Preview: Schalke 04 vs. Hertha Berlin - prediction, team news, lineups

Schalke 04 take on Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga on Wednesday, with the visitors looking to move three points clear of the relegation places with a victory.

This will be Schalke's penultimate match at Veltins-Arena in the Bundesliga for the foreseeable future after their relegation was confirmed last month.

Match preview

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After enduring a dismal season, Schalke's fans were at least treated to an entertaining spectacle during their 22nd league defeat of the season away to Hoffenheim on Saturday, with Sebastian Hoeness's side coming out on top as 4-2 winners.

With both sides missing several key defenders and generally geared towards their talented attackers in any case, goals always felt likely to be on the agenda in a match which had very little riding on it.

The returning Mark Uth opened the scoring after only 12 minutes, before Shkodran Mustafi doubled the visitors' lead heading into half time.

However, Hoffenheim exploded into life after the break, with Andrej Kramaric, Kevin Akpoguma, Christoph Baumgartner and Ihlas Bebou all scoring within a crazy 17-minute period to flip the encounter entirely on its head.

Schalke's final three fixtures - including Hertha on Wednesday - are all against sides with plenty at stake, so the defeat to Hoffenheim may have been Dimitrios Grammozis's best chance of securing a second win since being appointed as manager in March, having squandered a two-goal lead.

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Hertha, meanwhile, remain unbeaten since returning to action following their COVID-19 outbreak last month, extending their tally to five points from three games after a cagey 0-0 home draw against relegation rivals Arminia Bielefeld on Sunday.

After FC Koln's defeat to Freiburg on Saturday, both sides remained outside of the automatic relegation places, making the match feel more like a must-not-lose rather than a must-win one.

In truth, despite having far less of the ball, Bielefeld were the more threatening side, forcing Hertha goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow into making six saves across the 90 minutes.

Andreas Voglsammer was particularly guilty of profligacy for the visitors, with Ritsu Doan illustrating his quality with some lovely dribbles throughout the encounter.

For Pal Dardai and his side, the draw ensured they remained above Werder Bremen and Bielefeld in the table, so it was probably a case of job done ahead of a trip to Schalke, which they will feel ultra confident of winning to move three points clear of danger.

Team News

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Having made his first start since leaving the field due to injury against RB Leipzig in February, Schalke will be without Uth once again after the forward received his fifth booking of the season after scoring against Hoffenheim on Saturday.

Matthew Hoppe is likely to replace Uth alongside Klaas Jan Huntelaar in attack, with Amine Harit operating from a slightly deeper role.

Grammozis remains without several players due to injury, too, with Mehmet Aydin, Benjamin Stambouli, Omar Mascarell, William da Silva, Hamza Mendyl, Nassim Boujellab, Matija Nastasic and Kilian Ludewig all unlikely to be involved against Hertha.

A congested schedule following an enforced three-week break always looked like a recipe for injuries for Hertha, meanwhile, which has proved to be the case in the past week.

Like his teammate Luca Netz, Arsenal loanee Matteo Guendouzi will miss the rest of the season after suffering a broken ankle, while Matheus Cunha and Sami Khedira face a race against time to feature again this campaign due to muscle injuries.

Maximilian Mittelstadt was substituted after 32 minutes against Bielefeld due to concussion and may be forced to sit out of the trip to Schalke as a result, while Rune Jarstein, Dodi Lukebakio and Marvin Plattenhardt all appear to remain unavailable due to COVID-19.

Dardai has made several changes between each game since his side returned to the field in any case, with the likes of Peter Pekarik, Dedryck Boyata and Omar Alderete expected to come back into the defence against Schalke.

Schalke 04 possible starting lineup:

Fahrmann; Becker, Mustafi, Oczipka; Schopf, Serdar, Flick, Harit, Kolasinac; Huntelaar, Hoppe

Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:

Schwolow; Pekarik, Boyata, Alderete, Torunarigha; Darida, Ascacibar; Dilrosun, Radonjic; Piatek, Cordoba

We say: Schalke 04 0-1 Hertha Berlin

We expect a cagey affair on Wednesday, with both sides potentially tired from their weekend exploits.

Hertha will clearly have more motivation than their opponents, though, which should ensure that they narrowly pick up the victory they need to move three points above the relegation positions.