Bundesliga Playoffs: Hertha vs. Hamburger SV Preview, Odds, Prediction

Hertha Berlin and Hamburg meet in the Bundesliga relegation/promotio playoffs. The hosts in this one, Hertha, finished third from the bottom in the top tier of German football, while on the other side, Hamburg ended third in Zweite. This is not only a clash of two teams that fight for the place in the most prominent domestic competition, but also, the battle of two big megalopolises in Germany. We need to say that this is only the opening leg, with the rematch taking place in Hamburg.

Preview

Hertha Berlin (+115) suffered a shock in the last moments of the ultimate Bundesliga round, once they lost to Dortmund, while on the other side, Stuttgart won at home, scoring some 30 seconds before the final whistle. Up until that point, the Old Lady from Berlin had everything in its hands, even a lead at the halftime at Signal Iduna Park.

Still, a harsh twist of fate changed all that in no time, and Hertha’s players experienced one of the worst feelings of their lives. They were literarily crushed after the event once hearing the result from Stuttgart.

For the last three games, this unit has been without a win, posting one draw and back-to-back losses. What is interesting is that all those three events were with both teams scoring, while on the other hand, Hertha managed to hit the back of the net in the previous seven contests.

Hamburg (+225) is one of the biggest teams in Germany. For those who didn’t know, they were the European champions and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. Besides that, their fanbase is among the biggest in the country.

HSV was desperate to bounce back to the Bundesliga immediately, but they didn’t manage to do that right away. This is a nice chance for them to use Hertha’s low morale and make a big step on their way to the top of German football.

They have four wins in a row, in each of them scoring at least two goals. Overall, watching their games is pure pleasure because of their a high-efficiency. Only one in the past ten was without three or more goals and seven were with both teams netting.

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The hosts have several players out – Gechter, Jarstein, Klunter, Lee Dong-Jung, Nsona and Schwolow. The biggest problem for the Old Lady is the status of their top striker David Selke who is questionable.

On the other side, only Leibold is out.

Head to Head Games

These two sides met 82 times now, and the record is almost even – Hertha has 35 wins, HSV 34 with 13 draws. The previous clash was a friendly one in 2020, when Hamburg won 2-0.

Prediction

These two sides play efficient football, and that is something which is apparent just by looking at their results. Hertha is demoralized, and we are sure that they aren’t in a position to be disciplined now. Still, they have the power to score at least one goal. On the other end, HSV flies high on morale after good performances, and they will come to Berlin to attack. That is why our pick here is over 2.5 goals.

Pick: Over 2.5 goals -110