Opponent analysis: Hertha BSC

After the DFB-Pokal quarterfinal win, RBL now take on Hertha!

Back to the Bundesliga. After an electric quarterfinal win in the DFB-Pokal against BVB, RBL now face Hertha BSC this coming Saturday evening (18:30 CEST). The ‘Old Lady’ are unbeaten in three of their last five Bundesliga games, RBL have won two of their last five games.

Kevin-Prince Boateng emphasised after a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Freiburg that Hertha will throw absolutely everything at staying up: “I promise that this in Freiburg, with our fans behind us, is Hertha BSC and this is how it will also be in the next eight games.”

A proper fight awaits Marco Rose’s side at the Olympiastadion. We take a look at our next opponent’s strengths.

A look back at the reverse fixture

A 3-2 win for RBL!

Form

Even during a third year in succession fighting against the drop, staying out of the automatic relegation places is still in Hertha’s hands. After a very disappointing start to the year with four defeats in a row, Hertha’s form has recently stabilised. The team have lost just three of their last seven games, with two wins against Gladbach and Augsburg and two competitive draws against Mainz 05 and SC Freiburg.

Facts

Hertha BSC …

…are strong at home, having picked up 17 points at home this season, compared to just five away from home
…compete hard and have received 55 cards this season, the third most in the Bundesliga, they are in sixth-place in the disciplinary table
…rely on Dodi Lukebakio to provide an attacking spark, with the Belgium international scoring almost a third of Hertha’s goals this season

Team news

Key players

Dodi Lukebakio: Hertha‘s top goalscorer has already scored ten times this season, making him the seventh top-scorer in the league.
He was recently called up to the Belgium national team squad for their European qualifiers.
Jessic Ngankam: The Germany U21 international is currently on the rise at Hertha. Having missed the entire first half of the season through injury, he has been in top form in the last few weeks. Thanks to two goals in three games from the 22-year-old, Hertha managed to pick up a point against both Mainz and Freiburg.
With impressive physicality and pace, he enjoys being played through in behind by midfielders Lucas Tousart and Suat Serdar. Boateng, meanwhile, promised that, “We have still not seen the best of Jessic.”
Lucas Tousart: The Frenchman pulls the strings for Hertha and never stops running. He has been in the starting eleven every game since the second matchday (he was suspended for the first day of the season), and has only been substituted three times. Alongside his dribbling and passing qualities, he has covered the second-most distance of any player in the league.
Hertha’s record transfer has set the tone in midfield for Hertha yet again this season and is often involved in the build-up to goals.

Highlights of our whole squad from 2022/23

Unavailable players

Jean-Paul Boetius: The midfielder joined from Mainz at the beginning of the season but has still not fully found his feet. At the beginning of March, he picked up a shoulder injury in training and has been absent since then.
Chidera Ejuke: Since the end of October, Ejuke had only been used as a substitute. At the beginning of January, he picked up a serious knee injury and has kept him out since then.
Kelian Nsona: When Hertha signed the Frenchman at the beginning of 2022, he was in light training after a cruciate ligament injury. Since then, he has been plagued by knee problems and underwent another operation at the end of October. He has been absent since then.

The latest RBL injury news can be found in our team news update.

Coach

After successful spells with Mainz 05 and Dynamo Moscow, Sandro Schwarz has been Hertha head coach since the start of the season. He hasn’t yet been able to achieve his target of getting away from a relegation battle.

He averaged 1.14 points with Mainz and 1.82 with Dynamo Moscow in his first two jobs, compared to just 0.81 now with Hertha. Nevertheless, Kevin-Prince Boateng showed his support for the coach after the draw in Freiburg, and stated that he has a good relationship with the team and the full support of the club.

Hertha have often operated with a back-five recently under Schwarz. Tousart, Serdar and Cigerci are regulars in the centre of the midfielder, with Niederlechner, Ngankam, Jovetic, Kanga, Lukebakio and Scherhant his options for his front two.

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RBL record against Hertha

Head-to-head

11 wins, 1 draw, 1 defeat – 48:14 goals
5 home wins, 6 away wins
Top goalscorer: Timo Werner (8)
Biggest win: 6-0 on 25th September 2021 (Goals: Christo Nkunku 2x, Yussuf Poulsen, Nordi Mukiele, Emil Forsberg, Amadou Haidara)

The last five meetings

15th October 2022 | Bundesliga, Matchday 10: RB Leipzig – Hertha BSC | 3-2
20th February 2022 | Bundesliga, Matchday 23: Hertha BSC – RB Leipzig | 1-6
25th September 2021 | Bundesliga, Matchday 6: RB Leipzig – Hertha BSC | 6-0
21st February 2021 | Bundesliga, Matchday 22: Hertha BSC – RB Leipzig | 0-3
24th October 2020 | Bundesliga, Matchday 5: RB Leipzig – Hertha BSC | 2-1