Hannover vs Hamburg Preview

The attendance at the AWD-Arena may be dwarfed by the 81,000 who will attend Borussia Dortmund's clash with Schalke - another derby - but Slomka believes his side's game is the "highlight of the weekend".

And he is hoping to make amends for a 4-1 defeat at Wolfsburg last Saturday.

"We did not play well last weekend and we want to do better against Hamburg," he said at the pre-match press conference.

"This is the highlight of the weekend. The stadium is going to be full and our games against Hamburg have always been exciting, dramatic matches."

Indeed, Hannover have only lost to their northern Germany rivals three times in the last decade, and only once on home territory.

"I understand that our record against Hamburg has been good in recent years," said Slomka.

"That does not have any influence on this game as we need to fight for 90 minutes to gain an advantage, but if it so happens that Hamburg suit us as an opponent, then we will take that."

A disadvantage for the Reds could be the loss of both Didier Ya Konan and Lars Stindl to suspension.

But Hamburg's top goalscorer Mladen Petric is also missing.

"He felt something while training this week, but it is no new injury," reported Hamburg coach Thorsten Fink.

"We just want to be cautious so Mladen will not play in Hannover."

Markus Berg and Jose Paolo Guerrero should continue to lead the attack as Fink searches for a second straight win.

"If we were to be satisfied (with one win), then that would equate to a step backwards," he added at a press conference.

"We have got to carry on from where we left off against Hoffenheim."