Bundesliga: East Meets West in the Berlin Derby

Hertha BSC vs Union Berlin

History will be made in Berlin on Friday night when Hertha hosts its first-ever East-West derby in top-flight football.

Bundesliga: Hertha Berlin vs Union Berlin is all the more anticipated as in Union’s first season in the Bundesliga 1^st Division, these two teams sit in 11^th and 12^th in the Bundesliga table – with Hertha a single point ahead.

There is a heady mix of football, history, and politics in this match in a city which was once deeply divided.

Following the Second World War and the emergence of Soviet control of Eastern Europe, the grand old City of Berlin was physically divided. Hertha landed on the West side of the wall and Union, which founded in 1966, was in the East.

Shortly after the euphoria of the wall coming down, we saw the first match between Union and Hertha in 28 years. On a celebratory night, over 50,000 fans packed into the Olympiastadion where Hertha and Union fans standing side by side.

On Friday, the stadium will be deserted except for the two squads and a couple of hundred support and medical staff.

However, there’s plenty at stake not least in terms of local bragging rights, and the latest SBOBET odds point to a tight game.

Talking Points

Hertha begin life without Klinsmann

Former Germany national team boss Jurgen Klinsmann had been in charge of Hertha Berlin for just over two months when he stunned the football world by walking out in February.

“I took over a suicide mission! From my understanding, a coach should have full sporting responsibility, just like the English model, and thus over all transfers. The last few weeks cost too much energy spent with side issues. I want to put all my energy into working with the squad,” said Klinsmann in a rather dramatic statement.

And with that, Klinsmann was off and he was unable to work with new signing Krzysztof Piatek who arrived from AC Milan in a record deal costing around 27-M Euros. The Polish striker came from Serie A with a big reputation but has started modestly with one goal from seven appearances.

Before the break, Hertha was on a winless streak of three games, which included a 0-5 home thumping at the hands of Cologne. And last week, an opening fixture away to Hoffenheim held some fears with their hosts in the hunt for a Europa League place.

But a 3-0 win through the goals from Vedad Ibisevic and Matheus Cunha and an own goal made a happy return for Hertha.

Former Wolfsburg boss Bruno Labbadia has stepped into coaching role and his first aim will be to improve on Hertha’s 11^th place finish last season.

Seb is Union’s top man

A home fixture against FC Bayern and in an empty stadium was an unforgiving return for Union Berlin, but they held out until a 40^th minute penalty converted by Robert Lewandowski.

A late second courtesy of France international Benjamin Pavard made it a comfortable afternoon for the reigning champions. Head coach Urs Fischer had been cautious in his team selection leaving top scorer Sebastian Andersson on the bench until the 75^th minute.

The 6-foot-3 Swede has already bagged 11 league goals and can be a real menace to defences, so Fischer maybe took the call to save him for the big derby.

Die Eisermen also have the younger brother of Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos, Felix, in their ranks. The midfielder has been a mainstay at Union Berlin since his arrival from Werder Bremen in 2016.

History

In the first-ever Bundesliga derby between East and West Berlin back in November, a 90^th minute penalty converted by Sebastian Polter gave Union a win to spark wild celebrations.

Play was temporarily halted as flares were thrown onto the pitch, leading to ten minutes of injury time before the Union fans could celebrate again.

The head-to-head Hertha Berlin vs Union Berlin results have a nice symmetry to them. The two teams have met six times since 2009, sharing two seasons in the 2^nd Bundesliga, and have won two games each with two draws.

While this is Union Berlin’s first season in he top flight, Hertha have been regular members, though you have to look back to 1930 and 1931 to find the club’s two league triumphs.

Betting Tip

	Hertha Berlin vs Union Berlin	Over +2.50 @ 2.02
	May 23, 02:30 (GMT+8)

So here we go!

The pre-match Hertha Berlin vs Union Berlin betting odds for this East-West conflict point to a hard-fought game, giving the hosts the edge in their empty stadium. Hertha are at 2.24 to win with Union at 3.07 and the draw is 3.07 too.

I expect Andersson to start for Union and we could see an end-to-end game, with plenty of goals between two well-matched sides.

Time to bring it on!