Record against Hamburg
Overall (Bundesliga and DFB Cup): 109 games, 42 wins, 23 draws, 44 defeats, 180:169 goal difference
This will be the first game between the teams in Bundesliga 2.
Looking back
Daniel Ginczek scored a 44th-minute equaliser for VfB in a 1-1 draw when the sides last met on Matchday 28 of the 2017/18 Bundesliga season.
Support
VfB will be cheered on by 5,195 travelling red-and-white fans in Hamburg. As such, the club’s ticket allocation has been sold out and there will not be any available for purchase at the stadium on the day of the game.
Familiar faces
Midfielder Orel Mangala laced his boots for Hamburg on loan last season, while HSV striker Martin Harnik – on loan at the club from Werder Bremen – played for VfB for six years.
Happy travellers
Tim Walter’s charges are unbeaten on the road so far this term, winning two and drawing two. Arminia Bielefeld are the only side with a better points-per-game average (2.6) away from home in 2019/20.
Dominant displays
VfB have had more possession (68 per cent) and better passing accuracy (89 per cent), and have won a greater proportion of challenges (53 per cent) than anyone else in the current Bundesliga 2 campaign. Walter’s side are also the division’s best when it comes to crosses made (148), while their crossing accuracy (29 per cent) is only bettered by SV Sandhausen.
You shall not pass
Saturday’s fixture pits Bundesliga 2’s meanest defence against its third-most miserly backline: Hamburg have only conceded eight times this season, VfB ten. Walter’s troops have been virtually unbeatable in the air at the back and have let in just one header all term – a joint league-low alongside Osnabrück.