Hamburger SV v Hertha Berlin
Football : Germany : Bundesliga
HSH Nordbank Arena
Saturday, 6th March 2010 – kickoff 15:30

Hamburger SV

Hamburger were very unfortunate to lose the game against Bayern Munich last week as they showed a very good performance but still Bayern Munich found a way through Robben to score in the last 10 minutes and secure a victory.

Now they will face Hertha Berlin which is a perfect chance for the team to make up for that loss last weekend and pick up three very important points in front of the home crowd.

Good news for Coach Bruno Labbadia is the return to trainings of Marcell Jansen, the goalkeeper Frank Rost, Mladen Petric and Ruud van Nistelrooy who all struggled with their injuries last week. However, there is big question mark whether all four can take part in this match. Van Nistelrooy and Petric trained individually apart from the rest of the squad and probably one of them will be in the starting line up, most likely that would be Mladen Petric.

Zé Roberto should take his place in the midfield together with Eljero Elia, who had established himself as a very important player of the team. Jerome Boateng will probably take more offensive role in this match after he was not that comfortable as a defensive midfielder last weekend against Bayern.

Hertha Berlin

The situation in Hertha Berlin team is at boiling point as there are news reports that the Coach Friedhelm Funkel got in dispute with some first team players after the last week`s loss and lost support by anyone in the club except for the club president.

Last week they lost at home 2-0 to TSG Hoffenheim and probably said goodbye to their hopes for survival in the top flight football in Germany.

With only three wins and 15 points being situated at the last place on the table they are facing a tough opponent that fights for Champions league spot. Hertha Berlin are five points behind the safe places at the table, but their recent displays as well as their way of playing in the season so far does not give much hope to their fans, although anything is possible in football.

Theofanis Gekas and Ramos will be in the attack while Raphael should play as central midfielder. Piszczek is injured and will be replaced by Arne Friedrich in the defense, where he will play in the same line with Hubnik as a central defender.

The Betting Verdict

Hamburger SV won the first match against Hertha Berlin 3-1, and i expect them to show similar performance in this match as well.

Hamburger SV has too much quality for the weak side of Hertha Berlin and with the return of some important players in the team i think Hamburger SV will finish the job as they expect.

Hertha Berlin players are slowly accepting the fact that their chances are very,very slim and it was obvious last week that there is not too much faith in the team among the players. They had some chances, tried with few free-kicks and counter attacks but could not endanger their opponents.

Hamburger SV are stronger than TSG Hoffenheim plus they are taking this match very seriously after their last weekend`s loss and will probably win by couple of goals. It would be a win that will keep their (slim) title chances alive, but more important is that they would like to finish at least third on the table, which is last place that leads in the Champions league qualifications and they are already 8 points behind Schalke 04 at the third place.

Ten matches until the end of the season give very little space for errors, especially against teams like Hertha Berlin and that is why i expect Hamburger SV to secure three points in this match.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Hamburger SV 3-1 Hertha Berlin

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Home win for Hamburger SV