Hamburg-Manchester City: Match Preview

Hamburg vs. Manchester City, UEFA Cup, April 8, 2009

Mark Hughes takes his Manchester City side to the Nordbank Arena, hoping to gain a major result on the way to some silverware and perhaps keep his job at Eastland which with all the money from Dubai, is turning into a poisoned chalice.

The winners of this tie will face the victors from the clash between Werder Bremen and Udinese, and with Robinho (12/5 to score on the night) in their ranks, and having survived two penalty shootouts, City may feel it has a real chance of winning Europe’s second-class competition.

Following a marathon European season, City will be buoyed in the knowledge that it has already won in Germany this season, 2-0 at Schalke in November (their last away win in any competition), and the Brazilian trickster could well return to the form of old after he was cleared of a sexual assault charge earlier this week.

There are injury doubts over the likes of Wayne Bridge, Gelson Fernandes, and Stephen Ireland, but there is no doubt that if City can survive this tough encounter, it will rely on home form, which has been excellent this campaign.

Much of the buildup in England will likely center on Big Martin Jol, but Hamburg has some great players and is quietly challenging for the Bundesliga, alongside surprise teams Hertha Berlin and Wolfsburg, alongside Bayern Munich.

This match is clear proof of the strength of the Hamburg squad, since two players (Nigel de Jong and Vincent Kompany) will be returning to their former club, having been enticed to City since becoming one of the richest clubs in world football.

Among the players, who could cause City damage are attacking fullback Marcell Jansen, playmaker Piotr Trochowski, and Croats Ivica Olic and Mladen Petric. Although he is a doubt with an ankle injury, the City defense will also have to be aware of Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero, who turned the last round tie with Galatasaray on its head with an excellent brace in the second leg in Turkey.

City will have its work cut out for it, and with its away form, a defeat is almost expected, but can it limit the damage and set up an intriguing second leg at Eastlands?

101gg predicts: Hamburg 2 - Manchester City 1 (15/2) & Piotr Trochowski to score the first goal (8/1).

Full match odds, click here.