Dortmund vs Hertha Berlin prediction: GERMANY: Bundesliga betting tips on match 2023-02-18 16:30.
Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzić praised the quality of his side after a memorable 1-0 victory in their first competitive clash with Chelsea extended their competitive winning streak since the World Cup to seven games, including five straight in the Bundesliga – their longest to start a calendar year since 2012. Terzić’s men entered this round just three points in arrears of league leaders and bitter rivals Bayern Munich, yet the permutations will be much clearer for Dortmund come kick-off.
They demonstrated the wealth of talent at their disposal by making four changes to their starting XI against Chelsea, and further rotations could be on the cards when looking to stretch their undefeated period at home to Hertha Berlin to a decade (W7, D2). With a near-perfect record as home favourites (W7, L1) this Bundesliga season, all three points are expected to stay at Signal Iduna Park.
It was a 21st birthday extravaganza for Hertha’s Márton Dárdai in the previous round, as his 52nd-minute thunderbolt sent the Berliners not only on their way to their first win of 2023, but most importantly out of the bottom-two in the standings. The relegation play-off place still isn’t an ideal position to begin the round, so collecting their first set of back-to-back Bundesliga wins since April 2022 would be ideal in aiding their survival push.
Working on improving slow starts will be crucial for Hertha’s 2023/24 league status as they have conceded the opening goal in all of their league games since the turn of the year, picking up just three of 15 available points consequently. Playing away is unlikely to yield improvement on that front, with the Old Lady conceding the opener in seven of their nine road league games this term (W1, D1, L7).
Players to watch: Dortmund’s Julian Brandt comes into this fresh off the back of scoring against his hometown club in the last Bundesliga round, bringing his 2023 domestic goal contributions to four in six games (G2, A2). As for Hertha, top-scorer Dodi Lukébakio made his presence felt from the bench last round, but that was his first scoring appearance in six games to end in victory.
Hot stat: Dortmund collected more clean sheets at home (five) than any club in the first 20 rounds of this Bundesliga season.