Having managed to stave off the threat of relegation, Hertha Berlin prepare to travel to mid-table Hoffenheim for a dead rubber on the final day of the Bundesliga season.
The hosts are guaranteed to end the season in 11th no matter what happens on Saturday, while Hertha will aim to finish one place below their opponents as they push for 12th spot.
Match preview
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There will be no second stab at the Europa League for Hoffenheim in the 2021-22 campaign, and Sebastian Hoeness will certainly have one eye on a summer rebuild as he attempts to steer his side back into continental competition once again.
A spate of injuries throughout the season have hardly helped Hoffenheim's cause, and with five points separating them from 10th-placed Freiburg and four from 12th-placed Augsburg, Hoeness's side will have to be content with 11th place for the 2020-21 season.
Hoffenheim got off to the perfect start against Arminia Bielefeld last time out as Andrej Kramaric struck his 19th league goal of the season with five minutes on the clock, but the relegation-threatened hosts levelled through Andreas Voglsammer's free kick as the tie ended with the spoils shared.
That stalemate extended Hoffenheim's unbeaten run in the Bundesliga to six matches - with four of those games ending in draws - and Hoeness will hope to avoid a momentum-killing defeat before some of his stars jet off to the Euros this summer.
The Hoffenheim faithful can afford to feel optimistic about their side's chances of a positive final-day result, as they have scored seven goals in their last two home games - victories over Borussia Monchengladbach and Schalke 04 - but with nothing on the line in this tie, there is no need for either side to risk the fitness of their most trusted and prized assets.
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With the threat of relegation now staved off, a weight has been lifted off of Hertha's shoulders before they make the journey to Hoffenheim, and the visitors have an unbeaten streak of their own to maintain before the curtain closes on a strange season.
Like their weekend opponents, Hertha Berlin's medical staff have also had to deal with a seemingly never-ending wave of injuries, but a point in a goalless stalemate with struggling Koln last time out was enough to secure their place in the Bundesliga for next season.
Fans have been singing the praises of Pal Dardai since his reappointment in January, and despite a slow start to life back in the dugout, the Hertha coach has navigated his last eight league games unbeaten as Die Alte Dame aim to end a turbulent season with a flourish.
The visitors should be in no danger of dropping down to 15th and could potentially finish the campaign as high as 12th should other results go their way, and while their most recent away match saw them get the better of basement side Schalke, they failed to win any of their last 11 on the road before that.
Hoffenheim eased to a 3-0 success over Hertha when the sides locked horns back in January, and Dardai's men have only secured one win in their last 10 against their upcoming hosts, although that was a 3-0 victory as recently as May 2020.
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Team News
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Hoffenheim's absentee list remains in the double figures as the likes of Oliver Baumann, Havard Nordtveit, Christoph Baumgartner, Dennis Geiger and Ermin Bicakcic remain in a full-capacity treatment room.
Kevin Akpoguma was a casualty of the draw with Arminia and now looks set to miss the final game of the season with that muscular problem, while Munas Dabbur remains unavailable for family reasons and Mijat Gacinovic's five yellow cards rules him out of contention.
Kevin Vogt is the obvious choice to replace Akpoguma, but with nothing but pride to play for here, Hoeness may be tempted to hand chances to up-and-coming talents such as Melayro Bogarde, Marco John and Georginio Rutter.
Hertha will be forced into an alteration in defence following Jordan Torunarigha's fifth booking of the season last time out, with Marvin Plattenhardt expected to earn a recall to the left-hand side of the rearguard.
Arsenal loanee Matteo Guendouzi will miss the rest of the season with a broken ankle, and he is joined in a busy treatment room by Krzysztof Piatek, Jhon Cordoba, Matheus Cunha, Rune Jarstein and Maximilian Mittelstadt.
Dodi Lukebakio and Vladimir Darida return after serving bans, and Dardai has confirmed that World Cup-winning midfielder Sami Khedira will start in the final game of his career before he retires at the end of the season.
Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Pentke; Kaderabek, Posch, Vogt, Sessegnon; Samassekou, Grillitsch; Skov, Kramaric, John; Rutter
Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:
Schwolow; Klunter, Boyata, Stark, Plattenhardt; Khedira, Ascacibar; Lukebakio, Michelbrink, Dilrosun; Ngankam
We say: Hoffenheim 1-1 Hertha Berlin
With both teams having very little to fight for and desperate to avoid adding to their alarmingly long injury lists before the summer months, this has all the makings of a low-key affair.
The much-admired Khedira would dearly love to sign off an illustrious career with all three points for his side, but we think that this battle has a 1-1 draw written all over it.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Hoffenheim win with a probability of 49.14%. A win for Hertha Berlin had a probability of 26.94% and a draw had a probability of 23.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Hoffenheim win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.55%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.35%) and 2-0 (7.96%). The likeliest Hertha Berlin win was 1-2 (6.73%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.21%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 2-1 win for Hoffenheim in this match.
