Mainz 05 will go in search of a fifth successive Bundesliga victory when they travel to the German capital to face Hertha Berlin at the Olympiastadion on Saturday afternoon.
Having lost 10 of their last 14 league matches, Hertha find themselves one point clear of the relegation zone and 15 points shy of seventh-placed Mainz.
Match preview
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Hertha Berlin suffered a damaging 4-1 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen last weekend, with Sandro Schwarz's men registering just two shots on target throughout the contest as they failed to compete with their hosts.
When Hertha claimed two wins in three games last month, it looked as though they would pull away from the relegation zone, but last weekend's thrashing at the hands of Leverkusen has dragged the capital club back into the dogfight.
In fact, the bottom five teams in the Bundesliga table are separated by a solitary point, with the bottom four sides locked on 19 points, so Hertha Berlin could find themselves at the foot of the standings by the end of the weekend.
Schwarz's side notched four consecutive draws across September and October but have failed to find a single draw in their past 14 league outings, recording four wins and 10 defeats to keep them in the relegation mire.
Only the bottom two clubs have scored fewer goals than Hertha Berlin's 28 this season, while only last-placed VfL Bochum have conceded more than Hertha's 44, so Die Alte Dame will need to improve at both ends of the pitch in order to beat the drop.
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By contrast, Mainz 05 sit just four points outside the European places having taken 17 points from a possible 24 since the winter break, with a run of five wins, two draws and two losses keeping them within touching distance of the top six.
After thrashing Bochum 5-1, Mainz suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat at Union Berlin, but Bo Svensson's men have claimed four straight victories since then, climbing from 12th to seventh in the table as a result.
The 05ers kicked off their winning streak with a 3-1 victory over Augsburg before securing an impressive 3-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen, with a 4-0 thrashing of Borussia Monchengladbach coming at the end of February.
Last weekend, Mainz extended their winning run to four games with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Hoffenheim, with Luxembourg international Leandro Barreiro scoring only his fifth goal in 108 appearances for the club.
Although Svensson's side have struggled for consistency away from home this season – recording five wins, one draw and five losses on their Bundesliga travels – they will be confident of heaping more misery on lowly Hertha Berlin.
Team News
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With the attacking trio of Wilfried Kanga, Kelian Nsona and Chidera Ejuke still sidelined due to injury, the recent return of Stevan Jovetic is a big bonus for Hertha Berlin.
Jovetic missed nine league clashes between November and February before coming off the bench in each of the last two matches, so the former Manchester City striker looks set to make another on Saturday.
At the opposite end of the pitch, Oliver Christensen is expected to continue between the sticks, despite keeping just three clean sheets in 23 Bundesliga games this season.
Mainz 05 have injury problems of their own, with Jonathan Burkardt, Marlon Mustapha, Brajan Gruda and Karim Onisiwo set to miss the trip to the capital.
Having bagged eight goals and four assists in 24 appearances across all competitions this season, Onisiwo is a big miss for the 05ers, who will likely continue with Ludovic Ajorque up front.
With 17 goals and three assists between them this term, Marcus Ingvartsen and Lee Jae-sung will support Ajorque in attack.
Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:
Christensen; Rogel, Uremovic, Kempf; Richter, Tousart, Cigerci, Serdar, Plattenhardt; Lukebakio, Niederlechner
Mainz 05 possible starting lineup:
Zentner; Hanche-Olsen, Bell, Fernandes; Da Costa, Barreiro, Stach, Caci; Ingvartsen, Lee; Ajorque
We say: Hertha Berlin 0-2 Mainz 05
In addition to winning each of their last four league games – and five of their previous six – Mainz head into Saturday's showdown on the back of successive clean sheets.
With that in mind, we expect the 05ers to extend their winning streak to five matches with a third consecutive clean-sheet victory, piling more pressure on relegation-threatened Hertha.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Morris
