Hamburger vs Wolfsburg preview - Knabel rallies shot-shy Hamburg

Hamburg coach Peter Knabel is calling on his relegation-threatened side to put on their shooting boots on Saturday against a Wolfsburg team bidding to secure their Champions League place.

With just 16 goals scored so far this season, of which 10 have come at home, it is clear to see where Hamburg's problems lie and Knabel says it is high time that changed.

"It's not on that we run out in front of 57,000 fans and don't even get in a single shot on target," he said at a press conference.

Hamburg have not scored in 405 minutes, and they have not won in their last seven.

Last season's top-scorer Pierre-Michel Lasogga is particularly under pressure to deliver, having found the back of the net only twice this season so far, and Knabel has yet to decide whether he will lead his side's attack this weekend.

"He's fit enough, but we've still got to decide whether he will start," said the Hamburg coach, who saw his team lose his first game in charge 4-0 last weekend.

As a result of this reluctance to score - and shoot - Hamburg are currently three points adrift of safety with seven games of the season to go, but visitors Wolfsburg are not likely to be pushovers.

One more win could secure their place in the Champions League next season, while also keeping them in the hunt for the title.

"This is a very important game for us," said their director of sport Klaus Allofs at a press conference.

That applies more so than for their clash with Napoli in the Europa League on Thursday or their DFB-Pokal semi-final with Arminia Bielefeld at the end of the month.

"The league is our utmost priority and all that matters for us is Hamburg," said coach Dieter Hecking.

"We want to qualify for the Champions League group stage as quickly as we can and everything else comes after that."