Hamburger SV welcome the visitors FC Nurnberg in the DFB Pokal – 1/8 Finals. The match will be held on Tuesday, February, 5th, at the Volksparkstadion (Hamburg).
Hamburger SV won 12 of 20 2.Bundesliga matches and lost only 4. One of the defeats the team suffered right in the last league outing against Arminia Bielefeld. FC Nurnberg were defeated in 12 matches of 20 and won only twice, but in the Bundesliga fixtures. In the last clash, they managed to draw against Werder Bremen at home.
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Thus, two questions arise. First, do Hamburger need to compete in the cup, if they look to be back to the elite division at once, with no play-offs, if possible? And second, do Nurnberg need competing in the cup tournament, if their main task is to keep their place in the Bundesliga? Yes, they do need. If the sides did not care about the cup, they would have bailed long ago. And Nurnberg wouldn’t have won Linz and opposed to Hansa Rostock. They’ve won the latter in the last round yet by penalties, which proves the importance of the cup competition; while Hamburger were victorious over Erndtebruck and Wehen Wiesbaden.
There is only one leg in the coming duel, so, there will be no chance to play back – the sides need to win tomorrow. Given this, despite the fact that Hamburger compete in the lower division, they still look more advantageous. Why? They play on their turf. This is their first 2.Bundesliga season, and they are much more experienced than their visitors. Hamburger lead the table, and they mostly win. Hamburger are on the high. Nurnberg, on the contrary, are not in the mood, as they are relegation-threatened. Their last win was registered long ago (that was a September league victory; they gained a win in the cup encounter later, but that time, they faced a frugal 3.Bundesliga opponent and won just by penalties). In 9 league outings, Nurnberg attained only 2 points.
The hosts will have more luck tomorrow. Of 9 home head-to-heads against Nurnberg, Hamburger won in 9 and lost only one game. They will most likely win this time again, but we’d better play safe and bet on their success with a 0.0 handicap.
Prediction for the match: Hamburger SV to win with a 0.0 handicap.
