Hertha have come from behind to win at Schalke and move five points clear of Cologne in 17th. The two meet each other in Berlin on Saturday for the penultimate matchday.

Five minutes of it to be played...

The Berliners are sitting back now as they look to get these three points over the line. They're letting Schalke have the ball, but they can't find any way through.

Lukebakio slides in on Kolasinac and picks up a yellow card for the foul. The two captains then get involved in a little tussle and are also shown cards by referee Markus Schmidt. It means Kolasinac will miss the game here against Frankfurt on Saturday through suspension.

Both teams return for the second half unchanged.

For the seventh time in the last eight games, Hertha go into half-time not trailing. On a six-match unbeaten run, this point would lift them up to 14th - three points clear of Cologne, who they face on Saturday, in the last automatic relegation place. They'd only be one point ahead of Bremen in 15th and Bielefeld in 16th.

Two minutes of it at the end of the first half.

Schalke are out on the pitch at the Veltins-Arena and just waiting for Hertha to emerge from the tunnel.

Schalke’s game at Hoffenheim at the weekend was their first since having relegation confirmed. They now face their first home game since the inevitable became reality. It’s the club’s fourth relegation from the Bundesliga and the first since 1988. The Royal Blues are yet to pick up a single point in the Bundesliga when they have been confirmed as relegated. The final matchday of 1980/81 and 1987/88 saw home losses to Cologne and Bremen respectively, while last weekend produced a 4-2 loss at Hoffenheim. Schalke now have three games to put that record right.

Hertha will believe this game at relegated and bottom-of-the-table Schalke is a chance to end their poor away run 11 games without a win. However, they have struggled in recent years in Gelsenkirchen, losing 11 of their last 12 visits and failing to score in 10 of those. The only time they’ve left the VeltinsArena with something in that period was on matchday 2 of 2018/19 when they claimed a 2-0 win under Pal Dardai.

This is the last of Hertha's three rescheduled fixtures, so after this game, all 18 teams will have played 32 times and the table will be neat going into the final two matchdays. Schalke are already down with nothing to play for, but the Berliners are still fighting for survival and can ensure safety over the next four days against Schalke and Cologne. If they win both games, they will be in the Bundesliga again next season. Four points would also mean Hertha cannot be automatically relegated regardless of results elsewhere. If Bielefeld or Bremen also lose on matchday 33, those four points will guarantee safety for the Old Lady with a game to spare.

Both of Schalke’s wins this season have come at home (vs. Hoffenheim and Augsburg), but they are still bottom of the table for home fixtures on only nine points. Cologne are the team directly above on 11, so the Royal Blues could move off the foot of that table with a win tonight. The Gelsenkirchen club have scored just nine goals across their 15 home games this season. Never before have they managed fewer than 16 at home in the Bundesliga, while their points total has never been fewer than 15.

As he did for the last game, Pal Dardai makes eight changes to his team from Sunday’s goalless draw at home to Bielefeld, making it 25 changes over the last three games as the Berliners look to make up for the matches they missed. Only goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow and Krzysztof Piatek have featured in all three, while Lucas Tousart is the only other survivor from Sunday.

Dimitrios Grammozis makes three changes from Saturday’s 4-2 defeat at Hoffenheim. Mark Uth serves a one-match ban for five yellow cards, so American striker Matthew Hoppe partners Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for his first start since 20 March. Salif Sane returns from his own suspension to make his first start of 2021, while Blendi Idrizi is handed his senior debut and becomes the 40th different player used by the Royal Blues in the Bundesliga this season, extending the historic record they’ve set this term.

Körber, Stark, Torunarigha, Zeefuik, Ascacibar, Löwen, Michelbrink, Lukebakio, Ngankam

Schwolow – Pekarik, Boyata (c), Alderete, Plattenhardt - Darida, Tousart – Leckie, Dilrosun, Radonjic - Piatek

Rönnow, Ludewig, Raman, Paciencia, Ezeh, Skrzybski, Schöpf, Pavlidis

Fährmann - Becker, Mustafi, Sane - Idrizi, Flick, Kolasinac (c), Oczipka - Harit - Huntelaar, Hoppe

Here you will find the most important information on the game between FC Schalke 04 and Hertha Berlin on Matchday 31 of the 2020/21 Bundesliga season.