At 0:30 am on August 24th, Hanover will welcome veteran team Hamburg to the Heinz Stadium in the third round of the Second Bundesliga.
In the second round of the Second Bundesliga on August 11th, Hanover drew 0-0 away to promoted Münster Preußen. The team deployed a trident with young Tresoldi as the spearhead and Roschert and Nielsen as attacking midfielders, but they failed to achieve any significant results in attack, with their offensive statistics falling short of their opponents. In the first round of the German Cup last week, Hanover went to Bielefeld with their full squad and lost 0-2. After the match, the club’s sporting director Markus Mann roared in anger: “I can’t take it anymore. We fell asleep because we wanted to control the game, that’s sleepy football. The team has to wake up quickly, I don’t want to see this anymore.”
In last season’s Second Bundesliga, Hanover finished 6th with 13 wins, 13 draws and 8 losses, a whopping 11 points behind the promotion playoff area, but coach Leitl still received a contract extension. To Mann’s criticism, Leitl expressed his sincere acceptance in the post-match press conference, saying that such criticism was justified and that he was facing the loss with composure: “We lost this game, and we might lose another one or two. Other teams will lose too, we have to learn to cope better.” However, Hanover’s management has made it clear at the start of this season that the club must be promoted, which means that Leitl is likely to be sacked immediately if he continues to let the poor performance spread.
In terms of the lineup, only 27-year-old midfielder Besuschkoff will be missing from Hanover’s team, but South Korean winger Lee Hyeon-joo, who was loaned from Bayern’s youth team, is yet to make an appearance.
Hamburg drew 1-1 at home against Hertha Berlin in the Second Bundesliga on August 11th. The team took the lead thanks to the sudden explosion of striker Königsdorf this season, but they were equalized by their opponents. Many fans said that the team’s performance in the opening home game was not entirely convincing. Speaking about the match against Hanover, Hamburg coach Baumgart said: “I won’t promise to use the same formation this season. We want to be defensively solid, and I want my team to be brave no matter what the result, until the very end.”
In the German Cup last weekend, Hamburg won 7-1 against the German Regionalliga side SV Meppen, temporarily restoring the confidence of the frustrated fans. In the match against Meppen, Hamburg’s main attacker Fellaini scored twice and provided an assist, and left-back Balde also provided an assist. It seems that Baumgart, who was a prolific striker in his playing days, still has a good eye for attack.
In terms of the lineup, Hamburg will definitely be without the help of wingers Jatta and Dongpé. Jatta suffered a twisted ankle in the match against Meppen and is expected to be out for a month, while Dongpé was substituted early in the match against Hertha Berlin. Their absence will leave striker Königsdorf, who has scored 3 goals in the first two games of the season, isolated. In addition, Hamburg’s backup goalkeeper Labb and new signing midfielder Elfardelli will also be unavailable, with Labb unable to join the team because of pneumonia.
In their previous 20 encounters, Hamburg have a slight advantage with 9 wins, 3 draws and 8 losses. Moreover, Hamburg have won 4 of the last 5 matches, giving them a clear psychological advantage. In this round of the league, Hanover, playing at home, and their coach Leitl are in a very dangerous position. If they lose, they are likely to be forced to rebuild. Can Hamburg, who are away from home but have a weakened lineup, deliver a knockout blow to their title rivals?
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