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Dortmund logo
Bundesliga
Aug 30, 2015 at 2.30pm UK
 
Hertha Berlin logo

3-1

Hummels (27'), Aubameyang (51'), Ramos (93')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Kalou (78')

Preview: Borussia Dortmund vs. Hertha Berlin

Sports Mole takes a closer look at both teams as Borussia Dortmund prepare to host Hertha Berlin on Sunday afternoon.

Borussia Dortmund will look to continue their impressive start to the season when they entertain Hertha Berlin at Signal Iduna Park on Sunday afternoon.

Hertha make the trip with four points from two games, while Dortmund are one of only three teams to have won both of their opening Bundesliga matches.


Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund's Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Mats Hummels and Julian Weigl celebrate during the UEFA Europa League second-leg play-off match between Borussia Dortmund and Odds BK in Dortmund on August 28, 2015© Getty Images

Thomas Tuchel arrived as Jurgen Klopp's replacement with plenty of pressure on his shoulders, but the new Dortmund boss could not have wished for a better start to the season at home or in Europe as the club look to put last season's nightmare behind them.

Due to their early participation in the Europa League, Dortmund have already played seven competitive matches this season and in that stretch of games they have scored 27 goals to boast an impressive 100% record in all competitions.

It was another comfortable night for Tuchel on the touchline on Thursday as his side completed an 11-5 aggregate triumph over Odd with a 7-2 victory in the second leg of their Europa League playoff tie.

The game served as another reminder of the attacking qualities in the current squad, and although tougher tests are certain to arrive, confidence could not be higher in the Dortmund camp as they prepare for their third Bundesliga match.

After starting the league campaign with an eye-catching 4-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach, Tuchel were pushed in the first half of last week's meeting with newly-promoted FC Ingolstadt 04 before eventually winning by the same scoreline.

Klopp's struggles to produce consistent performances from his side last season is sure to mean that the supporters are wary of labelling their team title contenders, but another emphatic success at the weekend could raise expectations once again.

Recent form: WW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWWW


Hertha Berlin

Jens Hegeler congratulates Salomon Kalou after he scores a penalty for Hertha Berlin against Augsburg on August 15, 2015© Getty Images

While the likes of Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen are attracting most of the attention in the opening weeks of the new season, Hertha have made a promising start to a campaign which the club's supporters will be hoping brings more success than the previous one.

Hertha flirted dangerously with the bottom three for most of last season before eventually avoiding the relegation playoff with better goal difference than Hamburger SV, but the targets appear to be much higher in Pal Dardai's first full season in charge.

After leaving his role of Hungary boss to focus on Hertha, questions were raised about whether Dardai was the right man to take the capital club forward but four points from the first two games have suggested that they are heading in the right direction.

Improvements have been clear even at this early stage, and they followed the opening-day triumph over Augsburg by holding Werder Bremen to a 1-1 draw last Friday, with both sides walking away disappointed that they could not collect all three points.

Sunday's trip to a side looking to prove they are title challengers will be a true test of Hertha's progress under Dardai, who will be hopeful that his team's first two performances can provide the platform for a possible top-half finish.

Recent form: WD
Recent form (all competitions): WWD


Team News

Dortmund's midfielder Jonas Hofmann and Dortmund's Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrate after the fourth goal for Dortmund during the German first division Bundesliga match between FC Ingolstadt and Borussia Dortmund in the stadium in Ingo© Getty Images

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was used as a substitute against Odd on Thursday night, but the Gabon international should return in attack to replace Jonas Hofmann.

The form of Marco Reus, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Shinji Kagawa has been key to Dortmund's impressive start, and all three are set to retain their places behind the lone striker, while Julian Weigl should start alongside Ilkay Gundogan in central midfield.

Mitchell Weiser, who arrived from Bayern earlier in the summer, came off the bench for Hertha last week and the creative midfielder is pushing for his first start this weekend.

Roy Beerens is available once again after serving his suspension and he could be recalled to replace Genki Haraguchi.

Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Burki, Ginter, Papastathopoulos, Hummels, Schmelzer, Gundogan, Weigl, Kagawa, Mkhitaryan, Reus, Aubameyang

Hertha possible starting lineup:
Kraft, Plattenhardt, Langkamp, Lustenberger, Pekarik, Skjelbred, Darida, Berens, Weiser, Stocker, Kalou


Head To Head

The points were shared between the two sides last season as Julian Scheiber earned Hertha a 1-0 victory in December, before goals from Neven Subotic and Erik Durm handed Dortmund a 2-0 win in the reverse fixture in May.

Neither side have managed to record successive wins in the last seven meetings between the two teams, and the last league double came when Dortmund recorded two victories in the 2004-05 campaign.


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We say: Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Hertha Berlin

Hertha's first two performances suggest that they will achieve a much higher finish this season, but Dortmund look too strong to slip up against Dardai's men. Tuchel has watched his side destroy teams with their attacking play so far this season and they should record another comfortable win on Sunday.



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Dortmund's defender Matthias Ginter (L) and his teammate Dortmund's Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan (R) celebrate after the first goal for Dortmund during the German first division Bundesliga football match FC Ingolstadt 04 vs Borussia Dortmund, on
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