Hamburg SV v Borussia Dortmund – German Bundesliga
Tonight, Imtech Arena, Hamburg will see Hamburg host Bundesliga league leaders, Borussia Dortmund, and, Hamburg manager, Michael Oenning, will be hoping to revive his side’s ambitions of playing in Europe next season.
For this game, Oenning will have to put aside his personal feelings aside and should be looking to take 7th placed Hamburg to 5th place in the Bundesliga.
Though Oenning has a soft spot for BVB, he is focused on getting all three points against Borussia Dortmund.
Currently, Dortmund are on top of the league standings and have a seven point lead over 2nd placed Bayer Leverkusen. And a defeat at the hands of Hamburg would definitely be a sickening blow to the side’s chances of winning the league.
On the other hand, Hamburg are 5 points behind 5th place Mainz but Mainz’s recent poor form should be a comforting fact for all Hamburg faithful, as they look to make it to Europe for next season.
While talking to the media, Oenning said that he would be very delighted if Dortmund won the league at the end of the season but also said that it is vital for his team to win the game against the leaders in order to increase the self confidence and also
to get close to the last European berth.
"But we need the points, not only for our self-confidence but also for our own ambitions'', said the Hamburg manager.
However, Oenning should be aware that after winning 6-2 against Cologne last week at the HSV Arena, his team should remember that the game against Dortmund won’t be that easy.
He admitted that the leaders can’t afford to lose any game from here on and said that due to the recent consistency demonstrated by Leverkusen, Dortmund can’t afford any slip-ups.
Meanwhile, Dortmund manager, Jurgen Klopp, knows that rather than defending a point, Hamburg would be looking to win the game. While talking to the media, Klopp said that his team will be playing against a very good side and the game would be a completely
different one.
"They have the choice between (Mladen) Petric, (Ruud) van Nistelrooy, (Jose Paolo) Guerrero and Son (Heung-Min) in attack - that is incredible”, said Klopp. Dortmund also have a great chance to extend their lead at the top of the table to 10 points if they
win against Hamburg.
However, a defeat could be a bad result for Klopp if Leverkusen manage to beat St Pauli this Sunday.
Tonight’s game may turn out to be a decisive one for Dortmund and may also turn out to be a title decider if Leverkusen slip up against relegation threatened St Pauli.
Team News
Hamburg SV
David Jarolim may be given a place in the starting XI tonight, while http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mladen-Petric-c26139 is also likely to pair up with either Jarolim, or, Ruud Van Nistelroy.
Borussia Dortmund
Teenage sensation, Mario Goetze, along with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lucas-Barrios-c22533, missed the training sessions but will be expected to start the game.
Probable Line ups
Hamburg
Rost; Diekmeier, Kacar, Westermann, Aogo; Ben-Hatira, Jarolim, Ze Roberto, Elia; Van Nistelrooy, Petric
Borussia Dortmund
Weidenfeller; Piszczek, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer; Sahin, Bender; Goetze, Lewandowski, Grosskreutz; Barrios
Prediction
Hamburg SV 1 – Borussia Dortmund 2
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