Hamburg face Schalke in battle of fallen giants in Bundesliga 2
Hamburg and Schalke together boast as many as 13 German championship titles and three European trophies, yet there is one more pressing reality facing the pair of high-profile clubs as they try to take a step forward on the tricky route back to the Bundesliga.
Three points would be a big boost for either side as they clash in Bundesliga 2 on Saturday evening (kick-off: 8.30pm CET).
The Bundesliga 2 fixture list is randomly generated, yet there was something incredibly fitting about the fact Hamburg last hosted Schalke on the opening day of the 2022/23 season.
At a time when pre-season summer optimism flows unbounded, both clubs could rightly dream that the season would end with them back where they belong - in historical terms - amid the leading lights of the Bundesliga. HSV had just missed out on promotion the previous season in a play-off against VfB Stuttgart, after all, while Schalke had been relegated to spend just their second season outside the top flight since 1991.
Watch: Hamburg beat Schalke 5-3 on opening day of 2022/23 Bundesliga 2 season
Life has a habit of defying hopes and expectations, however. Despite beginning with a boost by notching a 5-3 win in a dramatic encounter, Hamburg's latest bid to regain top-flight status for the first time since 2018 ended in fourth, one spot outside the play-off spot.
Remarkably that was the fourth time in six Bundesliga 2 seasons in which Hamburg finished fourth, with the other two escape bids ending in defeats in the play-off. As agonising as a near miss is, Schalke fans would likely have preferred that to a 10th-place finish, in which they were closer to the relegation spots than promotion.
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While just 12 of 34 matches have been played in the current Bundesliga 2 season, neither fallen giant is assured of mounting a promotion charge this time around, either. Schalke may have started the season superbly with a 5-1 win over Eintracht Braunschweig, but they have faced a lean time since, twice falling as low as 16th in the table, although their first win under new coach Kees van Wonderen (2-0 at home to Jahn Regensburg) has lifted the Royal Blues up to 14th.
Summer strike signing Moussa Sylla bundled home the second against Regensburg for his seventh goal in 11 appearances for the Gelsenkirchen club, keeping him among the division's top scorers. With two clean sheets claimed in a row under the new Dutch coach, there does seem to be the potential at both ends of the pitch for Schalke to climb up the table, if things click.
Watch: All of Moussa Sylla's goals in 2024/25 so far
In a tale of two prolific strikers, Hamburg are facing the difficulty of trying to compensate for the loss of lead marksman Robert Glatzel, who began the season like a freight train with seven goals from his first six appearances, only for a tendon injury to rule him out until after the winter break. Six goals from Davie Selke so far this season show there is firepower in the side despite Glatzel's absence.
A run of three winless matches before the international break has left Steffen Baumgart's side in fifth. Seven goals conceded in their last two away matches would have frustrated the famously passionate coach.
Watch: All of Hamburg's goals this season
On the flip side, with Hamburg remaining unbeaten at home this season and just three points shy of top spot, there is no reason to believe their latest promotion bid won't see the successful ending that has eluded them for so long.
A win against big-name opposition in the Matchday 13 showdown in front of a 57,000 sell-out Volksparkstadion crowd certainly could lift the mood. That said, so would a result for Schalke as they look to finally get their campaign going.
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