Mainz keep their UEFA Conference League qualification hopes alive with only their third away win of the season. Hertha are not safe yet in the race to avoid the relegation play-off position, but will be if Stuttgart lose at Bayern on Sunday.

Dardai is given an ice pack as he heads off for Bjorkan. Meanwhile, Svensson rolls the dice in the Mainz attack, with Ingvartsen on for Burkardt. Hertha can't get a foot on the ball right now...

Pekarik throws himself at a goal-bound shot from Burkardt, before the referee's whistle brings the half to a close. Hertha going five points clear of the relegation play-off spot, as things stand.

The home fans roar in approval as the referee points to the spot. Selke to take...

Some 70,000 fans are in attendance at the magnificent Olympic Stadium in Berlin. Will they be celebrating another season of top-flight football come the full-time whistle?

Jonathan Burkardt scored his 11th Bundesliga goal of the campaign last weekend. The single-season record at Mainz is 15, set by Andre Schürrle in 2010/11.

Suat Serdar played his first 45 Bundesliga games for Mainz, scoring twice, and was at the club for a decade in total. He spent three seasons at Schalke, before moving to Hertha following their relegation from the Bundesliga at the end of 2020/21. The 25-year-old has scored three goals in 28 top-flight appearances for the capital club.

Mainz have registered just two points in their last 11 away games, but are unbeaten in their last five Bundesliga meetings with Hertha, their best run against a current top-flight side (three wins). Hertha, by contrast, have won just once in their last 10 against the 05ers (six defeats).

"Hertha have done a lot of good things [under Magath]," acknowledged Mainz head coach Bo Svensson. "Their playing style is much more structured and it’s become a lot more difficult to create chances against them. They’re a very compact side with a clear game plan, but my players are in good spirits. We want to end the season well."

"I was told that nothing could change; that we were already down, and the players were told the same thing," Hertha head coach Felix Magath admitted of the situation at the club earlier when he was brought in on 14 March. "That forstered a losing mentality. The players had a real mental block, so I had to let them know that we still needed to pick up points. We know that this season hasn’t gone well or according to plan, but we need another 90 minutes of passion and fight. There are no subplots - it's all about the points."

Hertha come into the game just a place but a healthy four points clear of Stuttgart, who currently occupy the relegation/promotion spot. Win, and the capital club, who have pulled clear by picking up seven points from a possible nine in their last three matches, will be certain of featuring in the Bundesliga next season.

Vladimir Darida returns from suspension for Hertha, with Marco Richter making way in the only change to the side that conceded an injury-time equaliser to Bielefeld. As for Mainz, Finn Dahmen gets a rare run out in goal in place of Robin Zentner.

Lotka - Pekarik, Boyata (c), Kempf, Dardai - Tousart, Ascacibar - Darida, Boateng, Serdar - Selke

Christiansen, Bjorkan, Ekkelenkamp, Maolida, Belfodil, Mittelstädt, Wollschläger, Eitschberger, Kade

Dahmen - Hack, Bell, Niakhate (c) - Widmer, Barreiro, Stach, Kohr, Martin - Onisiwo, Burkardt

Zentner, St. Juste, Boetius, Ingvartsen, Brosinski, Stöger, Lucoqui, Tauer, Nebel

Here you can find all the information about Hertha Berlin against Mainz on Matchday 33.