Hamburger SV and Bayern Munich get the second half of the 2015/16 Bundesliga campaign underway on Friday evening at the Volksparkstadion.
Overview and Form
When these two sides lifted the curtain on the whole Bundesliga campaign last August, the then home side Bayern Munich ran out comprehensive winners, as most expected. A 5-0 home win for the current reigning Bundesliga champions was just the start they would've wanted, and just the start Labbadia and his HSV side would have hoped to avoid.
However, since the opener, Hamburg have performed better than many expected. Having struggled in recent seasons, and closely avoided the drop in successive seasons, supporters of The Dino will be pleased just to be clear of danger. For the time being at least. They lie in a comfortable 10th position.
Bayern need no introduction to anyone. They lead Borussia Dortmund by eight points at the halfway stage and will be looking to continue where they left off in the Hinrunde.
But, after a break of nearly five weeks, form in the Hinrunde and friendly matches are rarely considered.
Head-to-head
Again, not many will be surprised to learn that Bayern hold the upper hand in head-to-head meetings. They won 68 of the 112 Bundesliga meetings between the two sides, drawing on 23 occasions and losing just 21 times. Last season, they recorded an average score of 11-1 against HSV, winning 1-3 away from home and 8-0 back at the Allianz.
Team news
HSV are to be without Emir Spahic, Albin Ekdal and Philipp Müller, but could well welcome back Pierre-Michel Lasogga to the starting line-up. Johan Djourou will also miss out.
Bayern remain without long-term absentees Franck Ribery, Mehdi Benatia and Mario Götze and Juan Bernat. Rafinha picked up a knock in their friendly match against Karlsruher SC and will also miss out. But Arjen Robben, Douglas Costa and David Alaba are all available.
Managers quotes
Bruno Labaddia is wary of the threat Bayern pose and said in his presser that: "We'll encounter one of the best teams in Europe. We have to play as a team. We have to be superbly organised, disrupt their play really well, keep up our discipline, and be aggressive. We need a really good day.” Labaddia also confirmed that Djourou wouldn't be available to face Bayern.
Pep Guardiola was just pleased that the Bundesliga will finally get back underway. He said in his pre-match press conference: "I'm happy that the first competitive fixture is finally upon us. It's boring going so long without playing." He went on to say how Hamburg will be a different opposition to the one they met in August: "HSV are aggressive going forward. They're a completely different side from when we last played them."