Hamburger SV vs. Bayern Munich preview: Leaders looking to get title bid back on track | OneFootball

Hamburg

Hamburg are sitting in 14th place in the standings after winning four, drawing six and losing eight of their 18 league games this term. HSV are sitting just three points above the dotted line after failing to win any of their last five league games (D3, L2). Merlin Polzin’s side have seen their previous two outings finish goalless, including last Friday’s derby clash against rivals St. Pauli.

Polzin will be concerned by the fact that his team are the joint-lowest scorers in the league with just 17 goals from 18 Bundesliga matches. That statistic will not inspire confidence ahead of an almighty test against a Bayern side that boasts the best defensive record in the top flight.

The hopes of a positive result will also be tempered by the fact that they have not taken a point off Bayern since the two sides played out a goalless draw in September 2014. Meanwhile, their last victory over the Bavarians took place in September 2009, when Mladen Petrić netted in a 1-0 home win. 

Team News

The hosts are without Alexander Røssing-Lelesiit and Yussuf Poulsen, while Fabio Baldé and Damion Downs are unlikely to be ready for Saturday’s contest. 

Predicted lineup: Fernandes; Capaldo, Vušković, Torunarigha; Mikelbrencis, Lokonga, Remberg, Muheim; Jatta, Vieira; Königsdörffer

Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich no longer boast an unbeaten league record after they suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat in last Saturday’s home meeting with Augsburg. The Bavarians appeared to be on course for a 1-0 victory until they conceded two goals in the space of six minutes in the latter stages of proceedings at the Allianz Arena. While they would have been disappointed with that result, Bayern are still in a strong position to retain their Bundesliga crown, with eight points separating them from Borussia Dortmund in second position.

Vincent Kompany’s charges will head into the weekend on the back of a successful trip to the Netherlands. Goals from Jamal Musiala and Harry Kane secured Bayern a 2-1 win in Wednesday’s final Champions League league phase game against PSV Eindhoven, ensuring they finished in second place in the standings.

The Bavarians will fancy their chances of enjoying another successful away trip on Saturday, having won eight of their nine away league games this term (D1). They have also won each of their previous eight Bundesliga meetings with Hamburg, keeping clean sheets in seven of those victories. In fact, they cruised to a dominant 5-0 triumph when the two sides faced off in September’s reverse fixture. 

Team News

Raphaël Guerreiro is set to return to the squad following a two-game injury absence. However, the visitors are still without Konrad Laimer due to a calf issue. 

Predicted lineup: Neuer; Bischof, Upamecano, Kim, Davies; Kimmich, Pavlović; Olise, Gnabry, Díaz, Kane