Last but one, seven matchdays before the end of the season. This clearly defines the starting position ahead of Hertha BSC’s clash with Schalke 04 on Friday (8:30 p.m./DAZN).

The loser will lose important points in the relegation battle in the Bundesliga.

Bad against bad: Hertha has not won away from home in ten games and is the worst away team in the league with five points. Schalke, on the other hand, has only picked up 13 points at home – fewer than any other team.

Resting balls: Free kicks or corner kicks for the opponent, Hertha coach Sandro Schwarz’s pulse must go up. Four of the last five goals conceded by the Berliners have come from standards. For the season as a whole, the team has now conceded 18 goals; only VfL Bochum is as bad in the statistics.

Last against second last: The 17th plays at the 18th. More relegation fight does not go. However, this constellation is not new this season. On Matchday 10, Stuttgart, in second-to-last place, beat bottom-placed VfL Bochum 4:1. On Matchday 23, Schalke, in last place, beat second-to-last Bochum 2:0 to move past their Ruhr rivals. Hertha wants to prevent that on Friday.

Lack of goals: If you’re stuck at the bottom, you can’t have scored many goals. The goal figures underpin the poor course of the season. With 21 goals, Schalke is also bottom of the league. Otherwise, only VfL Bochum (30) scored worse than Hertha (31 goals).

Looking up: The winner also gets a moral boost. At least for one night, Hertha or Schalke will climb to 16th place in the event of success, which would at least enable the relegation matches. The Berliners know this rank well, last season they were also there on the 34th and final matchday. The Schalkers haven’t been this high up this season since October.