AUDIO: HSV before the annual final against Frankfurt (1 min)
As of: December 18, 2025 6:32 p.m
While things are not going well away from home in the Bundesliga, HSV has been extremely strong at home recently. Champions League participants Eintracht Frankfurt are coming to the Volkspark for the last game of the year – and the Hamburg team has major personnel concerns.
Captain Yussuf Poulsen sprained in training on Thursday without any opposition and will not only be out against Eintracht, but also “for one or two weeks in January,” as coach Merlin Polzin said on Thursday. HSV announced that the 31-year-old suffered an injury to his left ankle involving a syndesmosis. He doesn’t need surgery.
“It’s a chance to show what the squad is capable of.”
HSV coach Merlin Polzin
In addition: Left winger Jean-Luc Dompé (Achilles tendon problems) will again be unavailable on Saturday against Frankfurt (3:30 p.m., in the NDR Livecenter), as was the case in the 4-1 loss at TSG Hoffenheim. And there are also question marks behind the possible appearances of Fabio Vieira and Guilherme Ramos. The Portuguese were ill during the week and have not been able to train yet.
The long-term injured Warmed Omari, Robert Glatzel and Alexander Rössing-Lelesiit are also missing and are in advanced training. It was of course bitter, said Polzin, but also a “chance to show what the squad is capable of.”
Reconstruction on the offensive – Remberg back
Because one thing is clear: the 35-year-old will have to adapt specifically on offense in the last game of the year. Rayan Philippe, Ransford-Königsdörffer, Bakery Jatta and Fabio Baldé are likely to fight for the two starting positions on the wings and the center forward position. After all: Behind them, Nicolai Remberg, who was sorely missed in Sinsheim, will return to central midfield alongside Albert Sambi Lokonga after his yellow card suspension.
Can HSV score again at the Volksparkstadion?
The task of following up the last minute draw against Dortmund (1:1) and the late and emotional victories against Stuttgart (2:1) and Bremen (3:2) with the next point win in the Volkspark is significantly more difficult. Especially against an opponent who “comes from completely different areas,” as Polzin said about the Champions League participant: “It’s an opponent who belongs to the top of the Bundesliga.”
Due to the personnel conditions, the coach believes that “we have to go above 100 percent”. According to the data from the Global Soccer Network (GSN), the physical prerequisites for this – for example in terms of physical presence in duels or the number of sprints in the final quarter of an hour – are definitely there.
Eintracht offensively great and defensively poor
The question against the SGE will be the same as in practically all games of the season so far: Can HSV capitalize more on the decent number of shots – 17 per game (sixth in the league)? Eintracht has provided sufficient “attack surface” given that they have already conceded 20 goals on foreign pitches in their previous away games.
However, there is also an extremely strong attack. Hamburg have to be particularly careful about the offensive duo of winger Ritsu Doan and Can Uzun. Both already have eight scorer points each. Until now, the Japanese Doan had the following rule: whenever he collected a scorer point, Eintracht won.
Against this background, from Polzin’s point of view, the game offers another opportunity to “show what the connection between players and the stadium is.” But it is also clear: “We first have to deliver on the pitch.” In the last game of the year under difficult personnel conditions.
Possible lineups
Hamburger SV: This year Fernandes – Capaldo, Vuskovic, Torunarigha – Gocholeishvili, Lokonga, Remberg, Muheim – Jatta, Philippe, Baldé
Eintracht Frankfurt: Zetterer – Kristensen, Koch, Collins – Doan, Larsson, Dahoud, Brown – Uzun, Götze – Knauff
