RB Leipzig will be looking to continue their fine form under their new boss when they travel to face Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga on Sunday evening.
The visitors climbed into the top four for the first time this season as a result of their victory last weekend, whilst the hosts extended their winless run with another disappointing defeat to leave them fearing the drop at the other end of the table.
Match preview
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Despite attempting a staggering 26 shots in their trip to bottom-of-the-table Greuther Furth last weekend, Hertha fell to a poor 2-1 loss against their fellow strugglers.
Just seven of those attempts hit the target during the relegation battle, which the Old Lady failed to perform as expected in, whilst lacking the spirit and character that their hosts possessed in abundance.
Despite the defeat, Tayfun Korkut's side remained in 14th place, and a single point above the relegation playoff spot, thanks to losses for Arminia Bielefeld, Augsburg and Stuttgart immediately below them as well.
However, that gap could be cut at the weekend considering the calibre and form of their opponents visiting the Olympiastadion, especially given the worrying form currently being endured by the Berlin side.
Last weekend's defeat extended Hertha's miserable start to 2022 to a six-game winless spell across all competitions, with the initial bright start to Korkut's tenure now being long forgotten.
The Turkish boss began his reign in the capital with an impressive return of seven points from a possible 12 at the end of 2021, which included a 3-2 victory over second-placed Borussia Dortmund, and Hertha will be desperate to return to that kind of form in order to lift themselves away from danger in the coming weeks.
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Meanwhile, Domenico Tedesco took charge of Leipzig at a similar time to his counterpart on Sunday, but despite enduring an inconsistent start in his opening three fixtures, the German has since overseen his side go from strength to strength.
Last weekend's 3-1 victory over an impressive FC Koln side was Die Roten Bullen's fourth from five games since the winter break, with the only exception being the thrilling 3-2 defeat at leaders Bayern Munich.
Christopher Nkunku netted his 11th Bundesliga goal of an impressive campaign to open the scoring against the Billy Goats, and further goals from Dani Olmo and Angelino shortly after half time saw Leipzig cruise to a comfortable victory, despite attempting just six shots on their opponent's goal all game.
As mentioned above, the win saw Sunday's visitors climb into the Champions League places for the first time this season, with Tedesco leading the revival in form following a poor start to the campaign under his predecessor Jesse Marsch.
With only three points separating Leipzig from Eintracht Frankfurt in 10th place at the time of writing though, there remains plenty of work to be done from Tedesco and his team between now and the end of the season if they are to secure that top-four spot ahead of the numerous challengers.
In order to do so, the former Spartak Moscow boss must continue to improve his new side's form on their travels, with the 2-0 victory at 17th-placed Stuttgart back in January being their only Bundesliga success on the road this campaign.
Sunday's trip to a struggling side presents them with an ideal opportunity to do so, with a similar improvement also being required in Spain next week when they travel to Real Sociedad in the second leg of their Europa League knockout tie, following the 2-2 draw at the Red Bull Arena on Thursday evening.
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Team News
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Hertha must continue to cope without captain Dedryck Boyata for the time being, with the central defender remaining absent due to an ankle injury.
Niklas Stark and Suat Serdar will also be big misses for the hosts, with COVID-19 ruling the duo out of Sunday's encounter.
Marton Dardai and goalkeeper Rune Jarstein are ruled out through injury, whilst two other goalkeepers in the form of Oliver Christensen and Nils Korber are listed as doubts.
Thankfully for Korkut, first-choice goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow remains available and will be between the posts at the Olympiastadion.
As for the visitors, experienced central defender Willi Orban remains a doubt due to a cold, which means the versatile Tyler Adams could deputise in the back line once more on Sunday, although Lukas Klostermann could potentially be switched from right wing-back to a more central role.
Marcel Halstenberg nears a return from a long-term absence but the trip should come too soon for him, but Tedesco has no other injury concerns to contend with as things stand.
Olmo should continue to support Nkunku and Andre Silva in a dangerous forward line for the visitors.
Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:
Schwolow; Pekarik, Gechter, Kempf, Mittelstadt; Richter, Tousart, Darida, Maolida; Belfodil, Jovetic
RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Gulacsi; Klostermann, Simakan, Gvardiol; Henrichs, Laimer, Haidara, Angelino; Olmo; Nkunku, Silva
We say: Hertha Berlin 1-2 RB Leipzig
Despite Leipzig's struggles on the road this season, they should possess enough quality to see off a struggling Hertha side in the capital on Sunday.
Fitness could well be an issue following their European exploits on Thursday evening though, particularly with Tedesco naming a full-strength 11, but we are predicting a narrow victory for the visitors anyway.
Top tip
Matthew Tranter
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a RB Leipzig win with a probability of 60.35%. A win for Hertha Berlin had a probability of 20.2% and a draw had a probability of 19.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a RB Leipzig win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.47%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (7.45%) and 1-3 (7.24%). The likeliest Hertha Berlin win was 2-1 (5.24%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (8.26%). The actual scoreline of 1-6 was predicted with a 0.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that RB Leipzig would win this match.
