Hertha Berlin vs Zeiss Jena II W
BERLIN (Interstat) — Hertha Berlin hosts Zeiss Jena II W on Sunday, May 31, in a Regionalliga fixture with contrasting momentum, as the home side’s 10-match unbeaten run meets a visitor that has found explosive scoring form away from home.
Hertha Berlin (9-3-1 in its last 12 league matches) has not lost since a 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich on Feb. 7, a span of more than three months. The run includes a 4-0 win over Hansa Rostock on March 15 and a 5-0 victory against Hohen Neuendorf on March 22. In its most recent outing, Hertha defeated SV Eintracht Leipzig-Sud 2-1 on April 26, improving to 5-0-1 in its last six decisions. The team has posted five shutouts in that stretch and has scored at least two goals in four of those matches.
Zeiss Jena II W enters on the strength of a 3-0 win over 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam on May 17, its second three-goal performance in the last three matches. The visiting side is 4-3-3 in its last 10 league games, including a 3-3 draw at Magdeburg on May 10 and a 2-1 loss at 1. FFV Erfurt on April 26. Zeiss Jena has scored three goals in four of those 10 contests, averaging 2.3 goals per game in that span.
The teams met Nov. 30, with Hertha Berlin winning 1-0 at home. That result is part of a pattern: Hertha has won three of the last four meetings, with the lone exception a 4-2 loss to Zeiss Jena II W on March 8.
On paper, Hertha Berlin’s defensive discipline — six goals allowed in its last 10 league matches — collides with a Zeiss Jena attack that has scored 21 times in that same span. Hertha’s schedule also featured friendlies against Bundesliga competition, holding Borussia Dortmund and Hoffenheim to draws while beating FC Cologne 2-2.
Zeiss Jena sits seventh in the Regionalliga standings, while Hertha Berlin has climbed to third. The home side has not lost in league play since dropping a 3-0 decision to Bayern on Feb. 7, a stretch of nine matches.
Interstat’s game simulator projects a 2-1 victory for the visiting Zeiss Jena II W, a result that would snap Hertha’s lengthy unbeaten run. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. local time at Stadion An der Alten Försterei.