The leaders Dortmund have a tough assignment as they take on Hamburger SV. Also, two important derbies take place this week where points are at stake rather than pride.
FC Bayern München takes on Nuremberg in the Bavarian derby. Nuremberg finds themselves two points ahead of their much decorated rivals. The injury situation has improved and the club can only get stronger from now on. However, "FC Hollywood" cannot afford to drop any more points if they are to keep their hopes alive in the league.
Dortmund, meanwhile, welcomes Hamburg as they look to extend their unbeaten run in the league to ten games. Dortmund has won nine out of eleven games in the league and currently, is running away with the lead.
Werder Bremen's problems on and off the pitch continue to grow. Marko Arnautovic is still refusing to act like an adult while Mikael Silvestre's blunders is making the fans feel very impatient. The situations shows no signs of improving.
Two of the biggest names of German football put each other to the sword at the Signal Iduna Park on the opening match of the weekend.
Hamburg’s Jonathon Pitroipa is doubtful for the game. Tamas Hajnal, the Hungarian midfielder, might make the Dortmund bench after a three month injury lay-off. According to Joris Mathijsen, Hamburg must beat Borussia Dortmund for the whole Bundesliga and he is indeed correct. Dortmund is running away with the lead.
The third best team in the league, Leverkusen, is seven points behind them while second placed Mainz is four points behind them. Hamburg is ten points behind the table-toppers.
Mario Goetze, Kevin Grosskreutz, Marcel Schmelzer and Mats Hummels have all been called up to international duty in midweek. The selection of Schmelzer is an interesting one as he might be the answer to Germany’s left-back problem.
Hamburg was responsible for beat Mainz at the Bruchweg and bringing down their winning run. Will they be able to inflict a defeat on Dortmund?
Kaiserslautern went down 3-1 to Sidney Sam and Bayer Leverkusen despite having taken a lead early on in Leverkusen. Stuttgart, meanwhile, climbed to fourteenth position with a 6-0 thrashing of Werder.
Stuttgart’s qualification into the next phase of the Europa League is guaranteed and thus, they can focus on the league. Ciprian Marica has seemingly finally found some form.
Stuttgart’s managerial change seems to be paying off for a third season running. Jens Keller has done a good job so far. Stuttgart needs some consistency if they are to rise up the table and a win over FCK is vital this week. FCK is down in fifteenth currently, a place behind Stuttgart, and a point ahead of Schalke in sixteenth.
Bayer Leverkusen put on a good display against Kaiserslautern. Sidney Sam put in a wonderful display which will please everyone including Jupp Heynckes. Leverkusen’s injury problems have left the squad a bit thin. Michael Ballack has returned to training but whether Bayer need him is questionable with the return of the captain Simon Rolfes.
Their goal is seemingly a Champions League berth and they will achieve that goal with if their results continue to be as good as they are now. Rolfes mentioned in an interview recently that his team hasn’t been brilliant all the time this season, but has picked up points.
St.Pauli was beaten by Schalke and will like to have Gerald Asamoah back in the side. The Hamburg side has slipped down to thirteenth and needs to points to avoid a relegation battle. Leverkusen will only be too happy to beat them and keep in touch will leaders Dortmund.
Wolfsburg lost 3-1 to Frankfurt in the previous league match. The team has only itself to blame. The players missed golden chances and thus missed out on any points. Schalke, meanwhile, picked up their first home win with a very good performance against St. Pauli. Gerald Asamoah was suspended and could only watch his previous side outdo his current side from the stands.
Felix Magath had criticized Raul for playing too deeply and asked his striker to move forward. Raul did so and rightly scored two goals inside the box. Klaas Jan Huntelaar also got his name on the score-sheet.
Schalke might just have found the balance in the team that Magath was looking for. The defence isn’t exactly right yet but the attack seems to be up and running. Schalke has conceded 17 goals this season while Wolfsburg has conceded 19. This game promises goals and the better attack should come out on top.
