The southern lower league inform side welcome their inconsistent visitors from the north. A tight 1-1 encounter at the Imtech arena last Thursday has gave a slim, but vital, advantage to Karlsruhe, who have the away goals rule on their side.
A tense affair in front of the Imtech arena sellout crowd saw the visitors get an early goal to calm any nerves of playing in one of the countries biggest arenas. It was ex-Hamburg man Rouwen Hennings who opened the scoring after just nine minutes with a low hit shot across René Adler.
Hamburg failed to gain a foothold in the first half but came out during the second with a considerable desire to retain their famous 'Dino' status - which has been in doubt for sometime. A Ivo Ilicevic volley with just over twenty minutes left gave Hamburg a lifeline in the tie and the Croatian international was praised by coach Bruno Labbadia for his work-rate throughout the game.
Heading in to Monday nights encounter, it's Karlsruhe who have the slim advantage and momentum. Manager Markus Kauczinski said: "We are confident ahead of the return leg, despite the tie being level." While goalscorer Hennings added, "We feel we are good enough to become a Bundesliga side," which has gave the expected near sell-out Wildparkstadion crowd the hope that they can become a Bundesliga side once again.
Bruno Labbadia has a few injury concerns ahead of the massive relegation playoff encounter; Ivica Olic has been suffering from an allergic reaction whilst Petr Jiracek remains out with a thigh injury.
The former Karlsruher player when asked about returning to his former employers said: "Yes I have plenty of good memories from my time here, however Im not going to let that stop me from keeping HSV in the top flight".