Hamburg must make home help tell, says Jol

Hamburger SV have been in fine form at home this season and their coach Martin Jol believes a first-leg advantage will be essential if his side are to overcome Galatasaray AŞ, saying: "We need a couple of goals under our belt."

'Not perfect yet'
Having slipped to fifth in the Bundesliga with losses against VfL Wolfsburg and VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hamburg are in dire need of a morale boost ahead of the Round of 16 tie. "That was a terrible defeat," said Jol of Saturday's 4-1 loss at lowly Mönchengladbach. "I cannot blame my team for anything. We are not perfect yet. My players need my support; anything else would be wrong."

Intimidating atmosphere
Saturday's setback was another reminder that, while Hamburg have been strong at home, their away form has been below par and Jol feels this makes a home win against Galatasaray all the more important with a trip to the Ali Sami Yen Stadium to come on 19 March. "You need a couple of goals under your belt to survive there," said the Dutchman. "We need to be watertight at the back and make the difference by scoring goals up front. The players have to play to their limits."

Players keyed up
Defender Joris Mathijsen says his team-mates will need no extra encouragement to do that. "These are the types of games that made you want to become a footballer," he said, while captain David Jarolím promised: "Our fans will see a different HSV, I am sure." Guy Demel will miss the game with a torn thigh muscle but Michael Gravgaard should play wearing a special splint having had a broken middle finger set.

Stand-in striker
Galatasaray, UEFA Cup winners in 1999/00, welcome back Arda Turan, Harry Kewell and Emre Aşık after minor injuries, although Servet Çetin (metatarsal), Mehmet Topal (shoulder), Emre Güngör (leg) and Tobias Linderoth (groin) are definitely out. Congolese striker Shabani Nonda will stand in for suspended top scorer Milan Baroš, scorer of four goals already in this season's competition in addition to his 16 Süper Lig strikes.

'Critical point'
The Turkish team's Brazilian midfielder Lincoln knows Hamburg well from his time at 1. FC Kaiserslautern and FC Schalke 04, saying: "We're at a critical point in our season. We have proved our class by beating Benfica, Hertha Berlin and Bordeaux. If we are as determined as we were in those games we can eliminate other big teams too, though the Hamburg game will not be easy."