The Rhineland derby takes place at a time when both the teams are desperate for points. Gladbach, despite holding Bayern to a 3-3 draw, is rock bottom while Köln is one spot ahead of them in seventeenth.
Frank Schaefer wasn’t impressed with Adil Chihi in training and made him train with the U-23 side. Recent reports suggest that the “Billy Goats” recorded losses of around 11 million euros since the purchase of Lukas Podolski.
Köln, however, has played much better than their position in the table suggests. Against Nuremberg, they had very good chances; their finishing let them down. The same actually goes for Gladbach. The team has scored 17 goals this season but has conceded 33 at the back. The reason behind this is injuries and suspensions to key defenders.
Either way, one of these two sides need to win as a point won’t do either side much good in terms of their positioning in the table.
Werder Bremen was hammered 6-0 by Stuttgart at the Mercedes Benz Arena on the last match-day. Following that match, Marko Arnautovic called the team “a dump” in front of the cameras. Even the Werder fans were sarcastic about the final result.
They have been particularly angry at the club for allowing Mikael Silvestre to play following so many blunders. Klaus Allofs has said he will take action against the players; but he really cannot do much. He froze a third of the players’ wages a few weeks ago but under DFB rules, has to pay them the full amount.
This is not the only feud in the Werder dressing room. A few weeks ago, Aaron Hunt and Tim Wiese took their argument outside the walls of the training ground. Arnautovic also insulted Schaaf directly. Added to all that, Claudio Pizarro picked up a thigh injury recently.
Frankfurt, on the other hand, has won six of their 11 games and sits in fourth position behind Leverkusen. Theofanis Gekas, who is perhaps the laziest striker in the history of German football, is on a hot streak and currently leads the Bundesliga scoring charts. The team has put in calm and assured performance. Frankfurt might in-fact earn a European berth at the end of the season.
After having gone unbeaten for seven games, Mainz has lost three of their last four matches. A 1-0 loss to Freiburg saw the side from Germany’s carnival town go behind Dortmund by four points. Their woes are nothing compared to Hanover. The fans and the hierarchy of the club put together an event to remember Robert Enke one year after his death.
On the pitch, Hanover finished their last two games with ten men and lost their last two games by a combined score-line of 8-0. The club is currently in tenth place, which, must be said, is still a very good position for a team which needed until the last day of last season to secure its Bundesliga status.
For Mainz, two “wunderkinds” were recently called up by the DFB for Germany’s friendly against Sweden: Andre Schuerrle and Lewis Holtby. Despite Mainz’s recent poor form, there is no doubting the talent of these two players.
Karim Haggui was slapped with a five match ban following his foul on Kevin Grosskreutz in Hanover’s last game. Judging on the style of play of these two sides, Thomas Tuchel’s side should come out on top.
Hoffenheim, despite having had plenty of chances against an injury depleted Hamburg, failed to convert and paid the price. They lost 2-1. Hoffenheim is currently in fifth position, in a four way tie for 18 points, but ahead on goal difference.
The team is not completely satisfied with their current position. Hoffenheim is a serious contender for a Europa League berth this season; a Champions League spot might be beyond them though.
Freiburg is one of those sides level on points with Hoffenheim. Robin Dutt really does not get the amount of credit he should get for carving out a hard-working side on a minimal budget. The fact that Freiburg is in contention for a European berth speaks volumes about the intelligent tactician.
The match might not be an action packed game but Hoffenheim will be looking to come out on top, especially as they are at home.
Bayern takes on Nuremberg in the Bavarian derby at the Allianz Arena. The injury situation at the club has improved hugely as Mark Van Bommel, Franck Ribery and Diego Contento will most probably be on the bench on Sunday. Breno is on his way back while Arjen Robben has recently taken up jogging at the training ground. Robben, though, won’t be playing in the matches till after the winter break.
