Match Preview: Dortmund Close out the Bundesliga Season Against Hertha Berlin

After nine grueling months of ups and downs, highs and lows, and everything in between, the Bundesliga season is finally coming to an end. Tomorrow’s match between Borussia Dortmund and Hertha Berlin will bring to a close what has been an undeniably disappointing run in the Bundesliga for both clubs: BVB, who would have wished to compete for the title, and Hertha Berlin, who are either going to just barely avoid relegation, or slip into the playoff spot.

For Dortmund, who are locked into second place in the Bundesliga, tomorrow’s game is a mere formality. For Hertha, it is anything but. If they lose, then there’s every chance that VFB Stuttgart will leapfrog them, and that Hertha would have to win a relegation playoff to remain in the league next season. Expect them to come out swinging tomorrow.

The most notable aspects of tomorrow’s match for BVB have nothing to do with what will happen on the pitch. According to Ruhr Nachrichten, longtime Dortmund players Marcel Schmelzer and Roman Burki will be given their final runout in front of the Yellow Wall. It will also be the final match in black and yellow for Erling Haaland, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Reinier, Manuel Akanji (presumably), and possibly several other players including but not limited to Raphael Guerreiro, Julian Brandt, and Thorgan Hazard.

On the lighter side of things, it will also be a chance to see BVB’s new kit.

Lineup Prediction

Borussia Dortmund will end this season as they spent the majority of it: riddled by injuries. Mahmoud Dahoud, Thomas Meunier, Gregor Kobel, Mats Hummels, and Mateu Morey are still injured, although a few of them have at least returned to training. I suspect the squad will look pretty similar to what we saw last week, although Rose may rotate a few youngsters in:

Score Prediction

Hertha will come out playing like their lives depend on it, and BVB have looked pretty listless in the last few weeks. I predict a 2-1 loss, one final kick in the teeth at the end of this crappy season.