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

Hertha Berlin will be looking to bounce back from their derby day disappointment when they play host to Augsburg at the Olympiastadion on Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the visitors head to the capital full of confidence on the back of their astonishing win over league leaders Bayern Munich last Friday evening.

Match preview

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The return from the international break was a miserable one for Hertha and its supporters last weekend, with a poor performance across the capital resulting in a 2-0 defeat to rivals Union Berlin.

The only positive that manager Pal Dardai could take from the derby loss was the fact that the scoreline remained at just a two-goal deficit, with both goals arriving inside the opening half an hour and their rivals being the only side to threaten in the final third throughout.

As a result of the defeat, as well as the Old Lady picking up just one point from the last nine available overall, they have slipped to 14th in the table in recent weeks, with just three points separating them and Stuttgart in the relegation playoff place.

Consistency continues to be the main issue this season, as it has been in recent years too, as Hertha struggle to solidify a comfortable top-half finish despite years of relatively significant investment in the playing squad.

However, Dardai will view Saturday's opponents as the ideal challenge to kickstart a strong run of form, with the fellow relegation candidates the first of a favourable run of fixtures in the coming weeks, which sees Hertha face off against Stuttgart, Arminia Bielefeld and Mainz 05 following the hosting of Augsburg on Saturday.

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As for the visitors, their extraordinary win over champions Bayern last Friday has lifted them off the relegation playoff spot and into 15th heading into matchday 13.

Mads Pedersen and Andre Hahn netted in the first half to give Fuggerstadter a shock 2-0 lead, and despite Robert Lewandowski halving the deficit just three minutes later, Markus Weinzierl's side hung on for the remaining hour after surviving a barrage of pressure from the Bavarians.

The most unlikely of wins has followed a brighter spell in recent weeks, after a narrow 1-0 defeat at Champions League side Wolfsburg prior to the international break had followed Augsburg's 4-1 hammering of Stuttgart at the WWK Arena a week earlier.

That win over fellow Bundesliga strugglers was vital in providing them with a much-needed boost in confidence, after only one win and five goals had been registered in the first nine matchdays.

Now heading into Saturday, Weinzierl and Augsburg will be hoping for another positive result to lift them further away from trouble, although this will have to arrive against a Hertha side that they have beaten only once in their past 13 meetings, which also includes three successive defeats.

Team News

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Hertha remain without their captain Dedryck Boyata on Saturday, with the central defender serving the third and final match of his suspension following his straight red card against Hoffenheim four weeks ago.

Marton Dardai will continue to deputise in the back line, whilst Stevan Jovetic could return to the forward line following a three-week injury absence.

Lukas Klunter and Vladimir Darida join Boyata on the sidelines to leave Dardai with a near fully-fit squad to choose from.

Meanwhile, Augsburg would have been hoping to name an unchanged side from the one that downed the champions last week, but an injury to Reece Oxford means Weinzierl is forced into making at least one.

Oxford joins Felix Uduokhai, Tobias Strobl and Tim Civeja on the list of definite absentees, whilst Noah Sarenren Bazee, Ruben Vargas, Florian Niederlechner and Alfred Finnbogason are listed as doubtful.

The latter two have proven to be big misses for the visitors, with their absences for large parts of the season so far being significant in their struggles in front of goal.

Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:
Schwolow; Pekarik, Stark, M Dardai, Plattenhardt; Ascacibar, Tousart; Richter, Serdar, Mittelstadt; Jovetic

Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Gikiewicz; Framberger, Gumny, Gouweleeuw, Iago; Caligiuri, Maier, Dorsch, Pedersen; Zeqiri, Hahn

We say: Hertha Berlin 2-1 Augsburg

Despite the differing forms of the two sides, we are predicting the side with a poor run of form in recent weeks to come out victorious here - Hertha.

Augsburg are yet to win on their travels this season and have managed just two goals on the road, so with Hertha playing host on Saturday, as well as their strong recent record over their opponents, we can see them recording a vital victory in front of their own supporters.

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