Teams | October 28, 2013 at 03:19 PM
Into the Lion's den
Into the Lion's den
On Saturday, Hertha BSC face Bayern Munich away on Bundesliga matchday 10.
Berlin - Matchday 10 could hardly be any tougher for the capital city side. On Saturday (26.10.13, 3.30 pm) Hertha face mighty Bayern Munich at the sold out Allianz-Arena in the Bavarian capital. Fourth placed Hertha take on the current Bundesliga leaders and last season's treble winners in an eagerly-anticipated clash. Hertha's away record against Bayern is not the best to say the least: In 28 matches in Munich so far, the capital city kickers have won two, drawn four and lost 22. Despite those ominous stats, coach Jos Luhukay and his side travel there in buoyant mood, having taken seven from a possible nine points on their recent travels.
On the good news side, Luhukay hads an almost fully fit squad to pick his starting eleven from. The Dutchman told the media at the pre-match press conference: "Only the long term injured Alexander Baumjohann and Sandro Wagner have remained in Berlin for treatment. Everyone else is on board." The Hertha boss added: "Our performance against Gladbach last time out was good for team confidence. We know that against Bayern we must be strong at the back and go forward with courage and determination. I admit that it would take a miracle for us to get anything from the game." Luhukay described the game as a "very difficult but exciting task" for his players.
Luhukay: "We want to try to play our game"
Bayern were in Champions League action in midweek, hammering Czech Republic side Viktoria Pilsen 5-0 in a round three clash in Munich. Luhukay of course watched the game on TV. He explained: "That gave us an indication of Bayern's strengths, but we want to try to play our game on Saturday and see how far we get." Luhukay reckons that every team would struggle against the all-conquering Bavarians at the moment. Luhukay: "They ooze confidence as a team. Are very stable at the back and are incredibly confident on the ball. When they do lose the ball it is usually in the final third. When that happens they begin to press immediately in order to force the opposition into making mistakes." It goes without saying that Hertha's coach knows all about Bayern's strengths up top. He added: "Up front they have so many variations whether they play down the wings or through the middle." Such things are tough to defend against and Bayern have so many individuals capable of scoring goals. .
Bayern's superstar coach Pep Guardiola is without Holger Badstuber, Claudio Pizarro and Xherdan Shaqiri for Hertha's visit on Saturday, In truth the Bavarians have so much strength in depth that such omissions don't even scratch the surface. New Spanish signing Thiago Alcantara is training again, but will not feature on Saturday, His compatriot Javi Martinez on the other hand could do, after being on the bench against Pilsen but not being used. Brazilian international defender Dante could also miss out, after sustaining a gash last time out. He is expected to be out for at least a fortnight. He had hoped to play against Pilsen but was not used.
Rummenigge: "Hertha are the surprise package in the Bundesliga so far"
Bayern board chairman and former Germany legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge found some words of praise for Luhukay and Co. this week by saying: "Until now, Hertha are the positive surprise of the Bundesliga season. I think that is down to their coach who is doing a fine job there, and perfectly suits the team." According to Rumminigge Luhukay has a plan and a lot of quality in his ranks. The Bayern boss: "You can only compliment Hertha on their coach." The 58 year old former striker does however not believe that his sid will have it as easy as they did against Pilsen in midweek. He said: "The game against Hertha on Saturday will be much more difficult." He believes that Hertha will have nothing to do with any relegation battle this season and even reckons that they could finish in the top ten places in the Bundesliga table. Rumenigge finally: "It is so important for the Bundesliga to have a team from the capital city in it."
Possible line-ups:
Bayern Munich: Neuer - Rafinha, Boateng, Contento, Alaba- Lahm - Ribéry, Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Robben - Mandzukic
Hertha BSC: Kraft - Pekarik, Langkamp, Lustenberger, van den Bergh - Skjelbred, Hosogai - Allagui, Ben-Hatira, Kobiashvili/Schulz - Ramos
On the good news side, Luhukay hads an almost fully fit squad to pick his starting eleven from. The Dutchman told the media at the pre-match press conference: "Only the long term injured Alexander Baumjohann and Sandro Wagner have remained in Berlin for treatment. Everyone else is on board." The Hertha boss added: "Our performance against Gladbach last time out was good for team confidence. We know that against Bayern we must be strong at the back and go forward with courage and determination. I admit that it would take a miracle for us to get anything from the game." Luhukay described the game as a "very difficult but exciting task" for his players.
Luhukay: "We want to try to play our game"
Bayern were in Champions League action in midweek, hammering Czech Republic side Viktoria Pilsen 5-0 in a round three clash in Munich. Luhukay of course watched the game on TV. He explained: "That gave us an indication of Bayern's strengths, but we want to try to play our game on Saturday and see how far we get." Luhukay reckons that every team would struggle against the all-conquering Bavarians at the moment. Luhukay: "They ooze confidence as a team. Are very stable at the back and are incredibly confident on the ball. When they do lose the ball it is usually in the final third. When that happens they begin to press immediately in order to force the opposition into making mistakes." It goes without saying that Hertha's coach knows all about Bayern's strengths up top. He added: "Up front they have so many variations whether they play down the wings or through the middle." Such things are tough to defend against and Bayern have so many individuals capable of scoring goals. .
Bayern's superstar coach Pep Guardiola is without Holger Badstuber, Claudio Pizarro and Xherdan Shaqiri for Hertha's visit on Saturday, In truth the Bavarians have so much strength in depth that such omissions don't even scratch the surface. New Spanish signing Thiago Alcantara is training again, but will not feature on Saturday, His compatriot Javi Martinez on the other hand could do, after being on the bench against Pilsen but not being used. Brazilian international defender Dante could also miss out, after sustaining a gash last time out. He is expected to be out for at least a fortnight. He had hoped to play against Pilsen but was not used.
Rummenigge: "Hertha are the surprise package in the Bundesliga so far"
Bayern board chairman and former Germany legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge found some words of praise for Luhukay and Co. this week by saying: "Until now, Hertha are the positive surprise of the Bundesliga season. I think that is down to their coach who is doing a fine job there, and perfectly suits the team." According to Rumminigge Luhukay has a plan and a lot of quality in his ranks. The Bayern boss: "You can only compliment Hertha on their coach." The 58 year old former striker does however not believe that his sid will have it as easy as they did against Pilsen in midweek. He said: "The game against Hertha on Saturday will be much more difficult." He believes that Hertha will have nothing to do with any relegation battle this season and even reckons that they could finish in the top ten places in the Bundesliga table. Rumenigge finally: "It is so important for the Bundesliga to have a team from the capital city in it."
Possible line-ups:
Bayern Munich: Neuer - Rafinha, Boateng, Contento, Alaba- Lahm - Ribéry, Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Robben - Mandzukic
Hertha BSC: Kraft - Pekarik, Langkamp, Lustenberger, van den Bergh - Skjelbred, Hosogai - Allagui, Ben-Hatira, Kobiashvili/Schulz - Ramos