The matchup between last season’s best home team (besides Bayern) and worst road team (besides teams that were relegated) will take place on Saturday. The Borussia Dortmund team was undefeated at home last season with a 13-4-0 record while the guests from capital recorded only 12 of total 49 total points in the Bundesliga on the road and this will be a perfect opportunity to see if anything has changed in these teams’ last year trends.
It is still early in the season to get to the top gear when it comes to predicting outcomes but, to be honest, this is the kind of matchup that can make a new input in how the teams might perform in different periods of the year depending on if they are at home or visiting. To cut the “smart talk” it’s time to win you some more green with a couple of clever directions so let’s start.
Borussia Dortmund vs. Hertha BSC
Three-Way: 1: Borussia Dortmund -208; X: +465 Draw; Hertha BSC +819
Spread -1.5: Borussia Dortmund +110; Hertha BSC -109
Total +3: Over -111; Under +106
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
The round 1 of the new German Bundesliga season went very well for the Yellow and Blacks and the mission to overthrow the Bayern Munich from the Bundesliga pedestal has started. Being unable to do that for six consecutive years now provoked a change in the managerial position as they appointed the new head coach Peter Bosz on July 1st after he previously managed Ajax during the last season.
This move did not make an effect on Dortmund’s attacking playing style as they outscored and outplayed the Wolves from Wolfsburg on the road in the opening round, with scores by Christian Pulisic, Marc Bartra and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang for a swift 3:0 win. The home game against the Blue-Whites from the capital will be a home debut for the new manager and it might be a bit bumpy ride having in mind the pressure that these type of duels bring. On the other side, coaches that are about to have a successful tenure tend to record good results in their opening games in front of their own crowd and that can easily be the case here.
The departures of defensive players Matthias Ginter who was sold to M’Gladbach for 17.00 Million Euros and Sven Bender who signed with Bayer Leverkusen for 12.50 Million Euros didn’t make any impact as Sokratis and Bartra commanded the defense with steady performances. Centre-Back Omer Toprak did not get the chance to play in week 1 while central midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud entered the game after half an hour of play replacing Mario Goetze who finally overcame the injury issues and is ready for some soccer.
Dortmund’s injury list is incomprehensibly long for the start of the season with a couple of very important players unavailable at the moment. Marco Reus (cruciate ligament) is expected to be back in late November while Raphael Guerreiro (foot) and Hendrik Bonmann (knee) should be out until mid-October and early November. Eric Durm (hip) is day-to-day while Marcel Schmelzer (ankle) is back in training. Sebastian Rode (groin) will be out until early September.
HERTHA BSC
After managing to finish the last season ranked at No. 6 spot, “The Old Lady” will appear in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League starting in September. Signs that indicated that this might be a relatively unsuccessful season for Hertha team as they sold a couple of their best players like defender John Anthony Brooks to league rivals VfL Wolfsburg are quickly fading away after a strong season opening and 2:0 triumph over the newcomer in the league Stuttgart.
The young Dutch Centre-Back Karim Rekik who was signed from Marseille filled the defensive void perfectly and was up to the task. Offseason addition, Australian native and left winger by the position Mathew Leckie who came from FC Ingolstadt recorded the best performance in the week 1 scoring twice in his debut for the team at Olympic Stadium in Berlin. Good news is that veteran attacker Vedad Ibisevic looked sharp on the field, recording an assist before the opening goal.
Last season, Hertha was one of the worst visiting teams as they recorded a 19-games streak without a road win that stretched from December 3rd, 2016 until May 13, 2017. When the season ended they had only three road wins on their account but the interesting fact is that in the week 2 of the last season they recorded a road win against Ingolstadt. I know that the opponent is much stronger in the week 2 of the current season but it’s an interesting observation.
Valentin Stocker (muscle) and Maximilian Mittelstadt (calf) are day-to-day while Dennis Smarsch’s (cruciate ligament), Julius Kade’s (muscle) status is unknown. Valentino Lazaro (ankle) and Davie Selke (toe) should be back in early September while Julian Schieber (knee) and Jonathan Klinsmann (ankle) are set to be available in mid-September.
Borussia Dortmund vs. Hertha BSC – Match Prediction
This matchup could be different than the others in this round because there are certain factors like home team’s manager debut and surprisingly solid performance of the visiting team last week in circulation. The hosting team, Borussia Dortmund, despite the managerial change, has stayed loyal to their offensive style of play which means that the over is always a high possibility when they play. Interesting is the fact that under the previous manager Thomas Tuchel, the Yellow and Black have not lost a home game in 38 consecutive games.
On the other side, the visitors have enough firepower to score on the road. The Hertha BSC manager has failed to win in Dortmund in 12 tries (both as manager and as a player). Furthermore, Hertha BSC has conceded at least one goal when playing in Dortmund ever since 1969!!!
That is why I would go here with a both teams score outcome as a first pick and over 2.5 goals in total as an additional pick.
My pick: Both teams score YES (-120)
Additional Pick: Over 3 goals (-111)
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