Hertha BSC vs Schalke 04

The weekend’s Bundesliga action comes to a close at the Olympiastadion in Berlin as Hertha BSC and Schalke 04 go head-to-head in a bottom-half six-pointer.

Hertha’s attempted comeback in a 3-2 defeat away to RB Leipzig last time out took their winless Bundesliga streak to five matches (D4, L1), leaving them level on points with 16th-placed Stuttgart. Another season-long fight against relegation looms after ‘Die Alte Dame’ equalled their joint-worst ten-game start in the Bundesliga since the infamous 2009/10 season when they suffered the drop. Manager Sandro Schwarz’s future hangs by a thread ahead of Hertha’s bid to extend a two-match winning top-flight run against Schalke. However, the hosts come into proceedings as the only Bundesliga side yet to win a single home fixture this term (D4, L1). It’s also worth noting they’ve yet to keep a clean sheet at the Olympiastadion in 2022/23.

Luckily for Hertha, visiting Schalke are experiencing an even worse Bundesliga start, having collected just six points from the opening ten matchdays (W1, D3, L6). Ominously for ‘Die Königsblauen,’ the last time they had a similar top-flight start, they dropped to the second tier in 2020/21. Last weekend’s 3-0 home demolition at the hands of TSG Hoffenheim marked Schalke’s fourth successive Bundesliga defeat, leaving them rooted to the relegation territory. Hoffenheim’s thumping 5-1 victory in midweek DFB-Pokal action was the final straw to break the camel’s back as Schalke dismissed manager Frank Kramer after just 13 games in charge in the aftermath. While searching for a ninth manager in just a five-year period, the visitors are looking to win an away Bundesliga fixture for the first time this season after five failed attempts (D2, L3).