Preview: Hertha Berlin vs. VfL Bochum - prediction, team news, lineups

Two sides struggling for Bundesliga form will meet on Friday evening, as VfL Bochum travel to the capital to face Hertha Berlin at the Olympiastadion.

The hosts are currently sat 13th in the table, two points and two places behind the visitors, but the sides have managed just one league win between them so far in 2022.

Match preview

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That win did not come from Hertha, who have managed just one point since the turn of the year, which came from a goalless draw at struggling Wolfsburg sandwiched between two heavy losses.

The most recent of those was a 4-1 defeat at the hands of league leaders Bayern Munich, with Corentin Tolisso, Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry all getting on the scoresheet before Jurgen Ekkelenkamp at least found a consolation for the hosts.

Die Alte Dame's painful start to 2022 also saw them knocked out of the DFB-Pokal by city rivals Union Berlin at the round-of-16 stage.

You have to go back to mid-December for their last win, where an underdog victory at home to Borussia Dortmund surprisingly did not inspire any sort of momentum and has, in fact, seemingly brought about a decline.

New manager Tayfun Korkut is already starting to come under pressure, but can perhaps draw some inspiration from his side's form in this fixture, Hertha having beaten their upcoming opponents 3-1 earlier this season and won four of the last six meetings.

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Bochum's recent form is also not much better than that of their hosts, with the western club having won just one of their last six Bundesliga matches.

Nonetheless, this campaign has been a solid return to life in Germany's top flight, with 24 points from their opening 20 games seeing them occupy 11th spot; a position they have clung onto despite picking up a single point in their last two games.

A 2-2 draw at home to eighth-placed FC Koln was not a bad result, with Thomas Reis's side giving up a lead earned through Gerrit Holtmann's 25th-minute goal, but then finding a second-half equaliser after having fallen behind on the stroke of half time.

Whilst they can be satisfied with their performance overall to this point in the 2021-22 season, their stuttering form and just a five-point gap to the relegation playoff spot mean they must be wary of slipping down a compact bottom half of the table.

Team News

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Having managed 21 second-half minutes in Hertha's loss to Bayern, forward Stevan Jovetic is expected to be fit to make his first start of the calendar year, lining up alongside Ishak Belfodil in a front two.

New signing Marc-Oliver Kempf is expected to be involved from the off after making the switch from Bundesliga rivals Stuttgart towards the end of the transfer window.

Marton Dardai will most likely be the man to make way at the heart of a defence that has shipped the second most goals this campaign.

Bochum's new signing Jurgen Locadia marked his first start for the club with an assist against Koln and should keep his place in a three-man attack.

Midfielder Anthony Losilla is unavailable, with Robert Tesche the man set to benefit and make what would be only his fourth start of the season.

Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:
Schwolow; Pekarik, Stark, Kempf, Mittelstadt; Richter, Tousart, Ascacibar, Serdar; Belfodil, Jovetic

VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:
Riemann; Stafylidis, Bella-Kotchap, Leitsch, Soares; Lowen, Tesche, Rexhbecaj; Pantovic, Locadia, Holtmann

We say: Hertha Berlin 2-2 VfL Bochum

Both sides are in mixed form, making this a tricky fixture to call. Hertha have the home advantage, but Bochum have fared slightly better since the start of the year, so we can see the two cancelling each other out in an entertaining game.

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