Struggling Hamburger host Bayer Leverkusen in match week 19 of the Bundesliga season as they look to stay clear of the relegation zone. They are in great danger of being relegated from the Bundesliga, as they are 19^th, after just narrowly staying up on the last day of last season while their opponents, Bayer Leverkusen sit just above mid table in 9^th only 7 points off the top 4.

STATS

• Hamburg haven’t shown any glimpses of good form in the league so far this season and they are currently 3 points away from safety. Their recent form hasn’t been awful though as they’ve won 3 of their last 6 league games but 2 of the losses came against teams within 3 places of them, which could prove very costly at the back end of the season. One win could see them out of the drop zone on goal difference so they have a chance.
• Like Hamburg, Bayer Leverkusen have won 3 of their last 6 in the league, which reflects their mid-table league position but 9^th place is not what is expected of a team in the last 16 of the Champions League. If they want to qualify this season, they’ll have to go on a good run of form starting with this week’s game.
• Hamburg haven’t had a stand-out goal scorer so far this season in the league and Nicolai Muller and Booby Wood have both scored 4, a disappointing tally for a club’s main talisman. But Bayer Leverkusen will still have to be worried about their threats.
• Bayer Leverkusen’s top scorer so far this season, Javier Hernandez, doesn’t have a much better record with 6 goals to his name in the league. The former Manchester United man is joined by team-mate Hakan Calhanoglu, who also has 6 goals.

HEAD TO HEAD

Bayer Leverkusen won the clash between the two sides earlier in the season 3-1 and they dominate the recent fixtures. Hamburg have won just 1 of the last 14 games with Bayer Leverkusen but their last win wasn’t too long ago, a 1-0 victory in 2014.

Head to head matches: Hamburger SV - Bayer Leverkusen

10.09.2016	Bund	Bayer Leverkusen	Hamburger SV	3:1
13.03.2016	Bund	Bayer Leverkusen	Hamburger SV	1:0
17.10.2015	Bund	Hamburger SV	Bayer Leverkusen	0:0
20.03.1993	Bund	Bayer Leverkusen	Hamburger SV	1:1
02.09.1992	Bund	Hamburger SV	Bayer Leverkusen	0:0

HAMBURG NEWS

Hamburg would love to have a full-strength team available to choose from in order to turn their poor season around but with 5 unavailable players, they might struggle against a strong Leverkusen side. Their defence is light as Johan Djourou, Gotoku Sakai and Emir Spahic all miss out for the match. Pierre-Michel Lasogga and Rene Adler are big misses for Hamburg and if they are to change their fortunes, they’ll need those two fit and ready for action.

Latest matches: Hamburger SV

28.01.2017	Bund	FC Ingolstadt	Hamburger SV	3:1	L
21.01.2017	Bund	VfL Wolfsburg	Hamburger SV	1:0	L
09.01.2017	Club	Al-Nasr SC Dubai	Hamburger SV	0:5	W
20.12.2016	Bund	Hamburger SV	FC Schalke 04	2:1	W
17.12.2016	Bund	1 FSV Mainz 05	Hamburger SV	3:1	L

BAYER LEVERKUSEN NEWS

Bayer Leverkusen may look to rest some of their star players due to the lack of threat that Hamburg will pose but, at this stage of the season, they need to pick up all the points they can get so a full-strength team would be the most appropriate choice. Danny da Costa may return after his recent injury and there’s no other unavailable players for the visitors, leaving Roger Schmidt with a full team to choose from.

Latest matches: Bayer Leverkusen

28.01.2017	Bund	Bayer Leverkusen	Monchengladbach	2:3	L
22.01.2017	Bund	Bayer Leverkusen	Hertha BSC	3:1	W
17.01.2017	Club	Bayer Leverkusen	VfL Bochum	2:1	W
12.01.2017	Club	Bayer Leverkusen	Atletico Mineiro MG	1:0	W
08.01.2017	Club	Estudiantes de La Plata	Bayer Leverkusen	3:5	W

SUMMARY

Bayer Leverkusen should manage to pick up all 3 points in this game without any real problems but if Hamburg turn up, with their home fans behind them, they might be able to pull off an upset. If Leverkusen can score the first goal, which they usually do, I can’t see a way back for Hamburg.