The final match of the Bundesliga weekend sees league leaders Bayern Munich travel to the capital to face Hertha Berlin at the Olympiastadion on Sunday.
The hosts will be looking to bounce back from their midweek derby defeat, whilst the visitors will be hoping for a repeat of their comfortable victory last time out.
Match preview
Hertha's start to 2022 has been a disappointing one, with the return to action seeing Tayfun Korkut's side downed 3-1 at home by FC Koln, before picking up a hard-fought point at Wolfsburg last weekend.
The Old Lady were fortunate to come away with anything at the Volkswagen Arena, with their opponents missing a host of glorious chances to take all three points.
Those two Bundesliga results leave Sunday's hosts in 13th place at the time of writing, with just four points separating them from the relegation zone below, although the tight nature of the bottom half of the table means that position could be even worse come kick off on Sunday.
Following the slow start in the Bundesliga on their return from the winter break, Hertha continued that precedent by being knocked out of the DFB-Pokal on home soil on Wednesday evening.
Not only was this a cup exit at the round-of-16 stage though, it was also a derby defeat to city rivals Union Berlin, with an own goal and Suat Serdar's late effort not enough to prevent Hertha from falling to a 3-2 defeat.
Facing the league leaders on Sunday is far from ideal for the hosts then, but they will be hoping to replicate the miraculous display put in back in 2018 that saw them overcome Bayern by a 2-0 scoreline at the Olympiastadion on that day.
Meanwhile, Bayern head to the capital on the back of a comprehensive 4-0 demolishing of a strong FC Koln side last weekend, with the Best FIFA Men's Player, Robert Lewandowski, netting a hat-trick to add to Corentin Tolisso's excellent effort.
Julian Nagelsmann's side displayed once more how they can return to their best so soon after a setback, with the shock 2-1 defeat at home to Borussia Monchengladbach the week before meaning the title race was revived again.
Borussia Dortmund had cut the gap to six points following that loss on the return from the winter break, and with the second-placed challengers winning before Bayern had played last weekend, the deficit was briefly cut to three.
The Bavarians continue to perform at their best when doubts are raised about their credentials though, and the hammering of the Billy Goats in their RheinEnergieStadion fortress was a statement victory.
Following their recent COVID-19 outbreak, which saw Bayern lose several first-team players ahead of the Gladbach fixture, many returned to the starting 11 last Saturday in timely fashion.
With Dortmund given the opportunity to potentially cut the gap to three points again when they play this Saturday, Sunday's visitors to the capital could have the pressure placed on their shoulders yet again.
- D
- W
- L
- W
- L
- D
- W
- L
- W
- L
- D
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
Team News
Hertha will be hoping to have Stevan Jovetic return to their matchday squad on Sunday, with the forward missing the past month due to a calf injury.
With him unlikely to be fit enough to start though, Ishak Belfodil will lead the line once more, and after switching to a five-man midfield for the derby defeat in midweek, Torkut could do so again on Sunday due to the calibre of their opposition.
Spare goalkeeper Rune Jarstein remains sidelined due to a knee injury, whilst Fredrik Andre Bjorkan could remain out due to COVID-19, although Peter Pekarik and Oliver Christensen did return to the squad in midweek following their periods of isolation.
The defensive duo of Niklas Stark and Jordan Torunarigha will have to be assessed, with their injuries seeing the former replaced early in the week, and the latter missing out altogether.
As for the visitors, Dayot Upamecano should be fit enough to start from the off on Sunday, which will see a reshuffle of Benjamin Pavard returning to right-back, and Joshua Kimmich taking up his preferred place in front of the back four.
Alphonso Davies remains sidelined for a few months due to his recent heart problems, which means Marcel Sabitzer could continue to fill in at left-back unless Lucas Hernandez is able to return from his period of COVID-19 isolation.
Kingsley Coman could also return following his contraction of the virus, but Josip Stanisic and Leon Goretzka remain injured, whilst Bouna Sarr and Eric Choupo-Moting are on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:
Schwolow; Klunter, M Dardai, Boyata, Mittelstadt; Tousart; Richter, Darida, Ascacibar, Serdar; Belfodil
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Pavard, Upamecano, Sule, Hernandez; Kimmich, Tolisso; Sane, Muller, Musiala; Lewandowski
We say: Hertha Berlin 0-3 Bayern Munich
With the pressure on Bayern once more, we expect them to raise their game again and come out with another emphatic display.
Hertha should lack the quality to prevent a comfortable victory for the visitors, unless they can perform at their absolute best, but Bayern should easily brush aside their relegation-threatened opponents.
Top tip
body check tags ::
Previews by email
