1. FC Heidenheim vs. Hamburger SV preview: HSV look to maintain momentum
| Luka Vušković and Fábio Vieira | Stuart Franklin/Getty Images |
Hamburg and Heidenheim will go head-to-head for the third time this season on matchday 21. The newly-promoted team beat the Bundesliga’s current bottom-placed side on the previous two occasions.
Heidenheim
Frank Schmidt’s side have been unable to beat the traditional club in the last seven meetings. HSV won the reverse fixture 2-1 in the Bundesliga before Robert Glatzel scored a late winner against his former club in the second round of the DFB-Pokal.
Heidenheim dropped to the bottom place in the Bundesliga after only two points in their last seven games. After beating the drop in their first two Bundesliga seasons against all odds, the minnows are now facing a big challenge in the relegation fight. If Hamburg defeat them on Saturday, it’ll be the first time they lose three consecutive matches since the corresponding fixture on matchday 4.
Team News
Christian Conteh could make his Bundesliga debut after recovering from a ligament injury, while fellow January signing Leonidas Stergiou is also in contention for regaining his place following an adductor issue. However, there is a huge possibility for Schmidt to keep the starting lineup from the narrow defeat in Dortmund.
HSV
Similarly to Heidenheim, Hamburg’s last win came in matchday 13 when they defeated Werder Bremen in the Nordderby. However, last weekend’s 2-2 draw with league leaders Bayern Munich raised expectations for Merlin Polzin’s side.
They will now hope to go four games unbeaten in the Bundesliga for the first time since their promotion. Although they knocked out Heidenheim from the cup at Voith-Arena, HSV are yet to win away from home in the league. With home games against Bayer Leverkusen and Union Berlin around the corner, HSV have a huge opportunity to extend the gap between them and the relegation zone.
Team News
Nicolás Capaldo is absent after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in the topsy-turvy draw against the Rekordmeister. Jean-Luc Dompé will continue to be unavailable as the winger received a club-record fine for a drink-driving incident. Albert Grønbaek and Philip Otele are ready for their Bundesliga baptisms.
Predicted Lineups
Heidenheim: Ramaj; Busch, Mainka ©, Siersleben; Stergiou, Niehues, Behrens; Dorsch; Dinkci, Ibrahimovic; Pieringer
HSV: Heuer Fernandes; Omari, Vuskovic, Elfadli; Jatta, Lokonga, Remberg, Muheim ©; Fabio Vieira; Philippe, Königsdörffer
