Mahdavikia maintains Hamburg push

UEFA - Hamburger SV were the only side in UEFA Cup Group A to take maximum points from the weekend's fixtures, as SK Slavia Praha and AS Monaco FC could only manage draws. PFC CSKA Sofia and Viking FK, meanwhile, were both without a game.

Hamburger SV 2-1 Hertha BSC Berlin

Hamburg maintained their Bundesliga title push with victory against fellow high-fliers Hertha on Saturday. The home side led in the second minute when visiting defender Dick van Burik put through his own net and Mehdi Mahdavikia doubled the lead from the penalty spot following a foul on Emile Mpenza. Yıldıray Baştürk pulled one back for Hertha, who had Marcelinho dismissed, but it was not enough to deny Hamburg a fourth straight Bundesliga win.

Head coach Thomas Doll said: "We played some good football early on, resulting in two goals. I hoped we could hit a third to make the points safe before half-time, though instead it was a stressful finale as Hertha put us under great pressure." Sergej Barbarez came on for Rafael van der Vaart, out for two months with a broken ankle, while Stefan Beinlich took the place of Raphael Wicky (calf), who is a doubt for Thursday.

SK Slavia Praha 1-1 FK Teplice

Slavia go into the winter break third in the Czech First Division, eight points behind leaders FC Slovan Liberec and three adrift of second-placed Teplice, with whom they finished all-square at the Strahov stadium. The home side, without injured defender Martin Latka, struck early on through captain Karel Piták after six minutes following a good run from Dušan Švento.

Slavia dominated possession, but were unable to captalise despite creating a host of chances, while Teplice looked content to sit back and catch their opponents on the break. It was from such a situation that the visitors leveled, Czech Republic Under-21 international Tomáš Jirsák scoring a first-time cross shot in the 19th minute. "We missed several good chances and then conceded a soft goal from a Tomáš Hrdlicka mistake," said coach Karel Jarolím. "Our opponents were content to sit back and defend and they succeeded with their game plan."

FC Nantes Atlantique 0-0 AS Monaco FC

Monaco moved ahead of Olympique de Marseille into sixth place in Ligue 1 after an evenly-contested goaless draw at Nantes. The Principality side could have taken the full quota of points on offer had Togo forward Emmanuel Adebayor not had his 41st minute spot-kick saved by Mickaël Landreau, after Lucas Bernardi was fouled in the penalty area.

Coach Francesco Guidolin said: "I'm disappointed because we had opportunities to win. I expected my players to be at a better level in terms of conviction and determination." Sébastien Squillaci was an unused substitute after being sidelined recently. The centre-back is likely to return to action on Thursday, as could Czech Republic Jaroslav Plašil. However, the same cannot be said of Brazilian full-back Maicon (ankle), midfielder Gerard López (achilles), striker Javier Chevantón (knee) and Italian goalkeeper Flavio Roma (groin).

PFC CSKA Sofia

Already on their winter break, Bulgarian Premier League leaders CSKA Sofia had extra time to prepare for their crucial UEFA Cup Matchday 5 encounter at Monaco. CSKA go into the match knowing that victory is a must in what is a very tight section.

Influential Moroccan midfielder Mourad Hdiouad is hopeful of making the visit to the French principality having resumed training following two months out with a thigh injury. "I feel I will be fit for the game; I'm ready to help the team's cause," said Hdiouad. Meanwhile, forward Stoyko Sakaliev is rated only as doubtful because of knee injury and defender Slavko Matić will definitely miss the game, also troubled by a knee problem.

Viking FK

With their domestic season over, the players of Viking are currently enjoying a holiday. However the club will have eye one on this week's UEFA Cup Group A fixtures with the club still retaining a slim chance of qualifying for the Round of 32 in February. For the Norwegian side to progress they need Monaco to defeat CSKA Sofia, while at the same time Hamburg overcome Slavia by four clear goals.

Whether they achieve a surprise qualification or not new coach Tom Prahl has already his sights firmly on the 2006 season. Prahl, although yet to sign anyone, is aiming to make additions to his squad in the near future, having lost midfielders Peter Kopteff and Kristian Sørli to Stoke City FC and Strømsgodset IF respectively. He said: "We hope to have at least one new player in place before Christmas". Prahl will take charge of his first training session on 9 January with the new Tippeligaen season starting in April.