One tough game down, another looming large on the horizon.
Having drawn 1-1 with Schalke to return to the top of the league, Hamburger SV next have to travel to MK ilina for their UEFA Cup group opener on Thursday.
Petric good to go
Coach Martin Jol will once again be without Nigel de Jong, Marcell Jansen and Thiago Neves for the tricky trip to Slovakia. Mladen Petric, on the other hand, is expected to be fully recovered from the stomach flu that restricted him to a substitute role against Schalke.
The on-form Croatian striker and his teammates are looking to get off the mark with a win in the group phase.
“That would be great, because you always need six or seven points to get through to the next stage”, Jol said. ilina have been targetted for the first three, but they are unbeaten in five at home in Europe and will certainly be no pushovers.
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