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European Football
Preview - 20 Oct 2007
Hamburg vs VFB
Stuttgart. Saturday 14:30.
The International break couldn't have come at a better time for
Stuttgart. A seventh-minute double whammy condemned the Swabians to
their seventh defeat of the season against Hannover two weeks ago.
Not only did referee Markus Merk award a penalty for a contentious
handball against Fernando Meira, he also sent the Stuttgart skipper
off. A decision which effectively killed the game, as Hannover made
their extra man count to great effect.
The bulk of Armin Veh's young squad should be nicely refreshed
after a uneventful week on the International front. The likes of
Sami Khedira, Roberto Hilbert and Pavel Pardo were not involved,
whilst Mario Gomez was rested for Germany's pitiful surrender
against the Czech Republic midweek. The midfield trio of Khedira,
Hilbert and Pardo were hugely influential in Stuttgart's success
last season, and the two-week break should have done wonders. In
addition Yildiray Basturk is now available after injury, whilst
record-signing Ciprian Marica should take some confidence from
getting on the scoresheet for Romania. It's time for Stuttgart to
show what they are capable of.
Hamburg coach Huub Stevens may have a different take on the
merits of the latest International programme, after seeing his
seven-goal talisman Rafael Van Der Vaart go off with a thigh injury
whilst playing for his country on Wednesday. The Dutchman is
sidelined for three weeks, and that spells problems for a side who
rely so heavily the Valencia and Chelsea target. In addition,
Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero picked up a bizarre airport-related
injury this week, whilst defensive midfielder Nigel De Jong is also
unavailable. Returning defender Vincent Kompany may have to fill-in
in an unfamiliar role, whilst out-of-favour striker Mohammed Zidan
will get a chance to prove his worth in attack. Van Der Vaart can
not be replaced so easily, and his role will probably be taken by
the inconsistent Piotr Trochowski.
Armin Veh is not without selection problems himself, with
Fernando Meira's suspension posing a problem in defence. However,
the layers appear to be under-estimating the importance of Van Der
Vaart to this Hamburg side. No Bundesliga side is more dependant on
one player. Hamburg have always performed better on the road under
Stevens and, without three of the players responsible for the recent
impressive run, look vulnerable against a Stuttgart side who won 4-2
here last spring, and are long overdue a result away from home. It
may be a cliche, but the reigning Champions are really not as bad as
early results suggest. Back them to notch their first away win of
the season.
Latest
news is that another defender - Magnin - has gone down injured for
Stuttgart. The result is that right-midfielder Hilbert will have to
revert to right-back, which further weakens an already
under-strength Stuttgart defence. At the current prices, it's best
to just take a watching brief.
Ilunga
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