Our prediction for this Bundesliga match:
Hertha Berlin play host to Schalke 04 at their Olympiastadion in what is expected to be an exciting Bundesliga game. The capital club are eyeing their only second win of the season, but it seems as if they will not have a better chance than this to get back on course. All Jessic Ngankam, Filip Uremovic, Jean-Paul Boetius, and Kelian Nsona remain on the sidelines with injuries.
Die Knappen, on the other hand, are on a four-game losing run in the national championship, and given their shaky defence, we believe that home win should be considered. In their last encounter in the German capital Hertha outplayed Schalke 3-0, and we predict that the history is going to repeat itself. All Leo Greiml, Cedric Brunner, Rodrigo Zalazar, Sepp van den Berg, Ibrahima Cisse, and Marcin Kaminski remain on the sidelines with injuries for the away team.
Highlighted Player (Vladimir Darida):
Born in Sokolov on 8 August 1990, Vladimir Darida is yet another Czech Republic footballer who has made a name for himself in German Bundesliga, although not before leaving his mark on the domestic competition. The highly rated midfielder, who can successfully cover a number of positions in the middle of the park, enjoyed several successful years at Viktoria Plzen, making no fewer than 28 appearances in European competitions, before deciding to leave for SC Freiburg.
Darida performed so well in his first two Bundesliga campaign that he was purchased by Hertha Berlin when his previous employers got relegated to the second division, and he in turn helped the Olympiastadion outfit enjoy a thoroughly impressive campaign.
Darida was a surprise inclusion to the Czech Republic squad for the Euro 2012 finals, but there were no surprises when he played a key role to help Repre qualify for the Euro 2016 tournament. He impressed playing in a more advanced role in the absence of Tomas Rosicky, and he has already earned more than 30 caps for the national team.
Highlighted Team (Schalke):
Schalke 04 are a professional football club founded in 1904. Die Knappen (The Miners) compete in German Bundesliga and they have won seven domestic titles. Schalke have clinched five German Cup trophies as well, while lifting the UEFA Cup title in 1997. The German club defeated Italian side Inter on penalties in the title game and that was the last time the final of the competition was played in a two-legged format.
Schalke 04 play their home matches at Veltins-Arena, the stadium that has been the home of the team since 2001. The capacity of Veltins-Arena is 62,271. It is well known that Borussia Dortmund are Schalke’s main rivals and the Ruhy neighbours face each other in the Revierderby.
The likes of Klaus Fichtel (477), Norbert Nigbur (355), Rolf Russmann (304), Klaus Fischer (295), Olaf Thon (295) and Herbert Lutkebohmert (286) are the players with most appearances for die Knappen. The colour of Schalke’s home kit is blue.