Opponents Focus: 

SV Sandhausen led by Co-Trainers (Co-Managers) Gerhard Kleppinger and Stefan Kulovits were an extremely busy team early on in the summer transfer window. No less that 14 new aquasitions for the team in black and white before the season started. Notable names such as Cebio Soukou ( Arminia Bielefeld), Pascal Testroet (Aue) and 3x Swiss Champion Gianluca Gaudio (BSC Young Boys), the latter a former Bayern München youth talent. 

Sandhausen haven’t quite got to grips with the season so far, injuries to the afore mentioned Testroet, hardly helping the side. Currently sitting in 14th place in the 2. Bundesliga, Three defeats and a draw cancel out their only three points of the season, which came one the road in a 3-1 win over fellow strugglers Erzgebirge Aue. Before the International break the side from Baden-Württemberg suffered a 2-0 defeat to the league’s newcomers FC Ingolstadt. 

Sandhausen have a history of causing problems for HSV though, our last meeting saw the visitors victorious in a 2-1 victory at the BWT Stadion im Hartwald, while a 5-1 defeat on the final matchday of the 2019/20 season ruined HSV’S hopes for promotion that year. A side not to be underestimated for sure. 

The Match Facts: 

Restless Red Shorts
 
HSV have not lacked will and commitment in the first five 2. Bundesliga games. The Hamburg team covered a whopping 595.32 kilometres - the best figure in the 2. Bundesliga, ahead of the competition from Heidenheim (593.19 km) and Dresden (591.96). By way of comparison, the upcoming guests from Sandhausen occupy second-to-last place in the table in this statistic with around 40 fewer kilometres ran. Only Werder Bremen (554.12) runs even less as a team.

A Brotherly Duel

On Saturday it's not only HSV vs. SVS, but also David vs. Christian Kinsombi. The two brothers will meet for the first time in a professional match. Christian (22), David Kinsombi's brother, who is three years younger than him, transferred from KFC Uerdingen to the Kurpfälzer in the summer of this year and has played in three league games so far. Fun fact: Both brothers played for SV Wehen Wiesbaden in their youth and then moved to the youth team of 1. FSV Mainz 05.  

A Return for Diekmeier

A special match for SVS captain Dennis Diekmeier. The 31-year-old right-back, who played for HSV from 2010 to 2018, returns to his old stomping ground. Diekmeier played 184 competitive games for the Reds, in which he had 13 assists. The native of Thedinghausen waited in vain for a goal of his own at HSV. At SV Sandhausen, for whom he has been active since the beginning of 2019, he ended his goal curse on 26 May 2020 when he scored for the first time in his 294th professional game.