Hamburg fans have snapped up all 57,000 tickets for Saturday's do-or-die Bundesliga clash at home to Schalke with defeat meaning an historic first relegation from Germany's top flight.

As the only team in the Bundesliga never to have been relegated, Hamburg are currently 17th in the table and must beat Roberto di Matteo's Schalke, and hope other results go their way, to stay up.

Having won the last of their six German league titles in 1983, Hamburg are a club in turmoil with Bruno Labbadia the latest of four coaches to have taken charge this season.

"The pressure situation is already obvious within the team, so it's important to try and stay relaxed," said Labbadia amidst a sea of anxious faces in the Hanseatic city.

A clock at the stadium records how long Hamburg have been in the Bundesliga since 1963 -- and it could be stopped for the first time on Saturday afternoon.

The consequences of dropping to the second division for the first time could be dire -- both for the club and the city.

The club supports around 750 jobs, many of which would come under threat, and the club's budget would nearly halve from 120 million euros to 75 million if they go down.

"We have to win our game," said Labbadia, "and I believe we're capable of doing that to give ourselves a chance of escaping the relegation places."

Hamburg have been in this situation before.

Last season they stayed up only by virtue of a single away goal having drawn both legs of a relegation play-off against Greuther Fuerth.

One of the tightest relegation battles in Bundesliga history will unfold on Saturday with the bottom six teams all fighting to stay up.

The bottom two sides, currently Paderborn and Hamburg, will be relegated automatically while the 16th-placed team faces a play-off against the third-best team in the second division.

Bottom side Paderborn can finish no higher than 16th, the ranking of their visitors Stuttgart, another former German giant on the brink of relegation.

Hanover are at home to Freiburg, who enjoyed a shock 2-1 win over Bayern last Saturday, with both sides locked on 34 points, just one above the relegation places.

Hertha Berlin could drop from 13th into the relegation mire and 16th place with a defeat at Hoffenheim which would threaten their third relegation in five years.

Book-makers in Germany predict only one outcome with Paderborn and Hamburg the clear favourites to go down.