Our next opponents: HSV heading to Leverkusen with no pressure

Position

It would come as no surprise if the city of Hamburg were to start marking 10 May as an unofficial new public holiday in future. On that day in 2025, HSV were promoted back to the Bundesliga after a seven-year absence. Exactly one year later to the day, the players and their fans were once again raucously celebrating at the sold-out Volksparkstadion. Following their 3-2 win over Europa League finalists SC Freiburg in the final home game of the season, they finally had the chance to celebrate avoiding the drop in style at home, having already secured safety with a 2-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt the week before. They can now play with a real sense of freedom in Leverkusen.

So once again, the joys of May are ensuring high spirits in Hamburg. As a newly promoted side, HSV sit in 11th place on 37 points ahead of the final matchday – 11 points clear of the relegation play-off spot. It means they've comfortably achieved their main goal for the season, and the joy at this achievement was palpable everywhere. “There have been so many great moments this season,” said midfielder Nicolai Remberg, one of the key players in coach Merlin Polzin’s side. “As a team, we’ve achieved something special. Everyone gave it their all. What stood out for us was that even the players who don’t usually get much playing time stepped up when they were needed and their chance came.” Take last Sunday, for example, with the two home-grown players Otto Stange (19) and Fabio Baldé (20). The former got his Bundesliga start against Freiburg, whilst the latter scored his first league goal. And two more HSV talents were given the chance to showcase their skills in front of their home crowd during stoppage time: Louis Lemke (16) became the youngest debutant in Hamburg’s Bundesliga history, whilst Shafiq Nandja (19) also made his first appearance in the top flight.

Alongside all the good news on the playing front, HSV officially announced another significant appointment last Tuesday: Kathleen Krüger will take over the reins as HSV sporting director on 1 July, succeeding Stefan Kuntz, who left the club in January. Krüger is moving to Hamburg after 17 years at Bayern Munich, where she most recently served as head of organisation and infrastructure. The 40-year-old will be responsible for all sport-related matters at Hamburger SV. She'll also be the first permanent female sporting director in Bundesliga history.

Personnel

The victory over Freiburg turned into a highly emotional final home game of the season. Not only because it once again provided the perfect opportunity to celebrate the team avoiding the drop, but also because it may well have been the last appearance at the Volksparkstadion for two special HSV players. Centre-back Luka Vušković and attacking midfielder Fábio Vieira played a crucial part in Hamburg’s successful campaign, two leading players over the past few months who, with six goals each, were also their team’s joint top scorers. There were standing ovations when Polzin took the exceptional players off just before the end of the match. Vušković and Vieira are likely to be in the starting XI again on Saturday at the BayArena. At the end of the season, however, HSV will probably have to plan without them. “It was 99.9 per cent my farewell party,” said Vušković after the match against Freiburg. The 19-year-old Croatia international is on a season-long loan at Hamburg from Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur. The Portuguese Vieira, on loan from Arsenal, is also likely to be difficult to hold on to.

In Leverkusen, Polzin can continue to rely on his back three of Vušković, Nicolas Capaldo and Warmed Omari in front of goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes. Left-back Miro Muheim has also returned to team training following his ankle injury and could be recalled to the squad. In defensive midfield, Remberg and Albert Sambi Lokonga are the first-choice picks. Bakery Jatta and Albert Grönbaek have featured on the flanks in the last two matches. Up front, alongside Viera, strikers Ransford Königsdörffer and youngster Stange are among those available. Robert Glatzel had to sit out the match against Freiburg due to a calf injury.

Problems

The main issue is up front: with just 39 goals scored, HSV are the fourth-weakest team in the league in terms of attack. Away from home, only FC St. Pauli (12) have scored even fewer goals than their city rivals (14). Strikers such as Glatzel, Jean-Luc Dompé, Rayan Philippe and Yussuf Poulsen have rarely lived up to expectations. Without the six goals from centre-back Vušković, Hamburg would be in an even worse position.

HSV also lacked precision and determination in the first half of the season during their 1-0 home defeat to Bayer 04. The north Germans struggled to create chances in the rearranged match in early March. The Werkself deserved their win; tellingly, the hosts’ best chance fell to Vušković, who was denied by Janis Blaswich and then the crossbar in stoppage time.

Performers

HSV are pretty solid at the back. Goalkeeper Heuer Fernandes has had to retrieve the ball from his net 53 times – only the top six teams in the table have conceded fewer goals. Although Hamburg’s defence does allow plenty of shots on goal, they're a tough nut to crack in the air and sit third in this ranking, having conceded from just three headers. The newly-promoted side are equally solid when defending counter-attacks. HSV have conceded just one goal from breaks – placing them second behind Borussia Dortmund (0).

In contrast, Hamburg’s transition play is one of their key strengths. Their ten goals scored on the counter-attack puts them second in the league behind Bayer 04 and FC Bayern, who have both scored 13 times on the break. Key player in the HSV attack Vieira has been directly involved in 11 goals (six goals, five assists).