Hertha Berlin vs Darmstadt 98 Betting Tips and Predictions

Hertha Berlin come into this match with the joint worst form (D1 L4) in the Bundesliga after last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat away to Bayer Leverkusen. It was never going to be an easy fixture as “third place hosted fourth”, especially as Bayer Leverkusen are, contrastingly, the most in-form side in the Bundesliga. The tougher reality for Hertha Berlin to face is that this defeat was fourth in five Bundesliga matches and consequently Hertha have now dropped down to fifth place, despite occupying third place with a decent cushion of points above the rest of the pack for large chunk of the season. Bayer Leverkusen secured themselves third place and now Borussia M’gladbach have leapfrogged Berlin for the fourth, and last, Champions League qualification spot only by goal difference. Settling for fifth place and the UEFA Europa League after an otherwise unbelievable season would be bittersweet for Hertha.

Darmstadt 98 had gone a club-record six games unbeaten in the Bundesliga (W2 D4) before their back-to-back defeats against FC Koln and Eintracht Frankfurt. Darmstadt have fallen right into the thick of the relegation fight, having avoided the relegation zone for their entire season in the top flight so far. Now they stand only two points above above both Werder Bremen and the relegation play off spot and, more importantly, above VfB Stuttgart and the final automatic relegation place. With only six points left to play for, and a fixture against fourth place Borussia M’gladbach on the closing day of the season, Darmstadt will hope to take a win away against out-of-form Hertha Berlin and strengthen their position for another season in the top flight.

Despite Hertha Berlin’s poor form, they remain favourites for this match due to their strong home record this season. Hertha have only lost one match at home in their last eleven Bundesliga matches (W6 D4 L1) and even that was against league leaders Bayern Munich. Champions League football is still Berlin’s aim, though Darmstadt 98 will be sure to make them fight for it. Darmstadt 98, surprisingly, have the 4th best away record in the Bundesliga this season (behind Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen) and have scored at least one goal in each of their last seven games. Hertha Berlin have seemed nervous all over the pitch in recent weeks and most notably their defence, which was praised to be one of the most consistent in the Bundesliga earlier this season, seems to have suffered the most under pressure. However, excluding last time out against Bayern Munich, Hertha Berlin have scored exactly two goals in each of their last four home matches. Combining the goal-scoring form of both sides with the statistics below, we expect both teams to score in this match and Hertha Berlin to win 2-1 at 15/2 also seeming a likely outcome.

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