A classic relegation six-pointer will see bottom-placed Stuttgart square off against fellow strugglers Hamburg in the penultimate round of German Bundesliga.

And with mere two points separating the two sides at the moment, it is perfectly clear the stakes are high at the Mercedes Benz Arena.

Stuttgart have been on a major downtrend over the last few years, but this is the first time that they are seriously involves in the relegation tussle.

The Swabians had a pretty disappointing start to the second part of the season, taking mere four points from first nine fixtures, slipping to the bottom three in the process.

And while they have since shown some improvement, Huub Stevens’ charges were unable to leave the Bundesliga rock bottom, although the weekend’s triumph over Mainz served as a major boost to their survival hopes.

As a result, Stuttgart are just one point adrift of safety and sit two points behind their next opponents, so bear in mind that home win pays 1.75 (3/4).

With Antonio Rudiger and Daniel Didavi proving their fitness in training, Huub Stevens is widely expected to field an unchanged side.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Ulreich – Schwaab, Baumgartl, Rudiger, Klein – Serey Die, Gentner – Harnik, Didavi, Kostic – Ginczek.

Hamburg found themselves in almost exactly the same situation as Stuttgart this season, with the club in danger of getting relegated after a number of years of underperforming.

Things looked pretty bleak for the Red Shorts after the run of five successive defeats, but Bruno Labbadia’s charges somehow managed to turn things around.

Hamburg first defeated Augsburg at home to boost their survival hopes, before a forgotten man Gojko Kacar helped the team climb out of the bottom three.

The Serbian midfielder first scored a winner against Mainz before netting an all-important last-minute equalizer in the 1-1 draw with relegation rivals Freiburg to ensure the Red Shorts remain one point above the relegation zone.

However, Hamburg now need to avoid defeat at Stuttgart as well, with double chance on HSV paying 2.10 (11/10) at William Hill.

The visitors should have Ivo Ilicevic back to the side, but Valon Behrami and Nicolai Muller continue to miss out through injury.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Adler – Westermann, Djourou, Rajkovic, Ostrzolek – Kacar, van der Vaart – Stieber, Ilicevic, Olic – Lasogga.