Louis Van Gaal will perhaps name the same side as he named against Mönchengladbach. Despite the 3-3 draw, Bayern did give a great account of themselves in the first half. “Die Roten” are 12 points behind Dortmund though, and cannot afford to drop points uselessly.
Nuremberg is sixth in the table and has performed well this season. Their star performers this season have been the trio of Julian Schieber, Mehmet Ekici and the outstanding Ilkay Guendogan. Mehmet Ekici is on loan at Nuremberg from Bayern.
Nuremberg rarely manages to beat their “big brothers” but “Der Club” can certainly fancy a draw, especially due to the weak Bayern defence. However, Nuremberg has a tendency to concede from set pieces and Bayern will certainly look to take advantage.
Dortmund, meanwhile, welcomes Hamburg as they look to extend their unbeaten run in the league to ten games. Dortmund has won nine out of eleven games in the league and currently, is running away with the lead.
Werder Bremen's problems on and off the pitch continue to grow. Marko Arnautovic is still refusing to act like an adult while Mikael Silvestre's blunders is making the fans feel very impatient. The situations shows no signs of improving.
Two of the biggest names of German football put each other to the sword at the Signal Iduna Park on the opening match of the weekend.
Hamburg’s Jonathon Pitroipa is doubtful for the game. Tamas Hajnal, the Hungarian midfielder, might make the Dortmund bench after a three month injury lay-off. According to Joris Mathijsen, Hamburg must beat Borussia Dortmund for the whole Bundesliga and he is indeed correct. Dortmund is running away with the lead.
The third best team in the league, Leverkusen, is seven points behind them while second placed Mainz is four points behind them. Hamburg is ten points behind the table-toppers.
Mario Goetze, Kevin Grosskreutz, Marcel Schmelzer and Mats Hummels have all been called up to international duty in midweek. The selection of Schmelzer is an interesting one as he might be the answer to Germany’s left-back problem.
Hamburg was responsible for beat Mainz at the Bruchweg and bringing down their winning run. Will they be able to inflict a defeat on Dortmund?
Kaiserslautern went down 3-1 to Sidney Sam and Bayer Leverkusen despite having taken a lead early on in Leverkusen. Stuttgart, meanwhile, climbed to fourteenth position with a 6-0 thrashing of Werder.
Stuttgart’s qualification into the next phase of the Europa League is guaranteed and thus, they can focus on the league. Ciprian Marica has seemingly finally found some form.
Stuttgart’s managerial change seems to be paying off for a third season running. Jens Keller has done a good job so far. Stuttgart needs some consistency if they are to rise up the table and a win over FCK is vital this week. FCK is down in fifteenth currently, a place behind Stuttgart, and a point ahead of Schalke in sixteenth.
Bayer Leverkusen put on a good display against Kaiserslautern. Sidney Sam put in a wonderful display which will please everyone including Jupp Heynckes. Leverkusen’s injury problems have left the squad a bit thin. Michael Ballack has returned to training but whether Bayer need him is questionable with the return of the captain Simon Rolfes.
Their goal is seemingly a Champions League berth and they will achieve that goal with if their results continue to be as good as they are now. Rolfes mentioned in an interview recently that his team hasn’t been brilliant all the time this season, but has picked up points.
St.Pauli was beaten by Schalke and will like to have Gerald Asamoah back in the side. The Hamburg side has slipped down to thirteenth and needs to points to avoid a relegation battle. Leverkusen will only be too happy to beat them and keep in touch will leaders Dortmund.
Wolfsburg lost 3-1 to Frankfurt in the previous league match. The team has only itself to blame. The players missed golden chances and thus missed out on any points. Schalke, meanwhile, picked up their first home win with a very good performance against St. Pauli. Gerald Asamoah was suspended and could only watch his previous side outdo his current side from the stands.
Felix Magath had criticized Raul for playing too deeply and asked his striker to move forward. Raul did so and rightly scored two goals inside the box. Klaas Jan Huntelaar also got his name on the score-sheet.
