The thought of Hamburger SV being relegated into the 2.Bundesliga looks increasingly likely with each week passing, with five games remaining.
On the other side Augsburg are looking at making a charge for Europe and are in pole position for a Europa League spot. Bruno Labbadia has a huge task on his hands while his opposite number has been attracting interest from other top european clubs.
Hamburg will be hoping for a change of fortunes, having gone without a win since February, it seems increasingly inevitable die Rothosen will beat the drop.
A crushing 1-0 defeat to fierce rivals Werder Bremen courtesy of a penalty in the 84th minute led to even more questions being asked of Labbadia's squad and their desire to stay in the top league. To add to Hamburg's troubles, midfielder Valon Behrami received a red card to give Labbadia an unneeded selection dilemma.
Markus Weinzierl's men look to be in pole position for a Europa League finish after going on a consistent run throughout the season.
Form of late however hasn't been in their fortune losing to Mainz, Freiburg and Paderborn which will give HSV even more optimism that teams at the bottom have taken points from Augsburg. A 2-1 win over Stuttgart combined with other results going in their favour saw Augsburg go four points clear of Bremen who have a significantly worse goal difference.
________________________________________________________________________
The most recent meeting between the two sides saw Augsburg come out 3-1 winners. The visitors taking a surprise lead through captain Rafael van der Vaart's penalty. The hosts then went on to win in a comfortable fashion with goals coming from Altintop, Bobadilla and a Paul Verhaegh penalty killing off any chance of a Hamburg comeback.