After landing in Lisbon ahead of the final UEFA Champions League group game against Sporting Clube...

With the winter break in full swing, our Herthaner are off enjoying their Christmas holidays. However, preparations for the second half of the season will begin soon enough, as Hertha BSC look to set the groundwork for a successful end to 2022/23. The Blue-Whites will face VfL Bochum in their first Bundesliga fixture in the new year (21/01/23, 15:30 CET). Head coach Sandro Schwarz will welcome back his team for various performance tests on 2nd January. Just 24 hours later, the team will board a flight to training camp at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. “The focus will be on working on certain individual key areas. We have brought in some stability and seen some good growth, but still need to take further steps,” said Schwarz.

Additional buses will be in operation on Saturday. A shuttle service will take visitors from Sinsheim/Elsenz railway station to the PreZero Arena and back. In addition, a shuttle service has been set up on various other routes. Buses will be provided at the bus terminal (P9) for the return journey. More information about the departure times and stops can be found here (SWEG) and here (Palatina Bus).

Big game against Eintracht Frankfurt | Overall record in favour of the visitors | SGE striker Randal Kolo Muani in top form

A team player and full of confidence

VfB welcome FC Bayern to the Mercedes-Benz Arena on Saturday evening. As well as demanding stability in defence, head coach Bruno Labbadia has called on his players to express themselves against the league leaders.

After his return from Belgium, van Drongelen completed the entire pre-season with the Union. In Bad Saarow as well as in Neukirchen am Großvenediger, the Dutchman was an ever present and was able to rack up valuable time on the pitch of play in the warm-up matches. The loan deal should provide van Drongelen with much more match practice this season.

But Silva is wary of a Leeds United backlash and cites their fervent home support as a key factor.

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