Hertha BSC Berlin vs SC Paderborn 07 preview - Breitenreiter retains survival hope

Posted Saturday, April 04, 2015 by PA

Paderborn coach Andre Breitenreiter says his side still want to defy the odds by avoiding the drop this season, and a win at Hertha Berlin on Sunday would go a long way to help them achieve that goal.

They travel to the capital trailing their hosts by five points having picked up just one point from their last five Bundesliga matches.

They are not fighting a lost cause, however, with Breitenreiter convinced they can still create a few more upsets on their way to completing the biggest shock in recent years by avoiding relegation at the end of their first ever season in the top flight.

"If we want to cause this sensation, then we've got to get points now," Breitenreiter said.

"The trend is not in our favour and most experts have already written us off. But in Berlin, we want to get a goal again and force luck onto our side."

Hosts Hertha will be without midfielder Anis Ben-Hatira, who picked up an injury while on international duty and infuriated his coach Pal Dardai in the process.

Dardai was against him travelling to China for a friendly match with Tunisia since he was already carrying a knock.

"I don't want to see Anis again this week and I've told our medical department as much," Dardai said in the Bild newspaper. "Maybe that makes me a bad person, but I am not going to see or talk to him until after the Paderborn game.

"I pleaded with him not to go but to stay in Berlin and work with our sports scientists."

Instead, Ben-Hatira left - not long after returning to action following a two-month injury break - and now faces a further month on the sidelines.