Match Preview
28.05.20
HSV hit the road for next promotion tussle in Stuttgart
Hamburger SV travel to Swabia for a vital fixture against traditional German giants VfB Stuttgart on Thursday evening (kick-off 8:30pm).
Just a point and a position in the table separate VfB Stuttgart and the visitors to the Mercedes-Benz Arena on Thursday (28th May), Hamburger SV, in a fixture that could go a long way to deciding the outcome of the battle for promotion in the 2. Bundesliga. The sides offered up one of the most entertaining games of the season so far when the two met at a sold-out Volksparkstadion back in October, a game that the team from the Elbe were able to win by six goals to two, in a see-saw end-to-end encounter, showcasing the best football Germany’s second tier has to offer. VfB had their revenge just four days later in the DFB Cup, with Hamadi Al Ghaddioui scoring the winner in extra-time to take the Swabians through to the next round of the cup. The fixtures in October offered up a taste of what both teams are capable of, and fans and neutrals alike will be hoping for similarly attacking football in Stuttgart on Thursday evening. With the promotion race so finely poised, open and gung-ho play of the like seen in October could be at a premium, with patient and risk-free the order of the day, as both sides are afraid of the other taking all three points and stealing a march in the charge for promotion.
Focus on the hosts
After bowing out of the Bundesliga in a relegation play-off against Union Berlin last May, VfB Stuttgart started the season positively under new boss Tim Walter, sitting top of the table after eight games, after a convincing 1-0 away win at Arminia Bielefeld. Fast-forward nine months, Walter is without a job and the Swabian side find themselves eight points behind the Bielefeld team they beat at the SchücoArena in September. Italian-American Pellegrino Matarazzo took over after Walter was fired just before Christmas, as the traditional giants of the south-west of Germany hibernated on 31 points, three behind Bielefeld. Things improved under the tutelage of the former TSG Hoffenheim and Nuremberg youth coach soon after his appointment, yet two losses away to Wehen Wiesbaden (2-1) and Holstein Kiel (3-2) since the restart have seen the Swabians lose ground on promotion rivals Bielefeld and HSV.
Opposition scouting report
Former coach Walter’s ‘Total Football’ system was never quite accepted at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, with the six goals conceded at the Volksparkstadion in the October fixture the clearest evidence that the Swabians were too open and uncoordinated at the back in the first half of the season. Matarazzo has shored things up defensively, with only Bielefeld and Dresden having conceded less goals since the winter break. Results had picked up markedly after Christmas, before a 2-0 loss at Greuther Fürth and 1-1 draw at home to Bielefeld stalled momentum, something that hasn’t been improved with the two losses since the restart, meaning the Red and Whites are looking for their first win in five on Thursday night. Picking up points at the Mercedes-Benz Arena is something the Swabians have come to rely on, as they sit top of the home table, taking 31 points from a possible 39.
Given the talent at the team’s disposal, it is something of a mystery why VfB have failed to fire for extended periods so far this campaign, with the likes of ex-Bayern Munich defender Holger Badstuber and former Borussia Dortmund midfielder Gonzalo Castro part of the VfB squad. Individual errors and a lack of consistency in selection, with both Matarazzo and predecessor Walter keen to chop and change regularly, cannot have helped the rhythm of the team going forward as well as the team’s defensive solidity. Whilst the goalscoring has been spread evenly amongst the squad, with five players contributing five or more goals, this has perhaps also been a hindrance, with Matarazzo unsure of his best forward line and with none of the attackers having stamped their mark on any of the positions across the front three. Matarazzo does seem to have settled on a 4-3-3 formation over the past number of fixtures, and Argentinian international Nicolás González (8 goals) and Congan native Silas Wamangituka (6 goals, 4 assists) will be the ones the Rothosen will have to watch out for on either flank. Whilst Daniel Didavi has also contributed six goals from attacking midfield, the Swabians will have to do without their captain after he picked up two yellow cards last time out against Kiel, whilst fellow midfielder Atakan Karazor also picked up his fifth yellow of the season in Schleswig-Holstein and will have to sit out on Thursday evening.
Dieter Hecking on what to expect from Stuttgart: “I'm not judging Stuttgart on their last few results. It will be a different game for them on Thursday than their previous ones as we want to play football too. I'm expecting an attack-minded Stuttgart team who look to go forward.”
Gyamerah and Jung near return as Rothosen aim for first win since lockdown
Dieter Hecking also revealed at Tuesday’s press conference that Jan Gyamerah and Gideon Jung were recovering well from their hip problems and were expected to return to team training on Friday when the squad returns from Stuttgart. “It's looking better, particularly as it's important to have a full squad at the moment,” Hecking confirmed, with centre-back Ewerton the only man still sidelined, as the Brazilian still struggles with his knee.
Heidenheim’s Friday-night victory over Wehen Wiesbaden, coupled with VfB’s defeat in Kiel and HSV’s goalless draw against Arminia Bielefeld at the Volksparkstadion, meant that the race for the final automatic promotion spot as well as the promotion play-off place has started to hot up. Before Matchday 29 begins, Heidenheim sit in fourth on 44 points, with their fellow Swabians VfB one point ahead in third, and Hamburg one point in front again in second, seven behind runaway leaders Bielefeld. The stalemate at the Volksparkstadion saw Hamburg move onto two draws from two games since the restart, with another positive performance let down by some disappointing finishing. The Rothosen will be looking to go one better and turn an encouraging performance into three points on the road, a result which could make a big difference come the end of June.
Matchday facts
This will be the 112th competitive meeting between the two sides since the inception of the Bundesliga, with 45 wins for HSV, 23 draws and 43 wins for VfB.
Hamburger SV have won 45 times against VfB, more than against any other Bundesliga opponent.
Stuttgart are undefeated in their last 7 home games, whilst HSV have only won one of their last 12 away games, but have only lost three in that timespan.
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