Match Preview vs SC Paderborn 07

Our Opponents: 

Paderborn are always up there in the 2. Liga as one of the most difficult teams to play against and that didn’t change this season. Under Lukas Kwasniok, the side have been scoring goals for fun in some games this season and currently sit at top of the goals scored table, with one goal more than HSV. An array of attacking talent puts the side from Ostwestfalen hunting for the play off promotion spot that is currently occupied with a six point cushion by Tim Walter’s side. With no wins in their last few away matches, the team sitting in fourth place, will definitely want to upset the Volkspark faithful on Friday. 

Match Facts:

Brutal home strength 

While HSV's engine faltered away from home, it is running at full speed at home in the Volksparkstadion: While only 3 points were generated from the last 6 away games (3 draws, 3 defeats), the Rothosen have picked up a whopping 22 points from the last 8 home games. Only in the 0-0 draw against Holstein Kiel did Walter's charges give up points in this period. In addition, Hamburg scored 10 goals in the last two home games against Hannover (6:1) and St. Pauli (4:3). More of the same! 

Penalty area spectacle guaranteed 

The duel between HSV and Paderborn promises offensive fireworks: SCP, together with 1. FC Heidenheim, have the best offence in the league with 61 goals each, closely followed by HSV, who rank third with 60 goals. Paderborn also have the highest xGoals value in the league (62.7) and could therefore have scored even more. Two offensively oriented league rivals in a possibly decisive match - that guarantees excitement and spectacle. 
   

Two Roberts as goal scorers

The best goal scorers of both clubs have the same first name: HSV attacker Robert Glatzel is second on the list of goal scorers behind Heidenheim's Tim Kleindienst with 17 goals, SCP attacker Robert Leipertz is seventh with 11 goals. Recently, both Roberts have been going through a bit of a slump in their finishing. Glatzel has scored in only 2 of his last 10 games, while Leipertz has been scoreless for 7 games. By the way: In the second half of the 2018/19 season, Leipertz and Glatzel played together 6 times in the FCH jersey.