How low can Hertha still sink?
How much further downhill can Hertha go? The Big City Club can’t go much lower. All the investments and goals they once had may no longer matter at the moment. For the old lady, it’s a matter of bare existence in the Bundesliga. The Berliners are the best example that money doesn’t always play a role in football, an encouragement for many cash-strapped clubs in professional football.
The Champions League was the goal. Now Hertha are in the relegation places and are only four points ahead of the direct relegation places.
Hertha is the worst team of the second half of the season. In fact, the change of coach from Pal Dardai to Tayfun Korkut has made the situation even worse. Under the new coach, there was a points average of 0.8 points per game. That’s the record of a relegated team and, before kick-off between Hertha and Frankfurt, we dare to predict that the Berliners will have to fight to stay in the relegation zone until the end of the season.
Things have not looked good for Eintracht in recent weeks either. Now it’s time to end the negative run. Hertha should be the right opponent for that, especially since the pressure is completely off the Hessians by now. More than mediocrity is not possible this season and yet we tend to bet on a win for the visitors in the match between Hertha and Frankfurt.
Hertha – Statistics & current form
The pressure is enormous on the shoulders of Tayfun Korkut and his players. The sporting misery cannot be denied: For the first time in 16 years, Hertha have not won in the first seven second-round matches. In addition to the sporting shortcomings, however, there was also the misfortune of having numerous players in isolation lately.
Winless in the second round
With the large squad, however, that alone cannot be the reason for the recent poor performance. The old lady does not defend consistently enough. With 19 goals conceded, Berlin have the weakest defence of the second half of the season. In the last two games alone, they conceded nine goals. That doesn’t sound like you need to play the odds on a home win in the encounter between Hertha and Frankfurt.
Last weekend saw a significant 0:3 defeat at SC Freiburg. At least the Berliners fought back, but only for a good 20 minutes after the change. Otherwise, it was another dismal afternoon for the old lady, who could thank keeper Marcel Lotka for preventing a higher defeat. The goalkeeper delivered a strong performance on his Bundesliga debut.
That could mean that he will be between the posts again on Saturday, especially as Alexander Schwolow is probably the only player who has not yet been able to test himself. There will certainly be some changes in the starting eleven. Marc-Oliver Kempf should return after his red suspension. Maximilian Mittelstädt should start at left-back.
Predicted line-up of Hertha:
Lotka – Pekarik, Boyata, Kempf, Mittelstädt – Tousart, Darida, Serdar – Richter, Jovetic, Belfodil – Coach: Korkut
Last matches played by Hertha:
1st Bundesliga
02/26 2022 – SC Freiburg 3 – 0 Hertha Berlin
02/20 2022 – Hertha Berlin 1 – 6 RB Leipzig
02/12 2022 – Greuther Fürth 2 – 1 Hertha Berlin
02/04 2022 – Hertha Berlin 1 – 1 Vfl Bochum
01/23 2022 – Hertha Berlin 1 – 4 Bayern Munich
Frankfurt – Statistics & current form
Frankfurter Eintracht should not make the mistake of focusing too much on the Europa League festivities while neglecting their everyday Bundesliga duties. Against Betis Sevilla, they could quickly be eliminated from the international stage, and it is currently difficult to qualify for the European Cup again through the league.
Pleitenserie at Eintracht
Last there were three defeats in a row, and for the first time under Oliver Glasner. Furthermore, there hasn’t been a single goal of our own in the last three games. This could mean that we might even make a prediction on sub-par goals in the duel between Hertha and Frankfurt. At least there is a glimmer of hope, as Eintracht are fifth in the away table in the top flight.
The Hessians have scored more points away from home than at home. As a result, they suffered another defeat on the Main last week. However, the Frankfurt side delivered a decent performance in the 1-0 defeat against FC Bayern. If Oliver Glasner’s team can build on that, then the end of the negative streak should be possible against Hertha.
Some important players will not be available to Der Eintracht on Saturday. Especially Christopher Lenz (yellow suspension) and Sebastian Rode (abdominal injury) will be sorely missed. Makoto Hasebe is a candidate who could slide into the team for Martin Hinteregger. Elton da Costa and Timothy Chandler are in contention for the right midfield spot and Daichi Kamada is an option in the recently harmless attack.
Predicted Frankfurt line-up:
Trapp – Tuta, Hasebe, Ndicka – Sow, Jakic, da Costa, Kostic – Lindström, Kamada – Borre – Coach: Glasner
Last matches played by Frankfurt:
1st Bundesliga
02/26 2022 – Eintracht Frankfurt 0 – 1 Bayern Munich
02/19 2022 – 1. FC Köln 1 – 0 Eintracht Frankfurt
02/12 2022 – Eintracht Frankfurt 0 – 2 Vfl Wolfsburg
02/05 2022 – VfB Stuttgart 2 – 3 Eintracht Frankfurt
Club friendlies
01/27 2022 – Mainz 05 0 – 1 Eintracht Frankfur
Hertha – Frankfurt Direct comparison / H2H-Balance
Current form is not causing anyone in Berlin to be optimistic. Perhaps it is the direct comparison against Frankfurt that gives more hope. The Berliners have not celebrated more victories against any other club in the Bundesliga. The two teams have met a total of 75 times. The direct comparison speaks in favour of Hertha with 34:23 victories. 18 duels ended in a draw.
The old lady also scored more goals against no other club in the Bundesliga. The Berliners actually won the first leg in Frankfurt 2-1, with Marco Richter giving his team a 1-0 lead after just seven minutes. Jurgen Ekkelenkamp added the 2:0 before Goncalo Paciencia only managed to score the final goal from the penalty spot.
Hertha – Frankfurt Tip
The duel between Hertha and Frankfurt can be seen as a kind of crisis summit. The Berliners have not won at all in the second half of the season and have been pushed through to the relegation place. Eintracht have lost three of their last three Bundesliga games. However, because the Hessians are in a secure midfield position, the need in the capital is much greater.
After all, the Berliners have not won more often against any other team in the top flight. Perhaps Tayfun Korkut will now succeed in building on the good statistics, but he lacks the faith to do so. We would advise against placing a bet on a home victory in the match between Hertha and Frankfurt.
We can already imagine that the fans in the Olympiastadion will not see a particularly attractive game. Hertha will be forced to do more to build up play and that could play into the hands of Eintracht, who are stronger away than at home: We have therefore decided to play the betting odds on an away win between Hertha and Frankfurt.
