59' Bayern Munich have a seven-point lead at the top of the table – since the introduction of three points per win, only Borussia Dortmund in 2018/19 have thrown away as big an advantage over second place in the second half of the season. The visitors could move 10 points clear if they can hold on for the victory.
55' Lukibakio does well to get back and clear from the feet of Gnabry as the Bayern forward was about to shoot at the Hertha goal. It’s been a disciplined performance from the hosts so far.
53' Bayern have really not looked defensively strong so far this evening at all. This time Darida charges at Alaba with the ball at his feet but his pass out wide to Cunha is intercepted by the back-tracking Hernandez.
51' Kimmich opens up his body and plays a wonderful cross field pass over to Sane on the right but the midfielder is flagged offside.
49' CLOSE! Bayern win back possession in midfield and Hertha are overwhelmed in defence. Gnabry runs and runs with the ball before unleashing a right-footed attempt from the edge of the box but Jarstein just pushes it wide of his near post.
47' Hertha have again made a positive start to this second half and force an early corner. The delivery is too deep though, and Bayern mop up the danger.
46' Both sets of players are back on the field and the second half begins!
Bayern boss Hansi Flick may turn to his bench at the break or early in the second half in order to toughen up his midfield. Kimmich has had little support in the centre of the park so far and Hertha's three man midfield are finding a lot of joy as a result.
The visitors lead at the break courtesy of a deflected Coman finish from range, but Hertha have arguably had the better chances in the first half. Piatek has gone close a few times in particular but Neuer has been equal to the hosts pressure in the opening 45 minutes of play.
45' + 4' HALF-TIME: HERTHA BERLIN 0-1 BAYERN MUNICH.
45' + 3' MISS! Sane takes on two men down the right wing before cutting back to Coman who smashes his effort from 15 yards well over. That should have been two for Bayern.
45' + 2' Torunarigha collides with Sane on the halfway line and the Hertha man looks to be in real pain. I'm not sure he'll be back out for the second half as he can only leave the pitch with a lot of assistance from the hosts physios.
45' + 1' Lewandowski goes close at the other end as Jarstein charges out of his goal. The Hertha shot stopper is in no mans land but Bayern's famous forward can only head wide from just outside the hosts box.
45' SO CLOSE! Lukebakio strikes directly from the resulting set piece and despite a deflection, Neuer does brilliantly to keep the attempt out.
44' Muller pushes Cunha over on the edge of the Bayern penalty area and Hertha have a free kick in dangerous territory. This could be a big chance for the hosts.
43' Piatek goes for goal again – his fourth attempt of the first half – but his effort from just outside the Bayern box is wayward and misses Neuer’s far post.
40' The visitors have really upped the quality of their play over the last five or so minutes and are pushing for a second before the break. The trio of Muller, Coman and Lewandowski in particular are creating some lovely, one-touch build-up play.
37' Coman delivers from the left wing and Lewandowski gets onto the end of his cross, but the Polish forward can only head wide from close range. Another big opportunity for Bayern.
34' Cunha is down and receiving treatment after a collision with Coman, who is also being tended to by medics.
32' Jarstein has become just the fourth Bundesliga goalkeeper to save a Lewandowski penalty, joining Neuer, Christian Mathenia and Ron-Robert Zieler.
27' The snow is starting to fall extremely heavily in Berlin and it’s making conditions difficult to play in for all. A few times now the ball has been held up on the heavy pitch as both sides attempt to play out from the back.
25' The corner is delivered and Sule is up highest but he can only head over from 15 yards out. The defender unfortunately clashes with Mittelstadt in the air and requires some treatment.
24' SAVE! Sane breaks through the Hertha defence but Jarstein is on hand to push his effort past the near post and out for a corner.
18' Pavard gets forward from right-back and tries to dig a cross out at the byline but it's blocked behind for a goal-kick.
16' Lewandowski's penalty miss was his first in 17 attempts for Bayern. The last time he failed to convert fromt he spot was in January 2019.
