Hertha Berlin kick off the 2019/20 campaign with Ante Covic out to take the Old Lady up a gear. At the heart of their challenge will be Marko Grujic, who returns for a second season on loan from Liverpool.

bundesliga.com takes a closer look at what to expect from the Berliners…

Aims in 2019/20

The two-time German champions begin the 2019/20 campaign with a new face in the Olympiastadion dugout, Ante Covic replacing Pal Dardai after the latter ended his four-year stay in the capital this summer. Covic - who represented Hertha in his playing days - makes the step up from the club’s reserves, charged with leading the first team back into the Bundesliga’s top half for the first time in three years.

Hertha bookmarked last season with runs of one defeat in their first nine Matchdays and one loss from their last five; and were it not for six defeats in seven from Matchday 23-29, they would have been firmly in contention for a European place at the end of 2018/19. Instead, they finished 11th and it will now be down to Covic to revive the Old Lady’s fortunes. A top-ten finish and a good DFB Cup run will be considered fair game.

Player to watch

Having joined on loan from Liverpool last season, Grujic made an instant impact in Berlin before an ankle injury stalled his momentum. In fact, Hertha went unbeaten over the course of the 23-year-old’s first nine appearances, prompting Dardai to describe the Serbia international as "by far the best midfielder I've seen in my time at the club".

Grujic made such an impression that he returns for a second spell, and Hertha fans will be hoping their loanee is able to stay fit for a full season, after missing 11 Bundesliga matches through injury in 2018/19. Despite his ankle issues, Grujic still ended the year with five league goals and an assist, while a successful pass output of 87 per cent highlight the 6'3" midfielder’s importance retaining possession in the Hertha engine room.

Watch: Marko Grujic discusses his Hertha ambitions

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Summer transfers

IN: Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Alexander Esswein (VfB Stuttgart, end of loan), Sidney Friede (Royal Mouscron, end of loan), Marko Grujic (Liverpool, loan deal extended), Muhammed Kiprit (Wacker Innsbruck, end of loan), Nils Körber (VfL Osnabrück, end of loan), Eduard Löwen (Nuremberg), Dodi Lukebakio (Watford), Maximilian Pronichev (Hallescher FC, end of loan), Daishawn Redan (Chelsea)

OUT: Marius Gersbeck (Karlsruhe), Julius Kade (Union Berlin), Jonathan Klinsmann (St. Gallen), Valentino Lazaro (Inter Milan), Derrick Luckassen (PSV Eindhoven, end of loan), Fabian Lustenberger (Young Boys)

How they might line up

- DFL

Stadium

Hertha have played at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium – the Olympiastadion – since their maiden Bundesliga season in 1963. The ground was built for the 1936 Olympic Games in the city and currently holds 74,475 spectators. The stadium also hosts the DFB Cup final each May.

In previous years when Hertha have not been in the Bundesliga, they have often played home games away from the Olympiastadion at smaller grounds in Berlin, such as the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, the Poststadion and previously at the “Plumpe” Stadion am Gesundbrunnen before its demolition.

The club are looking to move into a newly built, smaller stadium inside the Olympic Park or elsewhere in the city by 2025.

Watch: Stadium Watch - Berlin's Olympiastadion

First five fixtures

Matchday 1: Bayern Munich (a) – Friday, 16 August, 8.30pm CEST
Matchday 2: Wolfsburg (h) – Sunday, 25 August, 6pm CEST
Matchday 3: Schalke (a) – Saturday, 31 August, 3.30pm CEST
Matchday 4: Mainz (a) – Saturday, 14 September, 3.30pm CEST
Matchday 5: Paderborn (h) – Saturday, 21 September, 3.30pm CEST

About the clubs

Hertha BSC

Olympiastadion