Bundesliga Matchday 24's top game sees third-placed Borussia Dortmund travel away to fifth-placed Hertha BSC on Saturday afternoon (15:30 CET). While the two teams have experienced contrasting fortunes of late, the capital club boast a strong home record and will be looking to extend their impressive run at the Olympiastadion.

Coach Pal Dardai's charges occupied third position over the winter break but have won only one of their last four matches – beating Eintracht Frankfurt a fortnight ago. However, the capital club boast a strong home record of late, having emerged victorious in three of their last four appearances in front of their own fans. The only fixture they did not win – a 1-1 stalemate with Bayern Munich – ended in controversy with the Bavarians equalising through Lewandowski after the five allotted minutes of stoppage time had elapsed. The Berlin-based outfit last lost at the Olympiastadion on 10 December 2016 (Matchday 14), when Werder Bremen ran out 1-0 winners. In total they have won nine times at home this term and have more points on home turf than any other team in the division!

One of the keys to Hertha's success has been their ruthlessness in front of goal despite generally creating few chances. In fact, they boast the best conversion rate in the Bundesliga with over 70 percent of clear chances converted. Five goals have come from Plattenhardt free-kicks alone.

Borussia Dortmund will be heading to Berlin on the back of four consecutive victories in all competitions, during which time they have scored 16 and conceded just two. Thomas Tuchel's team have a solid recent away record, too, losing only one of their last six games on the road. On top of that, BVB are unbeaten in their last six competitive matches against Hertha, with three wins and three draws in that time. Including the 2016 DFB Cup semi-final, Borussia have lost on only one of their last seven visits to the Olympiastadion (1-0 in December 2014), and have emerged victorious on four of them.

The first goal is likely to play a significant role in this fixture: Hertha have not lost any of the last 12 matches in which they have broken the deadlock, while Borussia have always ended up on the losing side after conceding first in the Olympiastadion. On the other hand, the Black and Yellows have picked up points on six occasions this season after falling behind, while the capital club have lost each of the last six matches in which their opponents opened the scoring. (br)