Fierce city rivals Hamburg and St Pauli resume hostilities in the Bundesliga on Friday, 14 years since their last top-flight clash.
Six-time German champions Hamburg, known as HSV in Germany, were relegated in 2018 and endured a seven-year stint in the second division before winning promotion at the end of last season.
Hamburg’s toil in the second flight of the Bundesliga was made worse by having to watch city rivals Pauli winning promotion a year earlier.
In terms of sporting success, Pauli have historically been overshadowed by Hamburg, one of only three German clubs to win the European Cup.
But while success is not only measured in sporting achievements for the cult club from Hamburg’s notorious Reeperbahn district, Pauli showed they belong in the top flight last season.
Despite losing coach Fabian Huerzeler to Premier League club Brighton after being promoted, Pauli stayed up on the back of the second-best defensive record in the division.
A wild 3-3 draw at home against Borussia Dortmund in their season opener on Saturday showed Pauli have the quality and spirit to again match it with the Bundesliga’s big guns.
Pauli defender Eric Smith, who scored the equaliser on Sunday, told the Bundesliga website on Wednesday that the derby was “the absolute highlight game” of the season.
“For everyone, the whole city, we know it’s the biggest game you can have,” the Swede added.
As the side with more recent Bundesliga experience, Smith said the key for Pauli was to “find a balance between all the energy and stay calm and do the right things under pressure.”
The sides have met in the top flight just 16 times, with Hamburg winning eight and Pauli just twice.
Hamburg returned to the top flight with a scoreless draw away at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday and were arguably the better team for much of the game.
After that match, Hamburg goalie Daniel Heuer Fernandes told DAZN: “Everyone who’s played in the derby knows that all hell breaks loose.”
HSV coach Merlin Polzin, a life-long fan of a well-followed club that regularly attracts crowds in excess of 55,000, said the derby showed the port city was “Germany’s football capital.”
The 34-year-old said the derby “splits the football-mad city” but he was clear that the derby talk should not obscure his main goal – keeping Hamburg in the top flight.
“We don’t want to define HSV based on derby victories this season. We want to establish HSV in the Bundesliga,” Polzin said. “But derby victories are a part of that and we’ll give our all.”
Fixtures (13.30 GMT unless state)
Friday
Hamburg v St Pauli (18.30)
Saturday
Hoffenheim v Eintracht Frankfurt, RB Leipzig v Heidenheim, Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen, Stuttgart v Borussia Moenchengladbach, Augsburg v Bayern Munich (16.30)
Sunday
Wolfsburg v Mainz, Borussia Dortmund v Union Berlin (15.30), Cologne v Freiburg (17.30)