Borussia Dortmund v Hertha Berlin: Bundesliga – live!

Dortmund have a large absentee list, with Mahmoud Dahoud, Marco Reus, Nico Schulz and Dan-Axel Zagadou and Erling Haaland injured and Mats Hummels suspended, plus Mario Götze is on paternity leave.

Those teams in analogue

Borussia Dortmund (4-3-3): Burki; Hakimi, Piszczek, Akanji, Guerreiro; Delaney, Can, Witsel; Sancho, Hazard, Brandt

Hertha Berlin (4-2-3-1): Jarstein; Pekarik, Boyata, Torunarigha, Mittelstadt; Skjelbred, Grujic; Lukebakio, Darida, Dilrosun; Ibisevic

Today’s Bundesliga action …

• Bayer Leverkusen 2-4 Bayern Munich
• Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Mainz
• Fortuna Dusseldorf 2-2 Hoffenheim
• RB Leipzig 1-1 Paderborn

There was a glimmer of hope offered to Dortmund when Bayer Leverkusen took an lead against Bayern, and with piped-in crowd noise to boot, only for normal service to be resumed. Being best of the rest is not nearly good enough for BvB, who have spent serious money on their team and have a wealth of talent that is the envy of the continent’s elite. All they can do is try and keep the pressure on. Lucien Favre is hoping for a miracle slip from Bayern that looks unlikely to come and there are gathering doubts about his future. The complaint that he is not the type of manager who is suited to Dortmund, where memories are still relatively fresh of Jürgen Klopp.

Erling Haaland has been an injury doubt but his teammates were in the goals last week without him when winning 6-1 at Paderborn. Only Bayern have kept them out since Das Reboot of the Bundesliga began last month.

Ninth-placed Hertha have done well since the restart, having been unbeaten in four, a sequence that includes a last-gasp draw with RB Leipzig and a 4-0 derby defeat of Union Berlin, and should present quite a test.

Kick-off is at 5.30 pm, UK time. Join me.