Having won just once in their last five Bundesliga outings, Borussia Dortmund are under a lot of pressure to get back to winning ways. As things stand, Jurgen Klopp’s men are level on points with fourth placed Borussia Monchengladbach and cannot afford to further the gap between themselves and league leaders Bayer Munich.
After going two goals down in Hoffenheim last week, BVB staged a comeback and ended the game with a point to show for their efforts. BVB had to deal with a feisty Hoffenheim side last week. However, last year’s Champions League finalists were not clinical either and wasted chance after chance.
It was indeed very frustrating to see great moves result in nothing. Indeed, out of the best teams in Europe, Dortmund waste the most chances and now, this bad habit is catching up to them and showing its ugly face.
The likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marco Rues, usually very good at finishing, missed a few excellent chances which more or less sums up the state of affairs at the club. And after not getting three points against the worst defence in the Bundesliga, it will be a tough task for Klopp’s team to get a good result against Hertha Berlin who are definitely no pushovers.
The newly promoted side is seventh in the league standings and in Jos Luhukay, have a coach whose teams are always tactically disciplined with every player aware of his responsibilities.
However, BVB fans should be looking towards this particular fixture with a lot of expectations. After a tired last few weeks, the team has had enough rest and would be thirsty to play good football. Though Sebastian Kehl and Jakub Blaszczykowski are major doubts, the return of Sokratis Papastathopoulos is much needed. Moreover, Ilkay Gundogan has resumed training again which bodes well for the team. The German might not play today but his return should help the team get its season back on track.
In recent games, BVB have proven to be prone to conceding from set plays. Hertha Berlin have scored six of their 21 goals this season from dead-ball situations apart from penalties which means that Luhukay’s men might be Dortmund’s undoing this week if these little problems are not take care of by Klopp.
Reus’ form has been very inconsistent of late. However, the young German might have more focus in front of goal after getting a whole week of rest. After losing to every side in the top five of the Bundesliga, it is time for BVB to stand up and be counted for. Any further slip ups might not be tolerated for a side that usually thrives when the goings get tough.
Moreover, with Bayern Munich away in Morocco to play Raja Casablanca in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup, onus is surely on BVB as much as its on Bayer Leverkusen to get all three points against Hertha in a bid to reduce Munich’s lead at the top of the table, albeit for the time being.
