Hertha Berlin vs. Fortuna Düsseldorf: 2. Bundesliga preview, team news & predicted lineups | OneFootball

This week’s 2. Bundesliga Topspiel will see two big clubs lock horns at the iconic stadium, Olympiastadion. Hertha Berlin and Fortuna Düsseldorf lost half of their combined games before the big clash on matchday ten.

Hertha Berlin

Hertha Berlin went into the international break with back-to-back wins, but their return didn’t go according to plan. Francis Onyeka inspired Bochum to a 3-2 win over the club from the capital city. Stefan Leitl’s side recorded more defeats (4) than wins (3) in the first nine matchdays.

Their next challenge will be against the team they failed to beat in the last five head-to-head meetings. The last time Hertha won against Düsseldorf was back in 2019, when both teams were competing in the Bundesliga.

This will be the first of three home games for Hertha in a space of a week. On Tuesday, SV Elversberg will be their guests for the second time this season. 2. Bundesliga’s in-form side will hope to repeat their 2-0 away win in the DFB-Pokal tie.

Team News

The list of injured players is a long one for Hertha Berlin, but Michaël Cuisance could return to the side for Saturday’s game. The former Bayern Munich midfielder missed last weekend’s defeat due to a bruise. Julian Eitschberger and Diego Demme are also candidates for a starting role.

Fortuna Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf will also be at home in the second round of the cup as they host SC Freiburg. Before hosting the Europa League participants, Markus Anfang would hope to register his first point/s in 2. Bundesliga.

The 51-year-old started his reign last week when Düsseldorf’s dismal home form continued with a 2-1 defeat to relegation-threatened Eintracht Braunschweig. Daniel Thioune’s replacement came very close to securing Holstein Kiel’s first Bundesliga promotion back in 2018.

Düsseldorf picked up six points from matches against Hertha Berlin last time out, but the squad has undergone significant changes over the summer. On a positive note for the visitors, they won each of their previous three away matches in the division.

Team News

Sotiris Alexandropoulos joined Düsseldorf’s injured list after the game against Eintracht Braunschweig. Christian Rasmussen will most likely regain his place following his excellent second-half performance in the narrow home defeat.

Predicted Lineups:

Hertha: Ernst; Gechter, Leistner, Dardai, Karbownik; Eichhorn, Seguin; Winkler, Cuisance, Reese ©; Grönning

Düsseldorf: Kastenmeier ©; Daland, Oberdorf, Schmidt; Breithaupt, El Azzouzi; Zimmermann, Rasmussen, Muslija, Iyoha; Celar