Borussia Dortmund vs Hertha Berlin Preview: How to Watch on TV, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News
By David Ford
It has been a mixed bag for Borussia Dortmund since the Bundesliga restarted. On one hand, they've won three of their four matches with an aggregate score of 12-2. On the other, their loss to Bayern Munich ended their realistic hopes of securing the title.
However, they responded in typical Dortmund fashion and thumped Paderborn 6-1 in their most recent outing, with Jadon Sancho's hat trick stealing all the headlines.
Dortmund are seven points off top and need to put as much pressure on their Bavarian rivals as possible, while also distancing themselves from RB Leipzig, Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen, all of whom remain in contention for Champions League qualification.
Hertha Berlin have had nothing but success since the restart, and their 2-0 win against Augsburg last time out showed a more dogged side to the capital club that hadn't yet been seen since Bruno Labbadia took charge during the break.
Where to Watch
When Is Kick Off? Saturday 6 June
What Time Is Kick Off? 17:30 (BST)
Where Is it Played? Signal Iduna Park
TV Channel/Live Stream? BT Sport (UK), fuboTV (US).
Referee? TBC
Team News
The big news for Dortmund is the absence of Erling Haaland from the forward line. Haaland has been in spectacular form since his January switch from RB Salzburg, scoring ten goals in 11 Bundesliga matches. He joins Marco Reus on the sidelines, leaving Der BVB without a recognised centre forward.
Mahmoud Dahoud also missed the game against Paderborn with an injury having started all of Dortmund's first three games after the restart. Despite a dominant display, Dortmund were caught out a couple of times by Paderborn when the score was 2-0, so Axel Witsel is expected to be recalled to the starting lineup for the first time since returning from injury.
Mats Hummels will also miss the game through suspension, with goalscorer Marcel Schmelzer expected to fill the void.
Hertha have their own injury concerns, with first choice centre back pair Karim Rekik and Niklas Stark still ruled out. Fortunately, Jordan Torunarigha and Dedryck Boyata have formed a solid partnership in their absence.
Wide man Marius Wolf is also still injured - though he'd be ineligible to play his parent club anyway - so there are unlikely to be any changes from the side that beat Augsburg. One potential alteration could see Krzysztof Piątek replace Vedad Ibisevic up front after scoring a goal in each of Hertha's last two games from the bench.
Predicted Lineups
Borussia Dortmund: Burki; Piszczek, Schmelzer, Akanji; Hakimi, Can, Witsel, Guerreiro; Brandt, Hazard, Sancho.
Hertha Berlin: Jarstein; Pekarik, Boyata, Torunarigha, Mittelstadt; Grujic, Skjelbred, Lukebakio, Darida, Dilrosun; Piątek.
Head to Head Record
While this fixture goes back a long way, Dortmund dominate its recent history, being unbeaten in the last five meetings between the clubs in the Bundesliga, winning three.
In fact, in 32 league fixtures between the clubs staged in Dortmund, Hertha have only won on four occasions. BVB have also scored in every home meeting since 1969, and with both sides in free scoring form, expect goals at the weekend.
Hertha's last victory against Die Schwarz-Gelben was a 2-1 win in March 2017, against a Dortmund team featuring Marc Bartra, Andre Schurrle and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Recent Form
There seems to be a bit of gloom around Dortmund after the defeat to Bayern, but let's not forget that it was the first league game they've not won since a 4-3 loss to Leverkusen on 8 February. They then promptly returned to form against Paderborn.
Dortmund still boast some of the best attacking talent on the planet, with Sancho and Thorgan Hazard demonstrating the kind of finishing they're capable of last time out. They're also disciplined at the back, conceding just twice since the league restarted and 35 times all season.
Hertha have been reborn since Labbadia took charge, going from outsider relegation candidates to outsider European qualifiers in the space of four matches. He's reorganised a team that only won one of their six matches before the break into a side that's won three of the four played after it.
Dortmund will no doubt be his toughest test yet, but it was his side that fought back to draw against RB Leipzig a few weeks ago, effectively ending their title challenge. They may suffer their first defeat of the Labbadia reign against Der BVB, but they won't go down easily. 11 goals in four games says a lot about their quality.
That being said, there is still a question mark over home advantage during the stadium closures. Of the 29 games played with no fans, 51.35% have been won by the away side.
Here's how both sides have got on in their last five games.
Borussia Dortmund
Paderborn 1-6 Borussia Dortmund (31/5)
Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Bayern Munich (26/5)
Wolfsburg 0-2 Borussia Dortmund (23/5)
Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Schalke (16/5)
Borussia Monchengladbach 2-2 Borussia Dortmund (7/3)
Hertha Berlin
Hertha Berlin 2-0 Augsburg (30/5)
RB Leipzig 2-2 Hertha Berlin (27/5)
Hertha Berlin 4-0 Union Berlin (22/5)
Hoffenheim 0-3 Hertha Berlin (16/5)
Hertha Berlin 2-2 Werder Bremen (7/3)
Prediction
While on paper Hertha are in better form, Dortmund should have enough firepower to overcome them. Hertha enjoy being underdogs, sporting a 71.43% win/draw rate when they've been considered outsiders in league matches this season, but Dortmund need to win to keep any title hopes alive.
The absence of Hummels will be felt far more than Haaland's, and if Hertha can get at Dortmund from the off, they may stand a chance.
However, with the form Sancho is in, he could beat the Berlin outfit alone if he felt like it.
Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Hertha Berlin