Bayern Munich vs Hertha Berlin 23/02/19

23 February 2019

The Bundesliga title contenders prepare for a must-win clash with the Europa League promotion battlers as Bayern Munich welcome Hertha Berlin to the Allianz Arena.

A strong run of form that has seen the hosts collecting eight wins in their last nine Bundesliga outings (W8, L1) rocketed the reigning holders only three points adrift of the league leaders Borussia Dortmund. The Bavarians have racked up a four-game BL home winning run, scoring 11 goals while conceding just two in the process. Furthermore, Robert Lewandowski and his fellow teammates have bagged 3+ match goals in seven of their last nine BL fixtures, showing the intention to retain the league crown. Considering the Bundesliga enters its decisive phase, the Reds couldn’t have asked for a more suitable rival. Not only they are unbeaten in their previous 18 H2H meetings with Hertha in Munich, but Bayern have achieved 15 wins in that period. A potential problem for Niko Kovac, however, could be the fact that his players featured an exhausting Champions League clash with Liverpool only a few days ago.

On the other hand, Hertha’s drop-off in form around the Christmas break has seen them sliding down to the ninth spot. Just two wins in their last eight Bundesliga fixtures (W2, D3, L3) currently place Die Alte Dame three points below the Europa League promotion zone. Often struggling for consistency, the visitors have been winning and losing in sequences. Pal Dardai’s men have gone from two successive BL road defeats to back-to-back triumphs, with all four of those meetings producing over 2.5 goals. The fact his team failed to preserve a clean slate in five of their last seven BL road trips gives Dardai a sizeable headache, but it’s even worse for him to know that they’ve conceded 2+ match goals four times during that period.