Hertha Berlin vs Hamburger SV Match Analysis and Prediction

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Hertha Berlin and Hamburger SV will have an encounter at the Olympiastadion Berlin for the first leg of their Bundesliga relegation playoff on Thursday.

The hosts ended theregular campaign in 16th position, while Hamburger SV claimed third spot in the second tier to keep themselves in with a chance of promotion.

Heading into stoppage time at the Westfalenstadion on Saturday, Hertha Berlin were on course to secure top-flight football for another season even though their were losing 2-1 to Borussia Dortmund.

As Stuttgart were only drawing 1-1 at home to FC Koln, it meant they were heading for the relegation playoff, but a dramatic 92nd-minute winner from Wataru Endo helped the hosts secure all three points and leapfrog Hertha to safety.

Hertha’s stay in the Bundesliga for nine years is now at risk of coming to an end, as they will be competing in the relegation playoff for the first time since 2011-12, a season in which they successfully earned promotion to the top flight.

Thursday’s contest will be a special occasion for manager Felix Magath, who made over 300 appearances as a player for Hamburg, before managing the club between 1995 and 1997.

Die Alte Dame will be confident of victory at home as they have won each of their last five meetings with Hamburg at the Olympiastadion Berlin, scoring at least twice on four of those occasions.

After three successive fourth-place finishes in the 2. Bundesliga, Hamburg finally managed to secure a top-three spot this season through an impressive run of form at the end of the regular season.

They won each of their last five league matches by an aggregate score of 16-5 to ensure they finished third on goal difference ahead of SV Darmstadt 98. They won 3-2 away at Hansa Rostok on the final day last weekend.

Hertha Berlin vs Hamburger SV head to head

The two teams have previously met on 71 occasions in all competitions, where Hertha have claimed 30 victories while Hamburg have won 29, and they have drawn in 12. Hamburg have scored 106 goals and conceded 102. In their last five meetings, Hamburg have won twice while Hertha have three.

Hertha Berlin 2-0 Hamburg 01/10/16

Hamburg 1-0 Hertha Berlin 05/03/17

Hertha Berlin 2-1 Hamburg 28/10/17

Hamburg 1-2 Hertha Berlin 17/03/18

Hamburg 2-0 Hertha Berlin 05/09/20

Hertha Berlin latest home form

Hertha have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having won just two of their 10 most recent matches. They were beaten 2-1 by Mainz in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded 10.

Hertha Berlin 1-4 Eintracht Frankfurt 05/03/22

Hertha Berlin 3-0 Hoffenheim 19/03/22

Hertha Berlin 1-4 Union Berlin 09/04/22

Hertha Berlin 2-0 Stuttgart 24/04/22

Hertha Berlin 1-2 Mainz 07/05/22

Hertha Berlin latest away form

Hertha have recently been on a poor run of form on the road, having won just one of their five most recent matches. They were defeated 2-1 by Borussia Dortmund in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored four goals and conceded seven.

Borussia M’gladbach 2-0 Hertha Berlin 12/03/22

Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Hertha Berlin 02/04/22

Augsburg 0-1 Hertha Berlin 16/04/22

Arminia Bielefeld 1-1 Hertha Berlin 30/04/22

Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Hertha Berlin 14/05/22

Hamburger SV latest home form

Hamburg have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just two of their five most recent matches. They managed to defeat Hannover 96 2-1 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 11 goals and conceded six.

Hamburg 1-2 Paderborn 02/04/22

Hamburg 4-0 Erzgebirge Aue 05/04/22

Hamburg 3-0 Karlsruhe 16/04/22

Hamburg 1-3 Freiburg 19/04/22

Hamburg 2-1 Hannover 96 07/05/22

Hamburger SV latest away form

Hamburg have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having won each of their three most recent matches. Their last away defeat came 1-0 against Holstein Kiel on April 10 in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 15 goals and conceded 10.

Viborg 5-4 Hamburg 24/03/22

Holstein Kiel 1-0 Hamburg 10/04/22

Jahn Regensburg 2-4 Hamburg 23/04/22

Ingolstadt 0-4 Hamburg 30/04/22

Hansa Rostock 2-3 Hamburg 15/05/22

Hertha Berlin news

Hertha Berlin has confirmed that up to nine first-team players could be sidelined through injury heading into Thursday’s game.

Marcel Lotka is doubtful after the goalkeeper suffered a mild concussion and a nasal bone fracture against Dortmund, while first-choice stopper Alexander Schwolow is also doubtful having trained individually this week.

Hamburger SV news

Hamburg’s midfielder Anssi Suhonen and defender Tim Leibol are both ruled out with respective broken ankle and ACL injuries.

Tim Walter is unlikely to make too many changes to his starting lineup, with a back four of Mario Vuskovic, Sebastian Schonlau, Moritz Heyer and Miro Muheim set to remain intact.

Prediction and Odds

The two teams head into Thursday’s fixture in contrasting form but the momentum is certainly with Hamburg, who will be confident of breaching Hertha’s leaky backline.

The hosts will be hit hard with the absence of nine first-team players, which may lead them to give away all the three points.

Odds: 1 2.82 X 2.15 2 1.88