Hamburg vs Bayern Munich preview

January 21, 2016
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Hamburg vs BayernThe Bundesliga campaign resumes after a month-long break with what should be an attractive clash between Hamburg and Bayern Munich.

Revived HSV will be eager to prove the time of fighting for their lives is in the past now, and they could make the title chase interesting again by stopping the Bavarians in their tracks.

For several years now, the only German club never to have been relegated from the elite division have struggled to keep the impressive record intact.

Following yet another narrow escape last season, the Red Shorts were finally able to show some improvement, having finished the first part of the campaign seven points clear of the dotted line.

The team have clearly profited from the continuity provided by talented coach Bruno Labbadia, although HSV did suffer a serious dip in form ahead of the winter break.

Having taken just one point from last three league fixtures, Hamburg will be eager to start the new year in style, but mighty Bayern Munich are probably not the team they want to meet in the first game of 2016.

There are no major selection worries for Bruno Labbadia, although Emir Spahic and Albin Ekdal continue to miss out.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Adler – Diekmeier, Djourou, Cleber, Ostrzolek – Kacar, Holtby – N. Muller, Hunt, Ilicevic – Lasogga.

It is now clear that this will be the final season for Bayern Munich with Pep Guardiola at the helm, and no doubt the players will want to create a perfect sending off for the Catalan coach.

An eight-point cushion at the Bundesliga summit is enough to suggest that the league trophy is theirs to lose, although with Borussia Dortmund back in business, the Bavarians cannot afford to relax just yet.

Bayern Munich recovered well from the 3-1 loss to Borussia M’gladbach, winning next four games on all fronts without conceding.

Nevertheless, it is important to note that the Bavarians suffered a 2-1 friendly defeat to Karlsruher in the final warm-up game.

Even so, Bayern Munich remain hot favourites to win at Imtech Arena and they can be backed at 1.71 (7/10) for a half-time/full-time win.

Pep Guardiola has received a boost as Mario Gotze, Franck Ribery and Mehdi Benatia resumed light training, but the Hamburg game comes too soon for them.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Neuer – Lahm, Martinez, Boateng, Alaba – Alonso, Vidal – Robben, Muller, Douglas Costa – Lewandowski.

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