Ralph Hasenhüttl's FC Ingolstadt 04 look to return to winning ways as they take on Hertha BSC at the Audi Sportpark on Saturday evening, in what proves to be an interesting clash (as well as the 878th match in Bundesliga history) between two sides with surprising starts to the season.
FC Ingolstadt 04 team news
The Austrian in charge of die Schanzer will be looking to quickly dispel the bad feelings surrounding his sides first domestic away defeat of the season, 1-0 at the hands of VfB Stuttgart last weekend, when the two lock horns at Saturday tea-time. In the defeat to die Schwaben, Matthew Leckie had the chance to give the away side an early lead although his penalty was tame and easy for Przemysław Tytoń; pathetic fallacy was at hand as the damp dank conditions at the Mercedes Benz Arena reflected the dour display die Schanzer endured. Ralph Hasenhüttl in that case will most likely be hoping for a sunny afternoon against the Berlin side.
In terms of squad news it's a case of some good news and bad for die Schanzer. For the good full back Danilo Soares, who shone during FC Ingolstadt 04's rise to prominence last campaign, looks in line to feature in his first matchday squad of the season after overcoming a toe injury that had kept him out since May; however Stefan Lex is the latest absentee for the Audi Sportpark side after picking up a ankle injury in the defeat in Stuttgart.
Captain Marvin Matip also faces a late fitness test, with Hasenhüttl commenting "This week Matip hasn't trained as much, I hope that's enough for Saturday!". The Cameroonian would be a huge miss for die Schanzer, after having been a stalwart for them in the opening months of the season.
With the continued absence of Roger in the heart of midfield, it's likely that one of Robert Bauer or Romain Bregerie will join the trio of Alfredo Morales and Pascal Groß in a midfield trio.
Predicted line-up - Özcan; Levels, Matip, Hübner, Suttner; Bauer, Groß, Morales; Leckie, Lex, Hinterseer.
Hertha BSC team news
Last weekend wasn't much better for die Alte Dame than their opponents on Saturday eve, as Pál Dárdai's side fell to a last minute Max Meyer strike in a 2-1 defeat at the Veltins Arena to André Breitenreiter's FC Schalke 04. In a bright note from the game in Gelsenkirchen, Salomon Kalou headed his fourth goal of the campaign, whilst Mitchell Weiser grabbed his third assist from right back; the former Bayern Munich and 1. FC Köln man has proven to be a smart acquisition by the Hungarian in charge of the capital club.
"We want to play football in Ingolstadt, we'll see whether that works. The fight will be important too!" said Pál Dárdai in his pre-match press conference in regards to the weekends game.
However, Hertha will be without joint top scorer Vedad Ibišević for the game at the Audi Sportpark; after the Bosnian received a red card in the game at the Veltins Arena. die Alte Dame will also be without the long injured quadruple of Peter Pekarík, Änis Ben-Hatira, Sami Allagui and Julian Schieber. Yet Dárdai is expected to make only two changes to his sides starting eleven, with Jens Hegeler and Alexander Baumjohann likely to enter the starting side.
As an interesting quirk, whenever FC Ingolstadt 04 and Hertha BSC have been in the same division die Alte Dame have gone on to win the title, although on both occasions that has been the 2. Bundesliga in 2010/11 and 2012/13. A repeat of that feat this season is highly unlikely, mind!
Predicted line-up - Jarstein; Weiser, Hegeler, Lustenberger, Plattenhardt; Skjelbred, Darida, Haraguchi, Cigerci; Baumjohann; Kalou.
Previous meetings
The two sides have never met on the Bundesliga stage before, however there has been four domestic clashes between the two in the 2. Bundesliga. die Alte Dame hold the slight advantage having won on one of the meetings (3:1 at the Olympiastadion in 2010) whilst the other three games have ended in draws.
Club links
There are a few notable links between the two clubs in recent seasons, that have been and will continue to be noted before Saturday evenings game.
The first is that of Alfredo Morales and his fellow compatriot John Anthony Brooks. Morales spent thirteen years in the German capital before making the switch to the heart of Bavaria in 2013, yet still remains a good friend with Brooks with whom he features for with the US national side.
The second link is the recently retired André Mijatovic who made a combined 106 appearances for both sides before bowing out in die Schanzer successful promotion campaign last season after an illustrious seventeen year career.