2. Bundesliga 2022/23 MD21 Preview: Hamburger SV vs Arminia Bielefeld
Two sides who had similar ambitions heading into this season were Hamburger SV and Arminia Bielefeld, yet the campaigns couldn’t be any more different. HSV are once again in contention for promotion, they’ve had four cracks at returning to the Bundesliga and are hoping that the fifth time is the charm.
Hamburg last time out were involved in a 2. Bundesliga classic, one that can be easily described as “a tale of two halves”. In the first half, Hamburg was dominated by promotional challenger Heidenheim and entered the break 3:0 down. However, a Walter rev up at the break turned the tie and Hamburg were able to score three times in 16 minutes to salvage a point.
Arminia Bielefeld on the other hand have had a disastrous campaign so far, after starting the season with Uli Forte, the trend of potential promotion quickly switched to damage limitation and avoiding relegation.
With Daniel Scherning at the helm, there has been some stability mixed in with the contradicting inconsistency. After beating Regensburg 1:3 away from home, there was acknowledgement that Arminia needed to keep the ball rolling. They did not, succumbing to a home defeat to Hansa Rostock
The pressure is on both sides to perform and losing isn’t an option for either, question remains whose football will reign supreme at the Volksparkstadion on Sunday.
Last time they met
Arminia Bielefeld 0:2 Hamburger SV
HSV: (28’ Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer, 74’ László Bénes)
When the two sides met on Matchday 4, Arminia Bielefeld were entering their fourth and final 2. Bundesliga game under Uli Forte. The hosts were valiant but short of ideas as they slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat. Hamburg took their chances when they came as summer arrivals Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer (Dynamo Dresden) and László Bénes (Borussia Mönchengladbach) gave Die Rothosen all three points.
Key players
Ludovit Reis
In my opinion Ludovit Reis is one of a handful of players in the 2. Bundesliga who is way too good for the league they are playing in. The Dutchman possess excellent technical ability on the ball that Hamburg have benefitted from constantly this season.
There is a saying that “precision is the difference between a butcher and a surgeon”. With a pass completion of 84.9%, Reis is surgical build-up play for Hamburg.
But Reis isn’t just a one-way player. One of his underrated qualities is on the defensive end where throughout the 22/23 season Reis has won 319 tackles and 22 aerial duels. Whilst his defensive qualities won’t be shown often against Bielefeld, they are a good thing to have if Bielefeld are able to get out in transition.
Robin Hack
How Bielefeld missed the creativity and dynamism of their star man Robin Hack. Hack has been a serious contributor in what has been a sour season for the Ost-Westphalen club. In 19 2. Bundesliga appearances, Hack has scored 8 goals and assisted on 4. To put that in perspective, Hack has been directly involved in 44% of the goals scored for Bielefeld this campaign.
That number leaps off the page and suggests the reliance on Hack to be a scorer and provider has its pros and cons. The pro being Hack has played out of his skin to keep Bielefeld from sinking even lower, the con…well that was evident in the Rostock defeat where a lack of attacking quality was noticeable.
Hack will play a vital role against Hamburg on Sunday, the question remains if his Bielefeld buddies will also lend a hand.
From the coaches
Both coaches understand the importance of this matchup as Hamburg seek to close the gap to Darmstadt, whilst Bielefeld attempts to escape the relegation zone. Here’s what the coaches had to say.
Tim Walter
"It speaks volumes that people enjoy coming to the Volksparkstadion. They want to see a spectacle and the Dino delivers."
"Sebastian Schonlau trained in the weight room today. But he will be back on the pitch tomorrow."
"László Bénes has proven that he is back to full strength after his injury. We have great potential in the squad, that's why training performances decide."
"Recently, Arminia Bielefeld haven't always brought their quality onto the pitch. Nevertheless, we must have respect because they have good depth offensively. We're going into the game confidently!"
"Not only the points earned, but also the manner of performances are decisive. The lads have a completely different confidence in their own strength. You can feel this development."
Daniel Scherning
"We had a long week of training and all the players were able to complete the program well. Therefore I assume that all players are available. Robin Hack will be back after his yellow card suspension.”
“We worked a lot on video analysis this week, we have to work better against the ball than we did against Rostock. HSV is brutally dangerous offensively, something is coming our way.”
"We're still too unstable and don't consistently get our performance onto the pitch. We are dissatisfied with that internally, just like our environment, our fans. But we have to check off the games now and look ahead.”
"It's a different challenge than the first three games against direct competitors to stay up in the league. It will be a different game just from possession. We then have to be as good as possible in our transition moments.”
"We'll definitely get more space than in previous games. We were very strong on the counter attack in the first half of the season, so we want to get there again on Sunday and then take advantage of the opportunities that are guaranteed to come our way.”
"Of course we missed Robin Hack against Rostock and I can anticipate that: He will be part of the starting XI again."
Expected lineups
It’s difficult to change a team that wins often, and even despite the craziness of last weeks game I don’t foresee too many changes to Tim Walter’s side. As mentioned in his press conference, they are sweating on the fitness of club captain Sebastian Schonlau.
He’ll be given every chance to play. Javi Montero had a speculative debut for Hamburg, with Jonas David available I see a straight swap in the heart of defence. László Bénes could be given the start but we shall see how much tinkering Walter makes.
Bielefeld will certainly look to change things up on Sunday. Robin Hack was confirmed to start by coach Scherning during his press conference on Friday. I believe Bielefeld are a better team with Masaya Okugawa in the team, Scherning hasn’t found a role for the Japanese midfielder to play as proven with his implementation against Rostock.
The most noticeable change I predict is Bielefeld returning to a 4-3-3, moving away from the 3-5-2 Scherning implemented against Rostock. Transitional play will be vital as you can expect Bielefeld to have 30% possession or less.
Prediction
On paper, Hamburger SV should be able to brush aside Arminia Bielefeld with relative ease. But, fortnately for Bielefeld fans the game isn’t played on paper. The return of Robin Hack is massive, however, even still I expect the individual quality of Hamburger SV and the tactical quality of Tim Walter will be too much for Daniel Scherning and co to overcome.
I’m predicting a 3:0 win for Hamburger SV.