Steffen Schmidt - July 27, 2023
Hamburger SV vs Schalke
German 2. Bundesliga
Date: 28 July 2023, Friday
Kick-off at 19:30 UK / 20:30 CET
Venue: Volksparkstadion (Hamburg).
The new 2. Bundesliga campaign kicks off on Friday evening with a genuine classic between Hamburger SV and Schalke 04 at Volksparkstadion.
Neither team will enter the tie on a high following a dismal job they have both done during the summer transfer window.
Hamburger SV will have to do much more in terms of the newcomers to Volksparkstadion based on the performances we have seen in the preseason.
Tim Walter’s men have been particularly poor in defense this summer, allowing eleven goals in four exhibitions. They fell 4-1 to Salzburg and 2-1 to Rangers in the final two friendlies.
Schalke, on the other side, showed impressive attacking form in their latest preseason checks, notching seven goals in the last two clashes against Gornik Zabrze and Twente.
They have lost a lot of players in between the two seasons which is not surprising following their relegation from the top tier last year.
Nonetheless, head coach Thomas Reis can still count on the 2. Bundesliga veteran Simon Terrode who is one of the main contenders for the competition’s Golden Boot award this year.
Terrode was on target in a 2-2 stalemate against Dutch Eredivisie side Twente in Schalke’s final preseason test last weekend.
Hamburger SV do not seem capable of keeping things quiet at the back at the moment which is why we fancy Schalke to do well on the opening day. The value is great with the away win bet at the odds of 2.87.
We also like the 2.75 odds offered for Simon Terrode to score anytime for the visitors knowing that HSV shipped eleven goals in four preseason matches.