In Bundesliga action this weekend, Hertha Berlin will host Mainz at the Olympiastadion on Friday evening.
Hertha are enjoying a good run at the moment in their race for survival. They were held to a 1-1 draw by fellow relegation battlers Arminia Bielefeld last time out. They will be gutted not to have picked up all three points, as they conceded a late equaliser. Hertha are 15th in the league table with 33 points from 32 games. They will confirm their top-flight safety with a win this weekend.
Mainz, meanwhile, returned to winning ways in style last weekend after a torrid month. They beat league winners Bayern Munich 3-1 at the Opel Arena on Saturday and perhaps deserved to have won by a bigger margin, as they dominated the champions.
Mainz sit mid-table in ninth place with 42 points from 32 games. They can no longer secure European football but will look to end the season on a high.
Hertha Berlin vs Mainz Head-to-Head
There have been 27 meetings between Hertha and Mainz. The hosts have won eight of those games, while Mainz have won nine. There have been ten draws between the two teams. The two sides last faced off in a league clash in December last year, which Mainz won 4-0.
Hertha Berlin Form Guide (all competitions): D-W-W-L-L.
Mainz Form Guide (all competitions): W-L-D-L-L.
Hertha Berlin vs Mainz Team News
Hertha Berlin
The hosts are set to be without the services of Alexander Schwolow, Rune Jarstein, Stefan Jovetic and Dong-jun Lee on Saturday, as the quartet are injured. Myziane Maolida and Lukas Klunter, meanwhile, are doubtful.
Injured: Alexander Schwolow, Rune Jarstein, Stefan Jovetic, Dong-jun Lee.
Doubtful: Myziane Maolida, Lukas Klunter.
Suspended: None.
Unavailable: None.
Mainz
Jae-Sung Lee and Delano Burgzorg are both set to miss the weekend game, with the former out with a knee injury and Burgzorg due to a heart condition. Paul Nebel, meanwhile, has an ankle injury and might not play.
Injured: Jae-sung Lee.
Doubtful: Paul Nebel.
Unavailable: Delano Burgzorg.
Suspended: None.
Hertha Berlin vs Mainz Predicted XIs
Hertha Berlin (4-2-3-1): Marcel Lotka; Peter Pekarik, Dedryck Boyata, Marc-Oliver Kempf, Marvin Plattenhardt; Lucas Tousart, Santiago Ascacibar; Vladimir Darida, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Suat Serdar; Davie Selke.
Mainz (3-5-2): Robin Zentner; Stefan Bell, Alexander Hack, Moussa Niakhate; Silvan Widmer, Dominik Kohr, Anton Stach, Leandro Barreiro, Aaron Martin Caricol; Karim Onisiwo, Jonathan Burkardt.
Hertha Berlin vs Mainz Prediction
Hertha are on a three-game unbeaten streak, their best run of form since November last year. They will look to continue their good run as they target safety this weekend.
Mainz's latest result, meanwhile, ended their five-game winless streak, marking their first win in over a month. They have an atrocious record away from home this season, though, and could lose this weekend.
Prediction: Hertha Berlin 2-1 Mainz.