14' SAVE! Hertha break from a Bayern corner and Darida finds Piatek just inside the box. The Polish forward hits his effort first time from 25 yards but Neuer tips it over for a corner. This is a superb end-to-end match so far!
11' PENALTY TO BAYERN!!! Lewandowski plays Sane in on goal and the midfielder tries to side step Jarstein but the Hertha goalkeeper brings him down.
10' Bayern have scored 57 goals after 19 Bundesliga games so far this season, more than ever before at this stage. The only BL team that has ever found the net more often after 19 BL matches was Hamburger SV in 1981/82 (58).
8' Another chance for the hosts but Piatek hits his effort wide. Moments later the hosts attack again and again Piatek strikes for goal from around 20 yards out. This time his effort is saved by Neuer.
6' CLOSE! Bayern have almost exactly the same chance up the other end. This time Sane is through on goal on the right wing but from 20 yards out he is denied by Jarstein.
4' CHANCE! Hertha Berlin force the first big chance of the match. Lukebakio is fed through by Darida and strikes for the far bottom corner from 20 yards out but Neuer saves well with his feet.
3' As expected, it’s Bayern Munich who have controlled most of the early possession in this Bundesliga clash. Sane crosses from the right early on but the Hertha defence clears the danger with ease.
1' Referee Robert Schroder blows his whistle and we’re underway here at the Olympiastadion in Germany’s capital!
The players are emerging from the tunnel and kick-off is just moments away.
Hertha have only won two of their last 34 Bundesliga meetings with Bayern Munich, although both did come in Berlin (otherwise D9, L23) – one of them was the 2-0 victory in September 2018 under returning head coach Pal Dardai.
Bayern boss Hansi Flick is forced into a change in midfield as both Leon Goretzka and Javi Martinez miss out due to testing positive for COVID-19. Pavard, Sule, Alaba and Hernandez all start in defence as Kimmich starts in the centre of the park. Gnabry, Coman, Muller and Sane make up the attacking midfield whilst Lewandowski starts upfront for the visitors.
Hertha Berlin come into tonight’s Bundesliga clash without several key players who miss out through injury. As a result, new manager Pal Dardai opts to start with Pekarik, Stark, Torunarigha and Mittelstadt as his back four. In front of them, Ascacibar, Darida and Tousart anchor the midfield with Cunha and Lukebakio starting out wide. Piatek once again leads the line for Hertha who are winless in their last five.
BAYERN MUNICH SUBS: Ron-Thorben Hoffmann, Jerome Boateng, Alphonso Davies, Bouna Sarr, Marc Roca, Corentin Tolisso, Jamal Musiala, Douglas Costa, Eric Choupo-Moting.
BAYERN MUNICH (4-1-4-1): Manuel Neuer; Benjamin Pavard, Niklas Sule, David Alaba, Lucas Hernandez; Joshua Kimmich; Kingsley Coman, Thomas Muller, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane; Robert Lewandowski.
HERTHA BERLIN SUBS: Alexander Schwolow, Lukas Klunter, Omar Aldrete, Marton Dardai, Mathew Leckie, Matteo Guendouzi, Eduard Lowen, Nemanja Radonjic, Sami Khedira.
HERTHA BERLIN (4-3-3): Rune Jarstein; Petar Pekarik, Niklas Stark, Jordan Torunarigha, Maximilian Mittelstadt; Santiago Ascacibar, Vladimir Darida, Lucas Tousart; Dodi Lukebakio, Krzysztof Piatek, Matheus Cunha.
The Bundesliga’s Friday night fixture this week sees a struggling Hertha Berlin play host to the reigning champions of Germany and Europe, Bayern Munich. Winless in their last five, Hertha will be hoping to claim a huge scalp tonight, but Bayern will have their own ideas as they bid to move 10 points clear of second-placed RB Leipzig at the top of the table.
Hello and welcome to our live text commentary of this Bundesliga fixture between Hertha Berlin and Bayern Munich.
