Hertha Berlin breathed new life into their survival mission by winning their relegation six-pointer with VfB Stuttgart. Former VfB man Marc-Oliver Kempf's opener was cancelled out by Serhou Guirassy, but Florian Niederlecher restored the Old Lady's lead late in an action-packed first half. Stuttgart passed up a number of chances to level as bottom side Hertha held on for a win that moves them to within three points of the two teams above them - Bochum and Stuttgart - with three games to go.

Christensen - Kenny, Uremovic, Kempf, Plattenhardt (c) - Tousart, Dardai - Lukebakio, Niederlechner, Richter - Jovetic

Ernst, Rogel, Mittelstädt, Serdar, Boetius, Boateng, Maza, Ngankam, Ejuke

Bredlow - Anton, Zagadou, Ito - Vagnoman, Endo (c), Haraguchi, Sosa - Tomas, Guirassy, Millot

Müller, Stenzel, Bazzoli, Coulibaly, Führich, Egloff, Nartey, Perea, Silas

Defeat on MD30 was Hertha's fourth loss on the spin and they have now gone eight games (D2, L6) without a win since beating Augsburg on MD22. They need to start winning, and fast.

As mentioned further down, Stuttgart are performing well under Hoeneß and are four unbeaten (W2, D2). They've scored nine goals in that time, too, and are proving to be up for the fight as an intense relegation battle goes right to the wire.

Christensen - Kenny, Rogel, Uremovic, Plattenhardt (c) - Lukebakio, Tousart, Serdar, Boetius - Ngankam, Niederlechner

Jarstein (not considered), Nsona (knee), Sunjic (not considered)

Bredlow - Anton, Zagadou, Ito - Vagnoman, Endo (c), Nartey, Sosa - Silas, Millot - Guirassy

Karazor (suspended), Mavropanos (shin)

Hertha have won more penalties (seven) than any other team in the division and as many as top-two Bayern Munich (four) and Borussia Dortmund (three) combined. Better yet, the Berlin outfit have successfully converted all seven of those spot-kicks.

Marc-Oliver Kempf moved from Swabia to Hertha in January 2022 after scoring seven goals in 67 top-flight appearances for Stuttgart.

Recently returning Hertha boss Pal Dardai has won all three previous home games against VfB as a top-flight coach.

Stuttgart are undefeated under Sebastian Hoeneß (W2, D2) - who spent a decade as a player at Hertha without making a first team appearance - and have now gone four league games without a loss for the first time this season.

Stuttgart beat Hertha 2-1 earlier this campaign thanks to Konstantinos Mavropanos's 98th-minute winner - the latest goal in the league this term.

VfB goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow was born in Berlin and eventually made his Bundesliga debut in August 2018, in his home city, against the Old Lady. The capital is actually responsible for producing the most current Bundesliga players (18), followed by Stuttgart (11).

Saturday's meeting is a massive one for both teams, with Hertha bottom going into Matchday 31, a whole six points off their visitors who are one point clear of the bottom-three - albeit only on goal-difference. Hertha cannot be relegated this weekend, but if they lose to Stuttgart, and Bochum and Hoffenheim win, they would only be able to finish as high as 15th.

Here you can find all the information about Hertha Berlin against VfB Stuttgart on matchday 31.