Hertha Berlin vs. Union Berlin Betting Preview – Bundesliga, May 22

The first-ever top-flight Berlin derby at the Olympiastadion takes place on Friday. The atmosphere will not be as expected at the start of the season, but it is sure to be an enthralling encounter between the two very different Berlin clubs.

It looks as though both sides are probably just about safe from the drop this season now, so this will be a game where the teams are playing for local bragging rights, as I explain more below in my Hertha Berlin vs. Union Berlin prediction.

As would be expected, bookmaker BetOnline has this meeting between Berlin’s top two clubs as a close-run thing. Hertha is tagged as the slight favorite, but there will be very little to choose between them, and the draw looks slightly better value given the way local derbies usually play out.

When Hertha made the short journey to the picturesque Stadion An der Alten Forsterei at the beginning of November the club was still on just its first manager of the season, at the start of a seven-game winless streak and lost to its crosstown rivals thanks to a very late penalty.

Much has changed since then but Bruno Labbadia, the fourth manager of the campaign, has changed a few faces in the starting eleven and inspired Hertha to a convincing 3-0 win away at Hoffenheim at the weekend as the Bundesliga returned. Things might be looking up for the blue half of Berlin.

But you can always count on Union to upset the odds. After waiting 55 years, the much smaller club from the old East German part of the capital celebrated that derby win and went on a run of its own that has seen it comfortably higher up in the Bundesliga table than Hertha for the majority of the season.

That changed at the weekend however, as Union fell to an utterly dominant Bayern Munich side intent on capturing its eighth successive league title. Union remained in the game throughout but never really looked like beating the reigning champions. Top goal scorer Sebastian Andersson came on for the final 20 minutes, so he might get a longer run out against Hertha.

With a lot of players short of match fitness, the first games back at the weekend felt like a slightly more intensive pre-season friendly rather than a Bundesliga fixture at times. But a Berlin derby should raise the levels here. Hertha looked very impressive in its demolition of Hoffenheim, but Union will be desperate to come away from the Olympiastadion with something, so I think the draw is the best way to go.

For plenty more picks, check out our soccer betting blog.