Hamburg v Karlsruher
Thursday 28th May – Kickoff: 2030hrs
Football – Germany – Bundesliga Relegation/Promotion Play-Off Betting Tip
Hamburg once again have to endure the relegation/promotion play-off scenario as they finished third from bottom in the German Bundesliga for the second season on the trot, despite a last-day 2-0 win over Schalke 04 of the regular season last weekend.
Last year Hamburg avoided the drop down to Bundesliga 2 thanks to the away-goal rule as they secured a 1-1 draw away at Greuther Furth in the second leg which followed a 0-0 draw at home in the opening leg. Fortune may not be so kind to them this time around though as they appear to be in even worse shape ahead of tonight’s crucial clash.
Hamburg finished their Bundesliga campaign with a home record of 6-5-6 16/18 but an upturn in form at home lifted them to third from bottom with recent wins over Augsburg and Schalke along with a draw against Freiburg.
However, they drew a blank at home on seven occasions this season so I’m not expecting any fireworks up front here, particularly considering their playmaker Olic is rated doubtful for this match.
Karlsruher will head into today’s first leg in optimistic mood despite missing out on the automatic promotion places by just one point – they finished third in Bundesliga 2 just one point behind Darmstadt 98 who secured promotion with a 1-0 win over St Pauli on the last day of the season.
But the visitors finished with a strong record on their travels with an overall 8-5-4 27/19 and they also scored the most away goals in the division throughout the season. In addition, they secured 17 clean sheets from their 34 matches in total so they will be confident of getting something at Hamburg tonight, or at least stay in the tie for the second leg.
Hamburg v Karlsruher Betting Tip
The first leg of a two-legged encounter is usually a tight, nervous affair with neither side keen to overplay their cards too early, and so I’ll back a low-scoring game here with both teams looking to stay in the tie for the second leg.
Pick: Under 2.5 goals @ 1.80 Ladbrokes
