This Thursday the afreshed UEFA Europe League will be continued with the round of the last 16. In a duell between two former European Cup winners Hamburger SV hosts RSC Anderlecht.
With a portion of luck the Hamburger SV came last weekend to a victory in the German Bundesliga. Ultimately, the final rehearsal against bottom dweller Hertha BSC went smoothly thanks to a goal by Marcell Jansen. For the first leg of the round of last 16 next Thursday, the Hanseatic can refer to a proud home series: since the embarrassing 0:1 against Randers FC the HSV is in the HSH-Nordbank-Arena undefeated. The side of coach Bruno Labbadia won four times, once played a draw. Are not expected to be in the squad: suspended Guy Demel and both reconvalescent Romeo Castelen and Paolo Guerrero.
Already the current table leader of the Belgian Pro League, RSC Anderlecht, is twelve points ahead on his nearest rivals Club Brugge. Even the performance in the round of last 32 against Athletic Bilbao was amazing, when the Basques were wiped from the ground of the Vanden-Stock-stadium with a 4:0. The squad of the threefold European Cup winner presents some talents. Namely the 16-year-old Romelu Lukaku, who scored 13 times in the league so far, is certainly one of the hottest transfer share in Europe. The final duels with Hamburger SV are already a while back. In the late 1970s, the two opponents faced each other three times with a balanced record (one win each and a draw). Bitter and unforgotten the defeat in the European Cup final in 1977, when the Germans succeeded in the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium with 2:0.
Hamburger SV vs RSC Anderlecht
UEFA Europe League - Round of 16, first leg
Thursday, 11th of March 2010, 19:00 CET
HSH Nordbank Arena, Hamburg
Tip: Win for Hamburger SV
The best odd for our tip 1 is currently 1.60 at Tipico.