Eintracht Frankfurt will square off against Hamburg in this evening’s fixture at the Commerzbank-Arena, with both teams definitely having an eye on a potentially huge three points.

The home side begin the game in ninth place, having accumulated 28 points from the 22 games so far this season, while the visitors currently sit in 14th with 24 points from the same number of games.

This fixture is a clear demonstration of how tight the table is in the middle region, as with a win Die Rothosen would move just a point behind Eintracht, who before the game are just two points away from seventh place.

Eintracht also sit ninth in the home table for this season, with 18 points from there 11 games at the Commerzbank this season. They have a positive goal difference in front of their own fans as well, having scored 23 and conceded 21, with a 5-3-3 win-draw-loss record.

Hamburg’s away form is a cause for concern, currently placed third bottom away from the Volksparkstadion. Having won just two games away from home all season in the Bundesliga, losing six and drawing the remaining three, they have just nine points in the away table. However, they have conceded just 19 goals away from home, the best out of the sides in the bottom 7.

In team news, the home side will be without Constant Djakpa and Luca Waldschmidt (both rehabilitation after long-term injuries), while Carlos Zambrano and Haris Seferovic are both suspended for the tie. Nelson Valdez, who injured his cruciate ligament back in August, could return for Frankfurt.

Valon Behrami and Cleber are back in training, but will miss out with respective knee and muscle injuries, while target man Pierre-Michel Lasogga and Olic will miss out with thigh issues. Furthermore, Marcelo Diaz (knee), Lewis Holtby (collarbone) and Marcell Jansen (muscle tear) will all miss out in a lengthy injury list for HSV.

Thomas Schaaf is looking forward to the evening game: “Playing under floodlights is always special. The harmony and atmosphere in the squad is good.”

Coach Zinnbauer of Hamburg expects Eintracht to want to bounce back after their last defeat: “Frankfurt are very strong at home, but they recently lost in Mainz. Therefore, I’m expecting them to want to make amends.”

Eintracht have managed just one win so far this year, compared to two for Hamburg, and HSV definitely have the better head-to-head record in this fixtures, having won 41 of the 91 Bundesliga meetings so far between the clubs. Last time they met, Frankfurt won 2-1 at the Imtech Arena on Matchday 6, so Hamburg will be looking for revenge.

Possible line-ups:

Frankfurt: Trapp - Chandler, Russ, Anderson, Oczipka - Stendera, Hasebe - Aigner, Piazon, Inui - Meier.

Hamburg: Drobny - Diekmeier, Djourou, Rajkovic, Ostrzolek - Jiracek, Westermann - Müller, Stieber, Gouaida - Rudnevs.