Aiming for first win of 2017 against Ingolstadt

Berlin – This Saturday’s visitors to the Olympiastadion currently find themselves in the relegation places, something they’ve had to get used to this campaign. For the “Schanzer”, their upcoming run of games will not see them given them any rest bite, as apart from Gladbach, their next six matches are against team in the top half of the table. For this encounter, Ingolstadt coach Maik Walpurgis wants to concentrate on his own side rather than the strengths of his opponents: “We only want to look at ourselves and play our game like we’ve done recently to collect points with hard work.”

Below, herthabsc.de takes a look at this weekend’s opponents, summarising what awaits the Blue-Whites.

The current situation: The appointment of Maik Walpurgis in November 2016 sparked a change in fortunes for Ingolstadt. They won their first game against Darmstadt and have since added three more, including an impressive 1-0 win against the then unbeaten RB Leipzig. Ahead of the game in the capital, Ingolstadt are just one point away from being in safe 15th place, which Werder Bremen currently hold. “It will obviously be a brutally close race, as many clubs that are steeped in tradition are in the relegation battle,” said Walpurgis. To survive, the team from Bavaria are counting on one thing above all else: “We always give the team our confidence. I think that gives the players further assurance,” explained sporting director Thomas Linke.

Players between the lines: Ingolstadt player Alfredo Morales was born in Berlin and wore the Blue-White shirt for 13 years. From 2000 to 2009 he was part of the youth set-up and in 2011 he signed his professional contract. After two and a half years with the Hertha first team, he was signed by Ingolstadt in the summer of 2013. Together with John Anthony Brooks, he plays for the USA national team and is a Hertha fan through and through. “I’ve supported Hertha since I was a kid. This club made me what I am today, I learnt so much there,” said Morales. Andreas "Zecke" Neuendorf also played for these two sides, as did André Mitajovic and Marco Sejna.

Ingolstadt under the microscope: Markus Suttner is currently having a good season. He has contested 18 games this campaign, scoring three goals (all free kicks) and picking up three assists - not a bad return for a left-back! Despite not getting and goals or assists last season, he’s currently contributed to the most Ingolstadt goals this campaign. “We want to score points regularly and I want to keep assisting and scoring when I can,” commented the Austrian.

Head-to-head: Ingolstadt have never scored a point against Hertha in the Bundesliga – the capital club have ran out winners in all three games that the two teams have contested. Additionally, in the four second-division matches between the two clubs, Ingolstadt have never won against the Blue-Whites (three draws, one loss). In the first half of this season, Vedad Ibisevic and Julian Schieber got the goals as Hertha triumphed 2-0.

Thoughts on the Blue-Whites: “Schanzer” coach Walpurgis held back when talking about his team’s upcoming opponents, but he knows that “Hertha BSC will definitely want to win against us to achieve their minimum goal at the start of the year.” Meanwhile, sporting director Thomas Linke looked back on the Bundesliga ties that they’ve lost against Hertha: “He lost the games because of individual errors, not because Hertha overran us.”