Teams | March 14, 2014 at 08:08 PM
Hertha chasing first home win of 2014
Hertha chasing first home win of 2014
Hannover 96 visit the Olympic stadium in Berlin on Saturday (15.03.14) on matchday 25.
Berlin - When Hertha entertain Hannover 96 on Bundesliga matchday 25 on Saturday (15.03.14, 3.30 pm), the three points up for grabs will have differing value for the teams. Both sides drew their last two league games. While a win for the home side would take them to 39 points which would more or less ensure top flight football next season, (because nobody with that tally has ever been relegated from the Bundesliga) Hannover need the points to avoid slipping into the dreaded drop zone. Sunday's visitors start the game in 16th place on 26 points, only six points above the relegation spots, so a win would be worth its weight in gold for them.
Hertha's list of walking wounded has lengthened since the away draw in Mainz last weekend. Swiss-born skipper Fabian Lustenberger began running and working with the ball this week but is still not fit enough for Sunday. Midfielder Marcel Ndjeng is out of action with a calf problem. Long term injured duo Alexander Baumjohann and Tolga Cigerci are still unavailable to head coach Jos Luhukay as is Änis Ben-Hatira, who resumed first team training this week, but the Hannover clash comes too early for the Tunisian international. Luhukay told the media at the pre-match press conference on Thursday (13.03.14): "We cannot replace those omissions like for like." The Dutchman sees the injuries though as a chance for others to ply their wares.
Good home record against Hannover
Last week's 1-1 draw in Mainz did not change much for the capital city side, who are hoping to record their first home win of 2014 on Saturday. Until now Hertha have lost two and drawn one at home so far this year. Luhukay added: "We don't just want to dominate our home games as we have done recently, but turn that dominance into chances and goals." Luhukay has been working on shoring up the defence this week after only a decent 45 minute long defensive display in Mainz. A glance at the home record against Hannover should warm the hearts of all Hertha supporters. The capital city side have managed 10 wins, five draws and only two defeats against them.
Hannover of course want to improve that record after a good performance saw them take a point off Bayer Leverkusen last time out. Their coach said after that game: "The result is annoying. We hardly allowed them anything but we only took a single point from the game." Hannover's last Bundesliga win was on matchday 19 against Borussia Mönchengladbach. "The Reds" as Hannover are known have the worst away record in the top flight, having only collected four points from their twelve games on their travels. Despite that dismal record their coach says: "It is time that we reward ourselves. The team give me the impression that they want to win in Berlin with a strong will."
Top striker out of action
The visitors are without their main striker Mame Diouf, after the former Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers man injured a shoulder against Leverkusen. Fellow striker Artur Sobiech is also out injured. Didier Ya Konan is close to making his comeback but not on Saturday. That leaves them with on loan striker from HSV Ajrtoms Rudnevs as their only target man. Hannover are expected to play with a sole striker in Berlin. On the good news side their captain Lars Stindl returns from suspension, but they are still without long term injured trio Steven Cherundolo, Felipe and Christian Pander. Midfielder Leonardo Bittencourt is under no illusions as to the difficulty of the task ahead on Saturday. He said on Hertha this week: "They are tactically astute and are not where they are in the table for nothing. It will not be an easy game for us."
"Hannover have lost a little stability recently", knows Berlin boss Luhukay. The improved performance against Leverkusen however suggests that they may be back on track. Hertha keeper Thomas Kraft said ahead of the game: "They need points to avoid slipping into the relegation zone which is why I expect a very very tough game." He then added: "Of course our aim is maximum points, it is about time we did it at home."
Possible line-ups:
Hertha BSC: Kraft - van den Bergh, Kobiashvili, Langkamp, Pekarik - Hosogai, Skjelbred - Allagui, Ronny, Schulz - Ramos
Hannover 96: Zieler - Pocognoli, Hoffmann, Schulz, Sakai - Andreasen, Schmiedebach - Huszti, Bittencourt, Stindl - Rudnevs
Hertha's list of walking wounded has lengthened since the away draw in Mainz last weekend. Swiss-born skipper Fabian Lustenberger began running and working with the ball this week but is still not fit enough for Sunday. Midfielder Marcel Ndjeng is out of action with a calf problem. Long term injured duo Alexander Baumjohann and Tolga Cigerci are still unavailable to head coach Jos Luhukay as is Änis Ben-Hatira, who resumed first team training this week, but the Hannover clash comes too early for the Tunisian international. Luhukay told the media at the pre-match press conference on Thursday (13.03.14): "We cannot replace those omissions like for like." The Dutchman sees the injuries though as a chance for others to ply their wares.
Good home record against Hannover
Last week's 1-1 draw in Mainz did not change much for the capital city side, who are hoping to record their first home win of 2014 on Saturday. Until now Hertha have lost two and drawn one at home so far this year. Luhukay added: "We don't just want to dominate our home games as we have done recently, but turn that dominance into chances and goals." Luhukay has been working on shoring up the defence this week after only a decent 45 minute long defensive display in Mainz. A glance at the home record against Hannover should warm the hearts of all Hertha supporters. The capital city side have managed 10 wins, five draws and only two defeats against them.
Hannover of course want to improve that record after a good performance saw them take a point off Bayer Leverkusen last time out. Their coach said after that game: "The result is annoying. We hardly allowed them anything but we only took a single point from the game." Hannover's last Bundesliga win was on matchday 19 against Borussia Mönchengladbach. "The Reds" as Hannover are known have the worst away record in the top flight, having only collected four points from their twelve games on their travels. Despite that dismal record their coach says: "It is time that we reward ourselves. The team give me the impression that they want to win in Berlin with a strong will."
Top striker out of action
The visitors are without their main striker Mame Diouf, after the former Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers man injured a shoulder against Leverkusen. Fellow striker Artur Sobiech is also out injured. Didier Ya Konan is close to making his comeback but not on Saturday. That leaves them with on loan striker from HSV Ajrtoms Rudnevs as their only target man. Hannover are expected to play with a sole striker in Berlin. On the good news side their captain Lars Stindl returns from suspension, but they are still without long term injured trio Steven Cherundolo, Felipe and Christian Pander. Midfielder Leonardo Bittencourt is under no illusions as to the difficulty of the task ahead on Saturday. He said on Hertha this week: "They are tactically astute and are not where they are in the table for nothing. It will not be an easy game for us."
"Hannover have lost a little stability recently", knows Berlin boss Luhukay. The improved performance against Leverkusen however suggests that they may be back on track. Hertha keeper Thomas Kraft said ahead of the game: "They need points to avoid slipping into the relegation zone which is why I expect a very very tough game." He then added: "Of course our aim is maximum points, it is about time we did it at home."
Possible line-ups:
Hertha BSC: Kraft - van den Bergh, Kobiashvili, Langkamp, Pekarik - Hosogai, Skjelbred - Allagui, Ronny, Schulz - Ramos
Hannover 96: Zieler - Pocognoli, Hoffmann, Schulz, Sakai - Andreasen, Schmiedebach - Huszti, Bittencourt, Stindl - Rudnevs