Borussia Dortmund vs Hertha Berlin

Bundesliga title contenders Borussia Dortmund entertain relegation-battling Hertha Berlin at Signal Iduna Park.

Borussia Dortmund’s quest to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals took a massive stride in midweek as ‘Die Borussen’ claimed a 1-0 home win in the first leg of their last-16 tie against Chelsea. That result maintained Dortmund’s 100% win ratio at the start of the new calendar year, all competitions included (W7). Indeed, the hosts have won all five Bundesliga matches in 2023, netting 2+ goals on each occasion, to close the gap on table-topping Bayern Munich to only three points. Another straightforward task is well on the cards, with Dortmund racking up seven victories in their last eight top-flight encounters against Hertha (L1), including a narrow 1-0 triumph in the reverse fixture in August. Moreover, a 2-0 win at Werder Bremen last weekend helped them register their eighth Bundesliga clean sheet of the season, already as many shutouts as in the entire 2021/22 campaign (7).

On the other hand, Hertha Berlin’s dire run of four straight Bundesliga defeats to launch the new calendar year came to a halt last time out as ‘Die Alte Dame’ pulled off a thumping 4-1 home victory over Borussia Monchengladbach. Interestingly, each of Hertha’s five league games (won/lost) in 2023 has yielded multi-goal margins, suggesting a one-sided affair could be in store. It’s likely to go Dortmund’s way, though, with Sandro Schwarz’s side losing their last five away league matches, conceding precisely three goals on three occasions in that run. It’s been six years since Hertha last experienced a longer losing streak away from home in the top-flight, and after losing three consecutive Bundesliga visits to Dortmund, they could be on the receiving end again.