“It will no doubt be an exciting contest”

Each weekend offers up a new tough test for HSV, with crucial points on the line in every match. The most recent of those saw HSV win 4-1 away to Fortuna Düsseldorf to spark a night of celebration for the supporters. “Our aim is to ensure the fans are excited to watch HSV play because this club stands for a particular style of football. The entire club is headed a good direction right now,” explained Merlin Polzin regarding his team’s motivation.

The next fixture on the schedule is pencilled in for this Friday night, when Hamburg take on 1. FC Magdeburg away from home. The upcoming opponents have performed well so far this season and would draw level on points with HSV if they are to emerge victorious. Head coach Merlin Polzin spoke to the media in the press conference at the Volksparkstadion on Wednesday, talking about both his team and the opposition as well as the approach that the contest requires. Merlin Polzin on…

…team news: We have nearly everyone at our disposal. Noah Katterbach and Bakery Jatta are still suffering from long-term injuries but are currently doing work in the weight room. We try to include them as often as we can, for example in the dressing room or sometimes in opposition analysis. Matheo Raab and Abou Soumahoro are in recovery training and are making good progress. Davie Selke will be absent due to suspension. Apart from that, everyone else is available. There have been times this season where we have had six to eight potential starting players all out of action at the same time, so it’s great to have a near full squad available right now.

"It should be a great game, full of highlights for the fans to enjoy."

…Robert "Bobby" Glatzel’s potential comeback: Bobby is fully fit once again and has been taking part in full training sessions for the last few weeks. He has shown great deals of energy and has scored a lot of goals in training. At times, we have had to make sure he does not overexert himself, because he always wants to approach everything with maximum effort and realises that he is nearly ready to assist the team once again. The important thing was to reintegrate him gradually after a lengthy absence. We had already toyed with the idea of naming him in the squad for Düsseldorf, but ultimately decided to grant him two more full days of training instead. We can now reveal that he will make the squad for Friday’s clash. Whether he starts depends on several factors, but he certainly won’t play the full 90 minutes on his return after being out for so long.

…the upcoming opponent: Magdeburg like to control possession and stretch the game. Their rotation up top allows them to get into dangerous positions, so we will need to remain disciplined defensively in order to counter that. Nevertheless, we are not simply going into the game with the intention of holding out for a point, rather we want to implement our own style of play and walk away with the three points. The reverse fixture already showed that we can withstand the pressure when an opponent has the ball for extended periods before demonstrating our own quality in the right moments to hit them. It should be a great game, full of highlights for the fans to enjoy. It will no doubt be an exciting contest but also a tough test for us so we need to prepare as best we can.