Match Preview vs Hansa Rostock

Opponents Focus: 

Our hosts from the East confirmed their status in the 2. Bundesliga for another season follow last years promotion from the 3. Liga.  

Following a monumental month of March where they picked up nine points from nine, then including their victory over St. Pauli in early April, their form slumped. Albeit survival was secured. The past four matches for Jens Härtel’s have all been draws, with two goalless affairs in the most recent. 

Without giving the tag of , nothing to play for. Rostock have been a tricky opponent for every team this season, and that shouldn’t change come Sunday afternoon. A full house expected for their final home game of a promising season, it would be expected that Härtel’s side will want to finish on a high at the Ostseestadion. 

The Match Facts : 

Number 14 targeted 
It's quite clear: HSV will play for victory on Sunday, after all, relegation place 3 would be secured (99.9 per cent), and if SV Werder Bremen slip up at home against SSV Jahn Regensburg, they could even make the leap to direct promotion place 2. A three-goal win on the Baltic Sea would be tantamount to the 14th competitive match victory against F.C. Hansa Rostock - and that in the 26th performance comparison. In addition to the 13 wins so far, the overall record also includes five draws and six Hansa victories. Worth knowing: 25 of the 26 duels were played in the Bundesliga, the first leg (3:0) was the first second league match between the traditional clubs.

Duel of the top strikers
If both are in the starting eleven, all eyes will definitely be on Robert Glatzel and John Verhoek on Sunday. Not without reason, after all, the HSV goal scorer has already scored 21 goals this season, while the key Hansa player from the Netherlands has 17. Interestingly, the 33-year-old, who recently extended his contract until the summer of 2024, has scored 44 per cent (17 of 39) of all FCH goals. With "Bobby", the dependence is not quite as great (33 per cent), yet the 28-year-old is of course one of the undisputed top performers for the Rothosen. Very interesting: In the 2017/18 season, Verhoek and Glatzel played together at 1. FC Heidenheim.

Different match plans 
While HSV has been playing a very dominant game with a lot of possession since the start of the season, the "Kogge" players under head coach Jens Härtel rely on classic counter-attacking football. This is also proven by the data: HSV has an average of 62.3 per cent possession (highest in the league), plays the most passes (16,783) and uses the long ball the least (936). The situation is different for FCH: 46.6 per cent possession means 15th place as well as 10,889 passes played, and only two teams in the league play more long balls (1,539).