Hamburger Sport-Verein could reach a landmark crossroads by 20 past five on Saturday evening. When the clock reaches 258 days, 22 hours and 30 minutes, the club's unmatched stint in the Bundesliga could come to an end.

With more than half a century of history, civic pride and identity at stake, the club's ever-present status in the Bundesliga looks troubled. One final, nerve-jangling 90 minutes is the main course for the Hamburg fans in Mainz with a three-way battle for survival set to get underway, also involving Nuremburg and Eintracht Braunschweig.

Even then, the best Hamburg can hope for at the Coface Arena is to secure the 16th position - and that creates a two-legged play-off for survival against the third-placed finishers from the 2.Bundesliga. The opposition will likely be either SC Paderborn or Greuther Fürth.

Two points stand between Hamburg, Nuremburg and Eintracht Braunschweig at the foot of the table. A win for Hamburg would rule out any significant changes to the drop-zone, but three points for either rival - if coupled with a Hamburg defeat - would automatically relegate the Bundesliga's endangered "dinosaurs" to the second division. It could also end in financial implosion with the club already managing debts of around 100 million euros ($138 million).

Although relegation itself would be a major headache for the management at Hamburg, the process could yield positive changes in the club's management. Former Bundesliga "chaos club" Cologne, who booked their ticket back to the Bundesliga in the last few weeks, show the chance for squad reorganization and rejuvenation that relegation can provide, if handled well.

Lasogga returns

Lasogga will bring a welcome boost for Hamburg in attack.

"We have to reproduce our first half performance against Bayern for the full 90 minutes in Mainz," head coach Mirko Slomka said. "They are tactically variable and are a force at home and want to play in Europe next season. But we are going there to win and not look at what others might be doing."

The Hamburg coach is handed a rare pre-match boost, meanwhile, following the news of Pierre-Michel Lasogga's return to fitness. The 22-year-old striker has netted 12 goals in 19 matches for Hamburg, but has spent the most important part of the season nursing a thigh problem.

The loanee will return to Hertha Berlin in the summer, entering the final 12 months of his contract there, so tomorrow could be his final outing for the former European Cup winners. But Hamburg's forward problems are centered on Lasogga with limited quality in reserve to compensate for the German's injury lay-off.

Der Club need a miracle

Elsewhere in the relegation battle, the focus will be on Gelsenkirchen, where Nuremburg face Schalke on match-day 34. The two clubs may have one of the strongest fan friendships in German football, but that will count for very little with Schalke battling to fight off pressure from Bayer Leverkusen for third in the league.

In order to avoid relegation, Nuremburg must win for the first time in seven matches. Current coach Roger Prinzen - and his predecessor Gertjan Verbeek - could only salvage one win from the last 11 attempts, managing to score in just three of those games. Even though Josip Drmic has 16 goals to his name this season, he too is on a barren streak of five goalless games.

"You might think I'm crazy, but I believe we can do it this time," Prinzen said as he made several references to Liverpool's astonishing Champions League Final comeback in 2005. "We must be warriors. Everything is always possible."

Even a miracle might not suffice for Kumbela and Braunschweig on Saturday

The odds may be firmly stacked against Eintracht Braunschweig, as they have been for most of the season, but their task is the simplest of all: only a win at Hoffenheim provides any hope of avoiding automatic relegation, and even that might not be enough.

The Lions under Torsten Lieberknecht have looked to make up for the lack of quality with endearing levels of energy and enthusiasm. Wins over Hannover and Mainz clawed the deficit back temporarily, but Braunschweig are now four games without a point - or even without scoring a goal.

"We cannot promise a victory," Lieberknecht said with Braunschweig expecting more than 6,500 away fans in Sinsheim. "But we can assure you that the team will perform with big hearts as previously. With our away supporters, it will be almost like a home game for us."

The carrot is fourth

The last weekend of the season also will include a fierce battle for European positions. Three clubs are in contention for the fourth Champions League position, currently occupied by Bayer Leverkusen who are in pole position with a home match against Werder Bremen.

Should they lose, however, either Borussia Mönchengladbach or Wolfsburg could sneak in to steal the prize - with the two locking horns in a winner-takes-all showdown at the Volkswagen Arena.

For the final European position, Mainz will not be taking their foot off the gas for the visit of Hamburg, while Augsburg have an outside chance in their home match against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Elsewhere, Bayern Munich toast the league championship at home to VfB Stuttgart, Hannover host the in-form Freiburg and Borussia Dortmund make their first of two trips to Berlin in a week to conclude their campaign against Hertha BSC.