Hamburger SV v Vfl Wolfsburg
Football : Germany : Bundesliga
HSH Nordbank Arena
Friday, 29th January 2010 – kickoff 20:30

Hamburger SV

Hamburger narrowly lost to Borussia Dortmund in the last round and dropped to the fifth spot at the table, now trailing seven points behind the leaders.

Their form is in fall, but injuries have played a big part in that as few starters are out of the squad for some time. However, the team has the third-best attack in the league with 36 goals scored so far in the campaign.

Great news for the team is the new signing of the Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy. The 33-year old striker joined the club and signed a contract until June 2011. He appeared in 68 league games and has scored 46 times for Real Madrid.

Coach Bruno Labbadia can not count on van Nistelrooy for this match because he is still injured since arriving, but Eljero Elia will start again as he has recovered from his knee injury.

Markus Berg and Mladen Petric will be in the attack, but Piotr Trochowski and Tunay Torun will be benched after some recent poor performances.

Probable Hamburger SV line-up :
Rost,
Boateng, Rozehnal, Mathijsen, Aogo ,
Rincon, Jarolim, Elia,
Jansen,
Berg, Petric

Vfl Wolfsburg

After last week`s home loss to FC Koln, which was seventh straight match without a win, coach Armin Veh was finally sacked. The team plays very bad at the moment, sitting at the tenth spot and playing type of football which is far away from last years performances.

Lorenz-Günther Köstner, trainer of the Wolfsburg’s reserve team is appointed as interim coach and will be in charge for this match.

There are reports that the team have approached the former Real Madrid coach Berndt Schuster with offer to sign him as a permanent solution but that is yet to be seen if it comes true.

This season the team has one of the poorest defenses in the league and they have conceded massive 38 goals so far. They also have kept clean sheet just twice in 19 matches.

Jan Simunek is expected to start as central defender after a long time waiting for his chance, as ex-coach Veh did not trust him much and rarely used him even as a substitute.

The first choice goalkeeper Benaglio is still not available as he is not yet match fit so Lenz will take his place.

Probable Vfl Wolfsburg line-up :
Lenz,
Riether, Simunek, Barzagli, Schafer,
Josué, Hasebe, Gentner, Misimovic,
Grafite, Dzeko

The Betting Verdict

The last time Hamburger SV and VfL Wolfsburg met was back in the third round, when Hamburger won 4-2, which ended the reigning champions' 20-game unbeaten home run.

This is a match between teams that have one of the best attacks in the league (Hamburger SV, 36 goals scored) and poorest defenses (Vfl Wolfsburg, 38 goals conceded).

When a new coach comes in usually it has a positive influence on the players, so probably Wolfsburg will try to surprise the hosts right from the beginning as they have nothing to lose.

Hamburger needs a win to get closer to the top which promises attacking and offensive football.

I think that Hamburger have a bigger chance to get a win here, but Wolfsburg could very well surprise with their attacking force. My opinion is that is better to bet on goals on this match rather than a match winner.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Hamburger SV 2-2 Vfl Wolfsburg

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Over 2.5 goals