Two sides enduring contrasting spells of form in the Bundesliga will lock horns at the Deutsche Bank Park on Saturday afternoon as Eintracht Frankfurt play host to Hertha Berlin.
Adi Hutter's men returned to winning ways with a 5-1 rout of Arminia Bielefeld last time out, whereas Hertha were no match for fellow strugglers Werder Bremen in gameweek 18.
Match preview
© Reuters
With regular starter Andre Silva in prolific form and Luka Jovic consistently managing to find the back of the net off the bench, it is no surprise that Frankfurt are firmly in the mix for Champions League qualification.
Hutter's side could not get the better of Freiburg on January 20, but they quickly rectified those midweek mistakes with a 5-1 thrashing of Arminia last Saturday, with Silva (2) and Jovic both netting, while Filip Kostic and an own goal from Joakim Nilsson completed the rout.
Die Adler have now taken 13 points from a possible 15 since the turn of the year and have now leapfrogged an out-of-sorts Borussia Dortmund in the table - with only two points separating sixth-placed Frankfurt from the top four heading into February.
Furthermore, Frankfurt are one of only three teams yet to lose a home fixture in the 2020-21 Bundesliga season - the other two being Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg - although five of their eight outings on familiar territory have ended with the spoils shared.
Failure to convert draws into wins has been Die Adler's downfall so far, but should Borussia Monchengladbach suffer a shock defeat at Union Berlin, Frankfurt would break into the top four - and potentially rise as high as third - with a win before Wolfsburg play Freiburg a day later.
© Reuters
After overseeing a run of three defeats from his last four matches in charge - with eight goals shipped and only one scored - Bruno Labbadia's ill-fated stint in the Hertha dugout came to an end last weekend, and the club moved swiftly to promote Pal Dardai back to the role of first-team manager.
The 44-year-old returns for his second spell in the dugout as Hertha lie just two points above the bottom three, with Saturday's 4-1 trouncing at the hands of Werder Bremen ultimately causing the Old Lady to pull the trigger on Labbadia's time at the helm.
Dardai previously had the reins between 2015 and 2019 - at which points Hertha were consistently challenging for spots in European competition - but the former Hungary international will simply be tasked with steering his team away from the danger zone as the fight to avoid relegation hots up.
Incredibly, Hertha are the sole team in the Bundesliga who have failed to win any of their last four matches - with a 3-0 triumph over Schalke on January 2 representing their only win in their last eight attempts.
Furthermore, Dardai's side are on a five-game winless streak away from home, and Frankfurt eased to a 3-1 victory on Hertha's turf when the sides met earlier in the campaign.
Eintracht Frankfurt Bundesliga form: WWWWDW
Eintracht Frankfurt form (all competitions): WWLWDW
Hertha Berlin Bundesliga form: LWLDLL
Team News
© Reuters
Frankfurt attacker Ragnar Ache has now returned to training following a lengthy layoff, meaning that the in-form hosts are fully-stocked for the visit of Hertha.
Aymen Barkok returns from a suspension for this one, but Amin Younes and Daichi Kamada will not want to relinquish their places in the final third.
The big question now is whether Hutter will opt to start Silva and Jovic from the off, but given the impact that the latter can have as a substitute, 14-goal Silva is expected to spearhead the hosts' attack again.
On the other hand, Dardai does have a few concerns to contend with this weekend, as Dedryck Boyata and Javairo Dilrosun expected to remain out due to foot and knee injuries respectively.
Marvin Plattenhardt has returned to the training pitches but his involvement in this game is uncertain, while Dardai's son Marton Dardai is also close to overcoming a muscular problem.
Dardai often elected to deploy a 4-2-3-1 system during his first spell in charge, and if the Hertha manager opts to go for his favoured formation this weekend, Dodi Lukebakio could return out wide after he missed out entirely against Werder Bremen.
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Tuta, Hinteregger, N'Dicka; Toure, Sow, Hasebe, Kostic; Younes, Kamada; Silva
Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:
Schwolow; Pekarik, Stark, Torunarigha, Mittelstadt; Tousart, Guendouzi; Lukebakio, Darida, Cunha; Cordoba
We say: Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 Hertha Berlin
The Hertha faithful will be praying for an immediate new manager bounce this weekend, and Dardai is a man who knows what it takes to succeed in the dugout. However, the 44-year-old is set for a baptism of fire against a Frankfurt outfit who are scoring for fun at the moment, so we cannot see the visitors getting anything out of this one.
