Match Preview

Match Preview vs FC Ingolstadt

It’s a return to a Sunday fixture for HSV, again looking to build on that unbeaten home form following the 4-1 triumph over Jahn Regensburg last weekend. Bottom of the table FC Ingolstadt are the visitors this time.

What a performance last time around for our Rothosen, a 4-1 goal fest infront of the home crowd against the team that was sitting in 2nd place in the league table. Confident and consistent performances at home have allowed this extended unbeaten run at home, and HSV are yet to slip up on home turf so far.

Ingolstadt have had a slightly rough time since their playoff promotion from the 3.Liga in May. Despite grabbing a point at home to Karlsruher, Ingolstadt have lost 7 of their last 9 2. Bundesliga games. Games against the side at the bottom are always challenging and it should be no different when Die Schanzer head north on Sunday.

Opponents Focus:

Die Schanzer have suffered a turbulent time since their return to the 2. Bundesliga. Last year’s Play off promotion winners have only not sat in the relegation zone of the table on a few occasions. That being said, they are not the be underestimated as opponents as anyone in this league would be.

On the trainer front, Ingolstadt have experienced a few managers in 2021 with Tomas Oral and Roberto Pätzold holding the reigns before current manager Andre Schubert took over in September.

The visitors unfortunately have the least goals scored in the league as well as the most goals conceded despite goalkeeper Fabijan Buntic boasting the best rated Schanzer player on Kicker so far this season. 1-1 draw against Karlsruher SC last time out will give the Oberbayern side some confidence before they travel north on Sunday.

HSV News:

HSV coming off of the back of the impressive 4-1 victory over Jahn Regensburg, will look to consolidate the impressive home form shown by Tim Walter this season. Walter’s men have yet to suffer defeat at the Volksparkstadion.

On the injury front as mentioned by Walter in Friday’s Press Conference, "We are currently missing several players. Jan Gyamerah couldn't train for two days, he has a cold. Stephan Ambrosius and Tom Mickel are making great progress and we hope that they will be back on the pitch with the team after the winter break. Maxi Rohr is already close and has already done parts of the training with the team. Ferro and Josha Vagnoman have also been on the pitch and are close, but we won't take any chances with either of them. And Jonas David should be back next week. So our recruits are making progress."

Mario Vuskovic and Marko Johansson impressed during the last home game and during training this week, and both players will surely be looking to take advantange and consolidate their positions in the starting line up.

Last week's hero Sonny Kittel will be up against a former employer as well, Kittel spent 3 Years with Die Schanzer before signing for HSV in 2019.

The Match Facts :

Mile-maker Meffert
He runs and runs and runs: Newcomer Jonas Meffert is once again one of the best runners in the 2nd Bundesliga at HSV. The six-man has run a total of 151.3 kilometres so far, which puts him in sixth place in the league, with Paderborn's Ron Schallenberg leading the way with a whopping 166.1 kilometres. The mile-maker is indispensable for HSV's game, providing the right balance between offence and defence and thus plugging a lot of holes. The 27-year-old also spoke about his important role in the HSV.de interview during the week.

Running Schanzer
Speaking of running: Last-place Ingolstadt is also in the lower third of the table in many team statistics. One exception: the running statistics, in which the Schanzers are in a good fifth place behind Heidenheim, Hamburg, Regensburg and Dresden with 1,627 total kilometres. In terms of tempo runs (7,088), the Ingolstadt team is even top of the league. So you can't deny the FCI's running commitment at all.

A Special Return
Dietmar Beiersdorfer has been FCI's managing director of sport and communications since the beginning of November this year. An emotional return to his old place of work now awaits the former player (1986-92) and official (2002-09 and 2014-16) of the Rothosen after just a few weeks. "Of course, it is also a return to my club, which has accompanied me all my life and to which I have an emotional relationship. I owe HSV an incredible amount," Beiersdorfer explained meaningfully in a press briefing before the game. Just like "Didi", Maximilian Beister, an FCI player who carries the rhombus in his heart, is also returning. The 31-year-old was trained in HSV's youth system from 2004 to 2009 and played a total of 51 games (10 goals, 7 assists) for the HSV professionals between 2009 and 2015.

Where can I watch the Game?

Austria - Sky Sport Bundesliga 1&2
Bosnia & Herzogivna - Sportklub 7
Brazil – Onefootball
Croatia - Sportklub 7
Cyprus - Nova Sports 3 Cyprus
Denmark - Viaplay Denmark
Estonia - Viaplay Estonia
Finland - Elisa Viihde Viaplay
Greece - Nova Sports 3
Iceland - Viaplay Iceland
Latvia - Viaplay Latvia
Lithuania - Viaplay Lithuania
Montenegro - Sportklub 7
North Macedonia - Sportklub 7, MaxTV Go
Norway - Viaplay Norway
Poland - Viaplay Poland
Russia - matchtv.ru
Serbia - Sportklub 7
Sweden - Viaplay Sweden
Switzerland - Sky Sport Bundesliga 1&2
Turkey - beIN CONNECT Turkey