Autumn for Hamburg’s Bundesliga clubs is gray and dreary: HSV and FC St. Pauli are losing game after game. There is a risk of a historic double relegation.
That’s how they agreed HSV and the FC St Pauli Rare: In intimate togetherness, Hamburg’s first division teams have lost almost every game for weeks and are sailing dangerously close to the edge of the second division. In the long term, the Hanseatic city is threatened with the first double relegation in the history of the 1. Bundesliga.
Basically, it is no surprise that a promoted team (HSV) and the table 14th. the previous season (FC St. Pauli) were deeply involved in the relegation battle. But both teams have already indicated this season that they are capable of better performances. So what are the problems at the city’s two big clubs?
At HSV, two themes stand out: the good defense and the below-average offense. Defensively, Hamburg have long since arrived in the Bundesliga, are secure in most games and have already kept three clean sheets. Only the top teams Bayern Munich, Dortmund, Leipzig, Stuttgart and Leverkusen conceded fewer goals.
This is reminiscent of FC St. Pauli from the previous season: The promoted team at the time also impressed with a stable defense, but scored too few goals to say goodbye to the relegation battle early on. So far, HSV has only scored nine goals this season; only Heidenheim (8) was luckier in front of the goal.
According to “Expected Goals” – which indicates how high quality a shot on goal was – HSV should have already had 15 goals in their account. The opportunities are basically there, but the effectiveness and quality are lacking. Merlin Polzin’s team urgently needs to catch up, especially when it comes to the last pass: the HSV professionals rarely get into good finishing positions in the penalty area, and the shots often come from a distance or from difficult positions. In addition, HSV has rarely managed to build up pressure on its opponents – especially when the “Rothosen” had to chase down a deficit. Against St. Pauli (0:2), Wolfsburg (0:1), Leipzig (1:2), Cologne (1:4) and Augsburg (0:1), HSV gave away important points.
Ransford Königsdörffer has not yet impressed as the target player HSV needs and has only scored one goal this season. Newcomer and captain Yussuf Poulsenwho was brought in as a striker, is mostly missing injured while being a goalscorer Robert Glatzel has a difficult time for tactical reasons. New signing Fabio Vieira, hired as the “director” for the offensive, moves between the wings and central midfield – Merlin Polzin also urgently needs to find a way for the Portuguese to incorporate his qualities into his system in a targeted manner.