Bundesliga Preview: Borussia Dortmund vs Hertha Berlin

League leaders Borussia Dortmund will host sixth-place side Hertha Berlin at the Westfalenstadion on Saturday. The black and yellows are going into the fixture undefeated in all competitions but know it won’t be an easy three points this weekend.

Now you may look at this fixture and think to yourself, Hertha hasn’t won a game in over a month. But their previous victory was against Bayern Munich which shows that they have the ability to give top clubs a run for their money. Borussia Dortmund are one of the hottest teams in Europe right now and will be ready for the test.

Recent form

Borussia Dortmund

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Dortmund are unbeaten in all competitions and have scored four 4 goals or more five times in their last six games. They are off to their second-best start since Jurgen Klopp took over and the 12th best in Bundesliga history. Dortmund recently hammered Athletico Madrid, handing Diego Simeone his worst defeat as a manager. And this is a club that plays Barcelona and Real Madrid almost 2 or 3 times a season. The black and yellows also have an outstanding goal difference which is currently at 27:8 which is miles ahead of second place Gladbach who stand at 19:9.

Rich attacking football is once again restored thanks to Lucien Favre who brings out the best in the team, which lets individual players such as Reus, Sancho, and Alcacer all shine. But Dortmund can simply not get ahead of themselves as it is still early on in the season. The club has been in a similar situation before this time last year under Peter Bosz which came to an end after a draw with Eintracht Frankfurt. But Favre knows what he’s doing and will take on Hertha just as he would against any other team.

Hertha Berlin

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Hertha Berlin may be in sixth place right now but are having an excellent season so far. Berlin has one of the best defences on the league when it comes to the number of shots against (127). They have a fairly defensive style of play and can quickly turn defence into attack by using their fullbacks to push up. They use the wings very well which in turn could lead to Piszczek and Hakimi with a very busy game.

Then that leaves the attack. Dortmund have to keep a lot of players quiet such as Vedad Ibišević who is known to be a real threat in front of goal. Ondrej Duda has also had a fine start to the season with 6 goals so far and will create problems if he is not dealt with. But Dortmund kept the likes of Diego Costa and Antoine Griezmann contained against Athletico Madrid so it all just comes down to another consistent performance form the black and yellows.

Last match: Hertha Berlin 1-1 Borussia Dortmund

The previous encounter with these two teams was in the short reign of Peter Stoger. That was the game Aubameyang was dropped and it was up to Shinji Kagawa who rescued a point for Borussia Dortmund after a Jadon Sancho cross.

Key to victory:

Borussia Dortmund can easily snatch 3 points if they play their regular game and adjust accordingly if put under pressure. Dortmund have the home field advantage but Hertha will not back down no matter how many goals they are down by.

Predicted lineup

Borussia Dortmund: (4-2-3-1)

Burki – Piszczek, Diallo, Zagadou, Hakimi -Witsel, Dahoud – Pulisic, Reus, Sancho – Philipp

Hertha Berlin: (4-2-3-1)

Jarstein – Lazaro, Stark, Rekik, Plattenhardt – Maier,Skjelbred – Kalou, Duda, Dilrosun – Ibisevic

Final Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Hertha Berlin