Bundesliga basement dwellers Hertha Berlin welcome fellow strugglers Stuttgart to the Olympiastadion on Saturday afternoon, with six points separating the relegation rivals.
While Hertha find themselves rock bottom of the table after suffering a fourth successive defeat last time out, Stuttgart have climbed to 15th thanks to a series of improved results.
Match preview
© Reuters
Pal Dardai is back at the Olympiastadion for a third stint as Hertha Berlin manager following the sacking of Sandro Schwarz last month, but the new boss has so far failed to turn the tide.
In fact, Dardai has overseen two defeats since returning to the club, with a 4-2 loss against Werder Bremen preceding last weekend's 2-0 defeat at Bayern Munich, meaning that Hertha have lost each of their last four matches.
Those defeats have extended the Old Lady's winless run to eight games, with two draws and six losses coming since their last victory, leaving the club six points from safety with four matches to play.
When you look at the bigger picture, Hertha Berlin have managed to win just two of their previous 15 Bundesliga encounters, suffering 11 defeats while conceding at least three goals on eight occasions during that period.
Having conceded 11 goals across their past three games – including five in a humiliating thrashing at the hands of relegation rivals Schalke 04 – Hertha are on course to drop into the second tier for the first time since 2012.
© Reuters
By contrast, it is safe to say that Stuttgart have benefitted from a recent managerial change, with Sebastian Hoeness replacing Bruno Labbadia at the beginning of April.
Following a run of one victory in 12 Bundesliga matches – and seven defeats in nine outings at the end of that sequence – Labbadia was sacked with the club rooted to the foot of the table.
Since the arrival of Hoeness, however, Stuttgart have remained unbeaten in the league, taking eight points from a possible 12 to alleviate relegation fears at Mercedes-Benz Arena.
After securing a 3-2 victory over relegation rivals VfL Bochum, the Reds played out draws with Borussia Dortmund and Augsburg before defeating Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1 last weekend, although they lost Wednesday's DFB-Pokal semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Stuttgart have also made vast improvements on the road in recent weeks, losing just one of their last four away league games after failing to win any of their first 13, so they will be hopeful of piling more pressure on Hertha while enhancing their own survival bid.
Team News
© Reuters
Hertha Berlin's lengthy injury list contains long-term absentees Kelian Nsona and Rune Jarstein, while Tjark Ernst is expected to miss Saturday's clash due to illness.
With Kevin Prince Boateng, Tolga Cigerci, Marton Dardai, Stevan Jovetic and Marco Richter also on the sidelines, Pal Dardai has limited resources at his disposal.
Former Everton right-back Jonjoe Kenny will retain his place in Hertha's starting lineup, with Florian Niederlechner and Dodi Lukebakio expected to start in attack.
Stuttgart, on the other hand, have doubts over the fitness of Konstantinos Mavropanos after the ex-Arsenal centre-back was forced off early in Wednesday's cup defeat to Frankfurt.
Serhou Guirassy will continue to lead the line for the Reds, with Tiago Tomas and Silas Katompa Mvumpa also expected to feature in attack as Sebastian Hoeness sticks with his favoured 3-4-3 formation.
Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:
Christensen; Kenny, Rogel, Uremovic, Plattenhardt; Ngankam, Tousart, Boetius, Mittelstadt; Lukebakio, Niederlechner
Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Bredlow; Zagadou, Anton, Ito; Vagnoman, Karazor, Endo, Coulibaly; Silas, Guirassy, Tomas
We say: Hertha Berlin 2-2 Stuttgart
While Hertha Berlin have continued to struggle since Dardai's return, Stuttgart have enjoyed a marked upturn under Hoeness, although both sides remain in real danger of relegation.
With that in mind, we can see Hertha and Stuttgart playing out an entraining draw on Saturday as both clubs aim to enhance their respective bids for survival.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Morris
