Vfl Wolfsburg v Hamburger SV match preview

By: j | September 20th, 2008

Following Wolfsburg’s 1-0 victory over Rapid Bucureşti in the UEFA Cup this Thursday, Martin Jol’s unbeaten Hamburger SV will visit Volkswagen-Arena. With the Bundesliga log-jammed at the top, this is an extremely important match for Felix Magath.

Recent Form
Hamburger SV – combined (3 W, 1 D, L)(11 GS, 7 GA)
Aug 15 Bayern München 2 – 2 Hamburger SV
Aug 23 Hamburger SV 2 – 1 Karlsruher SC
Aug 30 Arminia Bielefeld 2 – 4 Hamburger SV
Sep 13 Hamburger SV 3 – 2 Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Wolfburg – combined (1 W, 3 D, L)(8 GS, 7 GA)
Aug 16 VfL Wolfsburg 2 – 1 FC Köln
Aug 24 VfL Bochum 2 – 2 VfL Wolfsburg
Aug 30 VfL Wolfsburg 2 – 2 Eintracht Frankfurt
Sep 13 Hertha Berlin 2 – 2 VfL Wolfsburg

Die Wölfe face an opponent that goes straight at their defensive weakness. While I have noted “hope” for the use of Azzuri capped duo of Cristian Zaccardo and Andrea Barzagli leading in the back-line, for some inexplicable reason supporters haven’t had that luxury on a regular basis to-date. Given the club that issued its own “probable line-ups” (see below) and Cristian Zaccardo is not included, I suspect we won’t this week as well.

VfL Wolfsburg “probably line-up”:
Diego Benaglio – Sascha Riether, Ricardo Costa, Andrea Barzagli, Marcel Schäfer – Josué – Makoto Hasebe, Christian Gentner – Zvjezdan Misimović – Grafite, Ashkan Dejagah

As it relates to Cristian Zaccardo, he is, by all reports, healthy and simply excluded from the lineup. I am positive that he didn’t leave Palermo to be inactive and the intention of him joining the squad was to develop one of the best defensive back-lines in the Bundesliga. Unfortunately that hasn’t happened and quite frankly the type of goals allowed to-date are the difference between a lower to mid-table squad and one that can make a run at a European bid. While I know the club is anxious to attract fans and quite pleased to announce the Hamburg match is “sold-out”, sloppy undisciplined Football is not the hallmark of good teams. That might be harsh or even a bitter pill for some to swallow but a consistent two goals allowed per match won’t have you go very far in the Football world.

Returning to today’s match, Wolfsburg is likely without Edin Džeko who suffered an injury in training and Martin Jol is reporting a fully healthy squad.

Key players to watch today on Hamburg will be the attacking lines of Croatia internationals Ivica Olić and Mladen Petrić and ex-Fluminense man Thiago Neves. This will make for an interesting and exciting tactical mix.

I will report on the match as it concludes.