2. Bundesliga Topspiel preview: Dynamo Dresden vs. Hertha BSC | OneFootball

Dynamo Dresden will be looking to halt their difficult start to the season when they welcome table-topping Hertha BSC to the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion on Saturday evening.

The hosts head into the sixth matchday sitting 17th in the table with four points from their opening five games, while Hertha have made a perfect start to the campaign and are the only team in the division yet to drop a point. With the fixture also being the final league game before the international break, both sides have plenty to play for under the lights in Dresden.

Dresden have won just once so far this season, with their only three points coming in a 1-0 home victory over Darmstadt on matchday two. They subsequently suffered defeats to Heidenheim and Bochum before drawing 2-2 away to Eintracht Braunschweig last weekend.

Thomas Keller rescued a point for Thomas Stamm’s side in Braunschweig, heading home in the second half after Dynamo had fallen behind despite taking the lead after just three minutes. The result means Dresden have collected just one point from their last three league matches, although they have remained unbeaten in both of their home league fixtures this season.

Defensive improvement will be particularly important against a Hertha side that has already scored 15 goals in five league games. Dresden have conceded 12 times, the joint-highest total in the division, although they have allowed just two goals across their two home matches.

Stamm has acknowledged the quality of Saturday’s opponents while highlighting the importance of defending well:

“Hertha have a lot of quality, the team acts incredibly cohesively and with incredible intensity both against and with the ball. Their game looks homogeneous and compact. We have to know what is coming our way and play a very, very good defensive game.”

The Dresden head coach will also be hoping his side can make better use of their home advantage, with almost 30,000 supporters expected at the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion for the Saturday evening clash.

Hertha, meanwhile, have enjoyed an outstanding opening to the campaign. The Berliners have won all five of their league matches, scoring 15 goals and conceding six.

Their run began with a 1-0 victory away to VfL Bochum before they defeated Heidenheim 4-1 at home. Hertha then produced a five-goal away victory at Eintracht Braunschweig, beat Magdeburg 2-1 and followed that up with a 3-1 success at newly promoted Osnabrück last weekend.

Josip Brekalo has been particularly influential during the perfect start, with the Croatian already having six goal contributions in the opening five league matches. He opened the scoring against Osnabrück before goals from Kevin Sessa and Farid Alfa-Ruprecht wrapped up another fine victory on the road. 

Leitl is expecting a demanding encounter against a Dresden side that he believes will look to put Hertha under pressure from the outset:

“We expect a team that plays aggressive football, stands high and has aggressive pressing phases. There are certainly opportunities to get into spaces and hurt the opponent if we can play through the first pressing line. That is our goal, but we also don’t want to change ourselves. We want to stick to our game and bring the same intensity onto the pitch as in recent weeks.”

The Hertha coach also made it clear that his side will be targeting another victory before the international break:

“It is a top game in the second division at 20:30 that you can look forward to, and that we want to win.” 

Dresden will therefore face a Hertha side that has shown considerable resilience in the opening weeks of the campaign. The Berliners have already come from two goals behind to win this season and have twice successfully negotiated periods with 10 men. Their 15 goals after five games are also a club record for the opening five matchdays of a professional season. 

The recent head-to-head record also favours Hertha. The two teams met twice in the 2. Bundesliga last season, with Hertha winning 2-0 in Berlin before recording a 1-0 victory in Dresden in April. Overall, Hertha have won three of the five competitive meetings between the clubs, with Dresden winning once and the other encounter ending in a draw. 

Dresden’s last victory over Hertha came in March 2013, when an own goal from Pierre-Michel Lasogga secured a 1-0 home win. Since then, the sides have met three times, with Hertha winning each encounter.

Team news

Dynamo Dresden: Thomas Stamm will continue to be without long-term absentees Lars Bünning and Kenneth Schmidt. 

Hertha BSC: Paul Seguin and Boris Mamuzah Lum are both available again after serving their suspensions. Hertha have no injury absentees, while Leitl has confirmed that Oluwaseun Adewumi will start after his impressive recent substitute appearances.

Predicted lineups

Dynamo Dresden (4-3-3): Schreiber; Sterner, Keller, Müller, Rossipal; Wagner, Covic, Hauptmann; Okpala, Vermeij, Bobzien

Hertha BSC (4-2-3-1): Gersbeck; Eitschberger, Gechter, Kolbe, Pedersen; Seguin, Sessa; Thorsteinsson, Adewumi, Brekalo; Grønning.