Hertha BSC vs. Schalke 04 preview: Both sides require a victory
Two teams who are struggling near the bottom of the Bundesliga table will face off on Sunday when Hertha BSC play host to Schalke 04.
Hertha BSC
Hertha may be winless in five games, but they played out four consecutive draws until they were beaten 3-2 by RB Leipzig last weekend.
Although they conceded three goals before the break, Hertha would have taken inspiration from the way they fought back in the second half with a Dodi Lukébakio spot-kick and a Stevan Jovetić strike.
Hertha may have shown great determination against Leipzig, but the defeat leaves them with eight points after 10 matches. Only a superior goal difference compared to Stuttgart is keeping them outside the bottom three, but they can begin to move away from danger with a win on Sunday.
Having drawn four and lose on of their five home games, Sandro Schwarz's side are still searching for their first win at the Olympiastadion this season. They have managed to find the net in four of their five home games, but they are yet to keep a home clean sheet.
Team News
The hosts are unable to call upon Kelian Nsona and Filip Uremovic due to injury issues, while Kevin-Prince Boateng and Jessic Ngankam are also expected to miss out.
Schalke 04
Schalke have won only one of their 10 league games this season, while they have lost their last five competitive matches.
After losing 3-0 to Hoffenheim in their most recent league game, Schalke were looking for an improved performance when they faced the same opponent in the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday.
However, what transpired was another woeful display that ended in a 5-1 defeat and resulted in the sacking of Frank Kramer.
While Die Königsblauen are currently searching for a new head coach, Matthias Kreutzer will take charge of Sunday's contest. The interim boss faces a challenging task to lift a side that have conceded 15 goals in their last four competitive games.
Schalke are sat in the relegation zone, but with two points separating them from safety, they would move out of the bottom three with a win on Sunday.
Although they will be aiming to claim their second league victory of the season, Schalke may be content with a point after failing to win any of their last 33 away games in the Bundesliga.
Team News
The visitors are without the services of Marcin Kaminski, Rodrigo Zalazar, Sepp van den Berg, Ibrahima Cissé and Leo Greiml.