Borussia Dortmund’s chances of claiming the Bundesliga title look to be over now, but they will still want to put some pressure on league-leading Bayern Munich when they welcome Hertha Berlin to Signal Iduna Park on Saturday. The Black and Yellows bounced back from their recent 1-0 defeat to Bayern by trashing FC Paderborn at the weekend, and they will want to build on that result. Read on to see where the betting value can be found in this game!
Borussia Dortmund Analysis
Lucien Favre’s Dortmund side responded to their recent crucial defeat at the hands of Bayern in the best way possible – by winning 6-1 away at Paderborn last weekend. English winger Jadon Sancho was the star of that particular show, scoring his first Bundesliga hat-trick. The Englishman is 10/3 with Paddy Power to score the first goal in Saturday’s game. He has hit 17 goals in the Bundesliga this season, putting him in third place in the scoring charts behind Robert Lewandowski and Timo Werner. Even without Erling Haaland, who could miss Saturday’s game, Dortmund are a powerful attacking outfit.
Bruno Labbadia’s Hertha side are in good form at the moment, and this trip to Dortmund should hold few fears for them. The Berlin outfit are unbeaten in their last six games in the Bundesliga, and they have won three from their last four. They also kept clean sheets in each of those victories, highlighting their defensive strength. They will need that defensive strength on Saturday, as Dortmund have scored 12 goals in the four matches since the league resumed action. But in their four games under the management of Labbadia Hertha have taken 10 points, so they will feel confident.
Dortmund are the favourites with the bookies for this clash, and it’s easy to see why, given their league position. But the second-placed team in the Bundesliga need to be careful against Hertha. The break in action in the Bundesliga seems to have suited the team from the German capital, who look a lot more organised than they were before the enforced break. Now in European contention, Labbadia’s team is just four points behind sixth-placed VfL Wolfsburg, and they could yet qualify for Europe.
Hertha's three victories since the league resumed have come against Hoffenheim, Union Berlin and Augsburg. They scored nine goals in those three games. In their other match since the restart, they drew 2-2 with a strong RB Leipzig side. This trip to Dortmund is not something that Hertha need to feel too anxious about, given that form. Indeed, given Dortmund's recent wobble against Bayern, it may well be the home side who are viewing this game with more trepidation.
These teams tend to draw
Three out of the last four games between these sides have ended in draws, so it would not be too surprising to see things end up all-square again on Saturday. Paddy Power are offering odds of 5/1 on the match ending in a draw with both teams scoring, something that we suspect might well happen on Saturday. This game also tends to see plenty of goals scored. In the last eight clashes between the sides, there has been only one clean sheet. That came in August 2017, when Dortmund won 2-0 at home.
At least two goals have been scored in the last eight games between the sides too, so anyone winning this game to nil looks very unlikely. Home advantage does not seem to play as much of a role in shaping results when the games are played behind closed doors. Dortmund therefore need to be very wary of Hertha. Labbadia’s team might well pull off a bit of shock on Saturday, and massively boost their chances of playing European football next season.
The five most recent results
Borussia Dortmund vs. Hertha Berlin
30 Nov 2019
Dortmund away, 1-2
16 Mar 2019
Dortmund away, 2-3
27 Oct 2018
Dortmund home, 2-2
19 Jan 2018
Dortmund away, 1-1
26 Aug 2017
Dortmund home, 2-0
Our betting tip for today
We suspect that Dortmund will not find this game easy at all. We also suspect that the bookies odds on a Dortmund victory are a little short. Our prediction for the game is that it will finish in a 1-1 draw. The odds on that prices outcome at Paddy Power are pretty tempting too, with the bookie pricing that selection at 10/1. While that looks a long shot, we think that it looks a likely result. The home side are in for a real test on Saturday, and we also think that this could be one of those tight games that offers up plenty of incident and excitement.
