Big things were expected of Hertha Berlin this season after some major recruitment in recent transfer windows. However, the club from the German capital head into Saturday afternoon’s home game against Bundesliga new boys Stuttgart on the back of a poor start to their league campaign.
A 4-3 defeat at reigning champions Bayern Munich in their last league outing means that Bruno Labbadia’s team have lost two of their three Bundesliga games so far this season.
In fact, going back to last season, Hertha have suffered defeat in six of their last eight matches in German top-flight.
The home team may not have got great results of late, but their games at least tend to be high-scoring, with over 2.5 goals scored in all three of their league matches so far this season.
Hertha have a poor recent record on home soil in the Bundesliga, as they have won just three of their previous 11 Bundesliga matches at the Olympiastadion.
Stuttgart have made a mixed start on their return to the Bundesliga, winning one, drawing one and losing one of their three league games so far. Last time out, Pellegrino Matarazzo’s team drew 1-1 against Bayer Leverkusen.
Young Austrian striker Sasa Kalajdzic has made a promising start to the season, scoring three goals in as many Bundesliga appearances. The 23-year-old may fancy his chances of adding to his goal tally against a leaky Hertha defence.
Stuttgart had a disappointing away record in their previous spell in the German top-flight in season 2019/20. However, the visitors have won their only away game of the season 4-1 at Mainz. More results like that will certainly be welcome.
Forebet predicts that Stuttgart will enjoy more away success by recording a victory in a high-scoring encounter. A defeat would just add to Hertha’s underwhelming league campaign so far.