Hertha are brimming with confidence following the away win over champions Borussia Dortmund and they are now hot favourites to beat struggling Augsburg. Jos Luhukay’s side enter the match on the back of the 4:1 home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen and they need to show a lot of improvement if they want to avoid a similar scenario.

Hertha back where they belong

One of the giants of German football returned to the top flight after spending just one season in the second division and they have already showed a lot of potential this term. Despite operating on a really tight budget, the club managed to sign some very good players in Ottl, Niemeyer, Kraft, Torun and Ben-Hatira, all of whom have played a big role in team’s impressive start to the season. After the slip up against Nurnberg in their opening game, Hertha went on to take eight points from next four games, with the 2:1 win over Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park definitely the highlight of their campaign. The hosts are now brimming with confidence before the match with arguably the weakest side in German top flight, so third successive victory looks on the cards. Coach Markus Babbel faces some selection problems, but he still has a pretty big squad to choose from.

Important attacker Adrian Ramos is out through injury, but Patrick Ebert and Levan Kobiashvili have been deemed fit to play.

No hope for Augsburg

Augsburg shocked the footballing world by gaining promotion to Bundesliga, but it looks as though they are unable to create another major surprise and survive the first season in the top flight. The club management did little to reinforce the squad over the summer, which could prove to be very costly come end of the season, so probably not even their own fans believe Augsburg can survive this season. After promising draws against Freiburg and Kaiserslautern at the start of the season, Augsburg recorded three straight defeats, scoring one and conceding seven goals in the process. The 4:1 home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen showed that the team are far away from German top sides and there are no doubts they now face an uphill task against high-flying Hertha. With numerous injuries adding to the problems, Jos Luhukay’s side look destined for another defeat.

Dawda Bah and Marcel Ndjeng are long-term worries, but Rafael returns to the side. Important midfielder Andrew Sinkala and back-up striker Stephan Hain have also picked up injuries and they are out of contention for this clash.

Verdict

Hertha are flying high at the moment and as long as they don’t underestimate Augsburg, the hosts will be in good stead to win this game. The visitors are largely struggling at the moment and are missing several important players, so home win looks on the cards.

Our prediction: Hertha with -1 Asian handicap

Odds: 2.00 (1/1)

Bookmaker: Bet365

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