for several weeks. Schwarz has suggested that Linus Gechter could replace Uremovic in the backline. Hertha are also expected to be without Dong-jun Lee and Kélian Nsona.
Borussia Dortmund
Edin Terzic had enjoyed his return to the dugout until the 89th minute of last weekend's contest against Werder Bremen.
1860 Munich were dispatched via a 3-0 scoreline in the first-round of the DFB-Pokal before Dortmund began their Bundesliga campaign with a narrow 1-0 victory against Bayer Leverkusen.
They looked set to lose on matchday three when Freiburg led until the 77th minute after Michael Gregortisch opened the scoring. However, goals from Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Youssoufa Moukoko and Marius Wolf helped Dortmund claim a 3-1 victory.
After beating Freiburg, Terzic's side were on their way to clinching a routine 2-0 home win over Werder Bremen last weekend, but a Lee Buchanan effort in the 89th minute gave the visitors the platform to mount an extraordinary comeback. Niklas Schmidt levelled the contest in the third minute of stoppage time before Oliver Burke snatched all three points for Werder in the 95th minute.
After becoming the first team to concede three goals after the 89th minute in Bundesliga history, Dortmund will be looking to bounce back this weekend. Saturday's visitors know that if they are to challenge Bayern Munich for the title this season, they cannot afford too many results like the one last Saturday.
As they look to return to winning ways on Saturday, Dortmund will look to draw inspiration from the 2-1 victory they recorded against Hertha at the end of last season.
Team News
Terzic has stated that Donyell Malen will miss out due to injury issues, while Mahmoud Dahoud is a doubt for Saturday's contest. Karim Adeyemi has missed the last two matches due to a toe injury, but he is expected to be available against Hertha.