18 August 2021, 16:47 | 28 August 2021, 15:29
German Bundesliga fixture, Hertha BSC vs. VfL Wolfsburg kicks off at 14:30 (GMT+1) on Saturday, August 21 at the Olympiastadion Berlin.
Preview Hertha BSC Bundesliga, Aug 21, 2021
Preview Hosts, Hertha Berlin picked up their first opening day loss in a decade when they succumbed to defeat against FC Köln on Match Day 1 at the RheinEnergieStadion. After a sapphire of absence from the club, Kevin-Prince Boateng was once again adorned in the colours of the Old Lady where he first made his senior debut back in 2005. - Scoring 4 goals in total after 42 appearances before departing for Tottenham Hotspur in 2007. However, his return couldn't have started any worse than the 3-1 defeat to the Billy Goats. Newly acquired center-forward, Stevan Jovetic (6') picked up the debut goal minutes into the game and established an early lead for the visitors before Anthony Modeste (41') chalked off the Berlin advantage. Minutes after the break, Florian Kainz (52') handed FC Köln the lead before doubling the advantage after returning for the brace three minutes later in the 55th minute. The disappointing defeat saw coach Pál Dárdai and his side leave with nothing. On Saturday, he would aim for at least a point when Hertha Berlin welcome Wolfsburg to their turf. Known to be attacking-minded, a 4—3—3 formation with the preferred center-forward of choice, Matheus Cunha serving as the focal point of his attack is expected. Ex-Milan forward, Krzysztof Piatek will be unavailable for the home side due to an ankle injury while Davie Selke remains doubtful.
Preview VfL Wolfsburg Bundesliga, Aug 21, 2021
Preview VfL Wolfsburg got their Bundesliga campaign off with a 1-0 win against the newly-promoted side, VfL Bochum 1848 in front of thousands of home fans at the Volkswagen Arena. Wolfsburg picked up the numerical advantage minutes after kick-off as Robert Tesche (4' R.) was given the marching orders in the opening minutes following a disguised hand-ball on the goal line. But the VAR spotted the mischief and called the attention of the referee who wasted no time in pulling out the red. After missing three of his previous five penalty kicks, Wout Weghorst was denied once more. However, he redeemed himself with a goal from open play (22') minutes later to get Mark Van Bommel off to a fine start as coach of VfL Wolfsburg. Brazilian left-back, Paulo Otavio is sidelined with an ankle injury while a plague of knee injuries will see William and Bartosz Bialek face a lengthy spell on the sidelines. An attacking 4—2—3—1 formation is expected from Mark Van Bommel in his second game in charge of Wolfsburg. - One which could see the midfield trio consisting of Steffen, Maximilian Philipp and Ridle Baku supporting Wout Weghorst upfront.