Hamburger vs Schalke 04 preview - Labbadia confident of Hamburg win

Hamburg have one chance of preserving their proud record of never having been relegated from the Bundesliga when they face Schalke on Saturday, and their coach Bruno Labbadia is convinced they will take it.

The northern Germany side need to beat the Royal Blues and then hope that either Stuttgart lose or there is a winner in the clash between Hannover and Freiburg, and Labbadia is convinced his team will keep their side of the bargain.

"We've got a realistic chance and we'll do all we can to take it," Labbadia said at a press conference.

"All we've got to do is ensure we get our result. We cannot influence anything else."

To help them focus on that task, Labbadia took his team into a training camp for three days, away from the pressures within the northern Germany city.

"We've come here to sharpen our focus and not because we want to study things in secret," Labbadia added.

"The conditions are right for us here. The facts are there for all to see - we need to win, and that's what we want to do."

They will have to do so without their suspended captain Rafael van der Vaart, who will already have played his last game for the club if they do not qualify for the relegation play-off, while Valon Behrami is still out injured.

Their guests have vowed to give them a game, aware that defeat could prove costly.

Although Schalke booked their place in the Europa League last weekend, they could still slip to sixth with defeat and that might mean a qualifying round for a place in Europe.

"There is still quite a lot riding on this game," said Schalke coach Roberto Di Matteo. "Both teams want to win."

The Italian coach will be without the injured Benedikt Howedes, but Marco Hoger is back from suspension.