Team News: Rafael van der Vaart starts for Hamburger SV against Bayer Leverkusen

Hamburger SV head coach Josef Zinnbauer has elected to bring Rafael van der Vaart back into his side for the Bundesliga clash with Bayer Leverkusen.

The Dutch playmaker was a substitute in the DFB-Pokal defeat to Bayern Munich in midweek, but returns to provide support for Pierre-Michel Lasogga.

There is no place in the side for Tolgay Arslan or Zoltan Stieber, who are both forced to settle for a place on the bench.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos starts in the centre of the Leverkusen defence, with the injured Stefan Reinartz continuing his spell on the sidelines.

Hamburger SV: Drobny, Diekmeier, Westermann, Djourou, Ostzolek, Behrami, Janses, Holtby, Van der Vaart, Muller, Lasogga

Bayer Leverkusen: Leno, Spahich, Papadopoulos, Wendell, Donati, Bender, Toprak, Bellarabi, Son, Calhanoglu, Kiessling