Hamburger - Werder UEFA - UEFA Cup Prediction

Hamburger - Werder
07.05 20:45
Hamburg have been recording some extraordinary results in German Bundesliga, as well as in the European competitions, UEFA Cup more precisely. They surprised Werder in the first semifinal leg in Bremen recording a narrow 1:0 win giving themselves a solid advantage before the rematch at their Nordbank arena. Martin Jol believes his team can repeat such a good performance again and use their goal-scoring chances in the best way possible. Defending their own goal and keeping the result will almost surely not be the playing style of the hosts in this game. Hamburg aren’t a team that can play defensive, they have great forwards, playing a lot of counterattacks which will be their main weapon in this match as well. Jol won’t have many problems with composing his team’s lineup, and striker Guerrero will be the only player who will miss this game due to suspension. If there won’t be any bigger changes, Hamburg should field the following eleven players: Rost, Boateng, Jansen, Gravgaard, Mathijsen, Alex, Aogo, Trochowski, Jarolim, Olić i Petrić.
Bad away
Werder have suffered a defeat in another road game yet again, where Koeln defeated them by 1:0. Bad position in the standings is exactly the reason why the Bremen side is listed as one of the worst visiting teams this season in Bundesliga with only one win. In the first UEFA Cup semis, Werder performed very poorly in front of their fans, losing to Hamburg deservedly. Coach Thomas Schaaf believes his club can still snatch the finals and that the 1:0 scoreline is totally reachable. He isn’t afraid of their bad away games as he believes they will do much better in UEFA Cup and will have a different approach to the game. Werder’s win is an imperative since that’s the only way they can reach finals, which is their main goal this season. Schaaf doesn’t have any injury or other squad concerns, so the strongest lineup should be fielded in this game: Wiese, Fritz, Bonisch, Mertesacker, Naldo, Baumann, Frings, Ozil, Diego, Rosenberg i Pizzaro.
Over 2.5 is most realistic
In the clash between two German clubs in Europe, everything is possible, which Hamburg demonstrated last week in Bremen beating the hosting Werder pretty comfortably. Now the situation will be completely the same and any “unexpected” outcomes are possible. We can’t say that Hamburg have secured the finals yet as there are whole 90 minutes to be played before the winner when it will be decided who is currently the better side that deserves to qualify for the finals and a clash with one of the Ukrainian representatives. Both teams will be forcing their offensive playing styles. Werder have no other option but to open up completely while Hamburg will be seeking their chances from very quick counterattacks. Both players will field their strongest lineups, so I expect them to play great, and primarily to score a few goals each. Medium-high stakes.
Tip: Over 2.5 Goals, Odds 1.8;