Hamburg boss Bruno Labbadia admits his players are feeling the pressure as they battle to avoid their first relegation in the Bundesliga's 52-year history.
HSV -- the only founding member of the league to have survived from the first matchday in August 1963 without being relegated -- know their hopes of beating the drop are out of their own hands after last weekend's 2-1 defeat to Stuttgart left them second bottom of the Bundesliga table.
Hamburg must beat Schalke in their final game of the season on Saturday and hope that Stuttgart -- in the relegation playoff spot -- do not beat rock-bottom Paderborn and that Freiburg and Hannover, in 14th and 15th, do not draw their match.
Nonetheless, Hamburg face a daunting final day, and the club have already decided that their famous giant clock will be allowed to gradually run itself down should they fail to survive. The giant clock has been counting the days since their first ever Bundesliga game at Preussen Munster on Aug. 24, 1963.
Labbadia, Hamburg's fourth coach of the season, told reporters: "You can see that there is pressure on the team. And it's not about putting the players on a couch but about working to become a complete unit!"
Bürgermeister @OlafScholz besucht unsere Mannschaft persönlich in Malente & wünscht für das Saisonfinale alles Gute! pic.twitter.com/IzDi7a47El
- Hamburger SV (@HSV) May 21, 2015
The city has been united behind the team, with Hamburg mayor Olaf Scholz visiting the players at their training camp in Malente, a small town in the Schleswig-Holstein state, some 100 kilometres to the north.
"I have seen a team that has the absolute will to win," Scholz told reporters after addressing the team. "I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the game, just like most of the people in Hamburg. Hamburg backs HSV!"
Hamburg will be without suspended captain Rafael van der Vaart and backup keeper Jaroslav Drobny for the game, while former Germany international Marcell Jansen is also a major doubt.
While Hamburg's fate appears bleak, there are 50 potential outcomes in terms of the teams that will occupy the final three places in the Bundesliga.
In an effort to ensure they focus solely on beating Schalke, Bild reports that Hamburg will not show results from the other games on the giant screen, and Paderborn -- who could yet finish in the relegation playoff spot -- will do likewise when they host Stuttgart.
Even 13th-placed Hertha Berlin, three points clear of Hamburg and with a far superior goal difference, could ultimately be relegated via the playoff.
Hannover and Freiburg both have 34 points, and face each other at the former's Niedersachsenstadion. A draw would be enough for the visitors, who have the better the goal difference, and could also be enough for the hosts, should Paderborn, on 31 points, not lose to Stuttgart, who have 33.
Meanwhile, if Hannover were to lose their match 4-2 and Stuttgart were to draw 0-0, that would leave the two clubs with equal points and equal goals. In that eventuality, Hannover would finish below Stuttgart on account of their inferior head-to-head record.