Match Preview - The First Derby of the Season

The HSV News

Tim Walter looked pleased when asked about the personnel situation at the press conference. With the exception of Stephan Ambrosius, Robin Meißner and Tom Mickel, who have been injured for some time but are now all in rehabilitation training, the coach has all his men on board. Whether he will make any major changes to his starting line-up after two victories and a draw in the first three games of the season is something Walter naturally did not want to reveal. The final training session was also held behind closed doors in the stadium - a bit of poker-playing is part and parcel of such a special game.  So it will be interesting to see whether the coach will field the same eleven as last time. The solution will follow this evening.

The Match Facts

FC St. Pauli and Hamburger SV will face each other for the 106th time in a competitive match on Friday night. In terms of overall record, the Red shorts clearly enjoy dominance in the Hanseatic city, walking off the pitch victorious on 68 occasions. Both teams have shared the points 16 times, with HSV only suffering 21 defeats. However, HSV's record in 2.Bundesliga compares, with one win, two draws and three defeats, is clearly capable of improvement. The Red Shorts even scored in only two of the six games. A statistic that should not only be put into perspective with regard to the overall balance.

For the first time since the start of the Corona pandemic in Germany in March 2020, away fans are officially allowed at an HSV away game. Admittedly, the away trip to Millerntor-Stadion, some seven kilometers from Volkspark, is short, but the support of the Rothosen supporters - 700 are officially permitted, plus a few more spectators in the round will surely wear the rhombus in their hearts - should be all the greater for this special game.