Football Season Guide

Hertha Berlin achieved promotion back to the top flight at the first time of asking last season and will now look forward to testing themselves at the highest level. Their relegation season a couple of years ago was nothing short of horrific though - they managed only one win at home all campaign - so memories of that will be haunting them more than a little. Being handed a winnable match, in front of their own fans, on the opening weekend is a boost though and with a good start Hertha will be hoping to avoid the worst of the relegation battle. However, the stars of their squad from last season, by and large, were those who have already failed in the top flight. Raffael and Ronny need to be much more consistent although Lasogga and Ramos up front should at least provide a genuine goal threat. The new signings are hopefully going to be solid enough for the division but though Franz, Kraft and Ottl seem decent players, none are exactly glamorous. Turun has more attacking potential but it is worth noting that there is not one single arrival who is clearly on an upward trajectory and Hertha´s campaign could well turn out to be a long one if things do not go well for them early on.