There are FIVE minutes to be added on at the Olympiastadion. And if Dortmund can't find a goal, they'll finish the first half of the season nine points off leaders Bayern.

Both teams resume for the second half as they started tonight.

Hertha will claim they've had the better chances and maybe should've been ahead if not for a tight offside call, but it's actually Dortmund who hold the advantage after Brandt's lovely finish. It's only the second time BVB have been ahead at half-time away from home in the league this season - the previous occasion was their 3-1 win at Bielefeld on Matchday 9. Still finely poised ahead of the second 45 minutes.

Things were quite hectic to start with - at both ends of the pitch - but it's settled down a bit now with Hertha happy to let Dortmund have the ball up to the halfway line.

The teams have made their way down the escalator from their changing rooms at the Olympiastadion and are about to emerge into the Berlin rain.

This is just a third competitive outing of the season for back-up goalkeeper Marwin Hitz, but it bodes well for Dortmund. The 34-year-old has been on the winning side in his two previous appearances, Bielefeld on Matchday 9 and in the second round of the DFB Cup against Ingolstadt.

This match represents Emre Can's 50th Bundesliga appearance for Dortmund. He's also made a further four in Germany's top flight for Bayern, and 29 for Leverkusen.

There are six new faces in the Hertha starting line-up in the wake of their 4-0 humbling in Mainz. Pekarik, Ekkelenkamp, Maolida, Mittelstädt, Richter and Torunarigha have all been given the nod in place of Plattenhardt, Tousart, Zeefuik (all among the substitutes), Boyata Jovetic and Serdar (all out injured).

Head coach Marco Rose has made a whopping five changes to his side following the 3-0 win over Greuther Fürth. Hitz, Dahoud, Can, Malen and Pongracic all come in for Hazard, Zagadou (both on the bench), Kobel, Hummels (both ill) and Bellingham (suspended).

Schwolow – Pekarik, Stark (c), Torunarigha, Mittelstädt – Ascacibar, Darida – Richter, Maolida, Ekkelenkamp – Belfodil

Christensen, Selke, Piatek, Plattenhardt, Tousart, Jastrzembski, Dardai, Zeefuik, Gechter

Hitz – Meunier, Can, Pongracic, Schulz – Brandt, Witsel, Dahoud – Reus (c) – Malen, Haaland

Drljaca, Zagadou, Hazard, Guerreiro, Reinier, Tigges, Passlack, Knauff, Wolf

The Dortmund talisman has been scoring for fun this season - on home turf at least. He's only featured in four Bundesliga away games so far owing to injury, but has fired blanks in three of them. He did get two goals and an assist as Marco Rose's men won 4-3 in Leverkusen though. That was back in early September, so he's long overdue another one on the road.

Korkut has faced BVB four times as head coach, thrice with Hannover and once with Stuttgart. He has ended up on the losing side on three of those occasions, but did mastermind a 1-0 away win for Hannover in Dortmund in October 2014.

Dortmund will be forced into two changes, with Mats Hummels and goalkeeper Gregor Kobel not making the trip to Berlin due to illness. They are likely to be replaced by Emre Can and Marwin Hitz respectively.

History is firmly on Dortmund's side in this fixture, the Black-and-Yellows winning 32 of the 68 league encounters over the years, including each of the last five. There have been 18 draws, and 18 Hertha triumphs.

Hertha have struggled for consistency this season, and have had mixed results in the three matches under new head coach Tayfun Korkut too. They started out with a 2-2 draw in Stuttgart, earning a point after going 2-0 down, and followed it up with a 2-0 win over Bielefeld last weekend. However, a one-sided 4-0 reverse in Mainz on Tuesday stemmed any momentum. Home form this term has been patchy too (W3 D2 L2), but they are unbeaten in their last four outings at the Olympiastadion.

BVB have won three of their last five Bundesliga matches, most recently overcoming Greuther Fürth 3-0 on Wednesday. They drew 1-1 in Bochum in their last away game, with the 3-2 Klassiker defeat by Bayern before then. Dortmund have a respectable, rather than spectacular, record on the road this season, winning three, losing three and drawing one of their seven games so far, scoring 13 and conceding 11.

We round off today's fixtures with a cracker in the capital as second-placed Dortmund look to close the gap on leaders Bayern Munich, who pulled nine points clear in the standings with their 4-0 triumph over Wolfsburg yesterday. For Hertha, survival is at stake. Currently 15th in the table, they are just one point above Stuttgart in the relegation play-off spot, while 17th-placed Bielefeld are just a couple of points worse off in 17th.

Here you can find all the information about Hertha Berlin against Dortmund on Matchday 17.