17:30
Hamburg - Thun
Hamburger SV will covet a similar response to the last time they were defeated by Swiss opposition when they look to overturn a 1-0 deficit against FC Thun at the AOL Arena. The Bundesliga outfit conceded an identical advantage to FC Basel 1893 in the third round of the 2000
UEFA Intertoto Cup, but came storming back to win 3-2 at St. Jakob-Park in the second encounter to progress on the away-goals rule. The side will have to repeat the feat against Thun after Adriano Pimenta's first-half goal gave coach Heinz Peischl's victory in his first match at the helm.
• Peischl picked up where predecessor Urs Schönenberger left off after guiding Thun through the most successful season of European football in their history. The side came within seconds of a famous draw on their
UEFA Champions League debut against Arsenal FC at Highbury but were denied by a 92nd-minute Dennis Bergkamp goal. The Bernese outfit were beneficiaries of late drama in their second outing when Selver Hodzic's late strike earned a 1-0 win against Sparta, before successive defeats by Arsenal and AFC Ajax twice ended any hopes of claiming a last-16 berth. However, a goalless draw against Sparta ensured they finished third in Group B, and earned a place in the
UEFA Cup.
• Rafael van der Vaart was in inspired form as Hamburg opened their
UEFA Cup Group A account with a 1-0 victory at PFC CSKA Sofia. The Dutchman was again on target in the 2-0 win against Viking FK at the AOL Arena, but he could do nothing to halt AS Monaco FC in the German side's third outing as they were defeated 2-0. Hamburg recovered from the setback, however, securing second in the section with a 2-0 victory against ten-man SK Slavia Prague.
• That result set up a tie against Thun – the second time the sides have met in as many seasons. Hamburg will have fond memories of last season's encounter in the third round of the Intertoto Cup, when Daniel Romeo scored twice to earn a 2-2 draw in the first leg at the Lachen stadium. Romeo then hit two more unanswered goals in the return leg as the German side eased through to the semi-finals.
• It was a disappointing result for Thun, who had won both legs of their tie against another Bundesliga outfit, VfL Wolfsburg, in the previous round, eventually winning 7-3 on aggregate.
• Before the first-leg defeat, Hamburg had lost just one of their previous ten encounters with Swiss opposition in
UEFA competition, against Basel in 2000. They nevertheless overturned the deficit in the away leg, stretching a fine record against teams from neighbouring Switzerland.