Schalke might just have found the balance in the team that Magath was looking for. The defence isn’t exactly right yet but the attack seems to be up and running. Schalke has conceded 17 goals this season while Wolfsburg has conceded 19. This game promises goals and the better attack should come out on top.
The Rhineland derby takes place at a time when both the teams are desperate for points. Gladbach, despite holding Bayern to a 3-3 draw, is rock bottom while Köln is one spot ahead of them in seventeenth.
Frank Schaefer wasn’t impressed with Adil Chihi in training and made him train with the U-23 side. Recent reports suggest that the “Billy Goats” recorded losses of around 11 million euros since the purchase of Lukas Podolski.
Köln, however, has played much better than their position in the table suggests. Against Nuremberg, they had very good chances; their finishing let them down. The same actually goes for Gladbach. The team has scored 17 goals this season but has conceded 33 at the back. The reason behind this is injuries and suspensions to key defenders.
Either way, one of these two sides need to win as a point won’t do either side much good in terms of their positioning in the table.
Werder Bremen was hammered 6-0 by Stuttgart at the Mercedes Benz Arena on the last match-day. Following that match, Marko Arnautovic called the team “a dump” in front of the cameras. Even the Werder fans were sarcastic about the final result.
They have been particularly angry at the club for allowing Mikael Silvestre to play following so many blunders. Klaus Allofs has said he will take action against the players; but he really cannot do much. He froze a third of the players’ wages a few weeks ago but under DFB rules, has to pay them the full amount.
This is not the only feud in the Werder dressing room. A few weeks ago, Aaron Hunt and Tim Wiese took their argument outside the walls of the training ground. Arnautovic also insulted Schaaf directly. Added to all that, Claudio Pizarro picked up a thigh injury recently.
Frankfurt, on the other hand, has won six of their 11 games and sits in fourth position behind Leverkusen. Theofanis Gekas, who is perhaps the laziest striker in the history of German football, is on a hot streak and currently leads the Bundesliga scoring charts. The team has put in calm and assured performance. Frankfurt might in-fact earn a European berth at the end of the season.
After having gone unbeaten for seven games, Mainz has lost three of their last four matches. A 1-0 loss to Freiburg saw the side from Germany’s carnival town go behind Dortmund by four points. Their woes are nothing compared to Hanover. The fans and the hierarchy of the club put together an event to remember Robert Enke one year after his death.
On the pitch, Hanover finished their last two games with ten men and lost their last two games by a combined score-line of 8-0. The club is currently in tenth place, which, must be said, is still a very good position for a team which needed until the last day of last season to secure its Bundesliga status.
For Mainz, two “wunderkinds” were recently called up by the DFB for Germany’s friendly against Sweden: Andre Schuerrle and Lewis Holtby. Despite Mainz’s recent poor form, there is no doubting the talent of these two players.
Karim Haggui was slapped with a five match ban following his foul on Kevin Grosskreutz in Hanover’s last game. Judging on the style of play of these two sides, Thomas Tuchel’s side should come out on top.
Hoffenheim, despite having had plenty of chances against an injury depleted Hamburg, failed to convert and paid the price. They lost 2-1. Hoffenheim is currently in fifth position, in a four way tie for 18 points, but ahead on goal difference.
The team is not completely satisfied with their current position. Hoffenheim is a serious contender for a Europa League berth this season; a Champions League spot might be beyond them though.
Freiburg is one of those sides level on points with Hoffenheim. Robin Dutt really does not get the amount of credit he should get for carving out a hard-working side on a minimal budget. The fact that Freiburg is in contention for a European berth speaks volumes about the intelligent tactician.
The match might not be an action packed game but Hoffenheim will be looking to come out on top, especially as they are at home.
Bayern takes on Nuremberg in the Bavarian derby at the Allianz Arena. The injury situation at the club has improved hugely as Mark Van Bommel, Franck Ribery and Diego Contento will most probably be on the bench on Sunday. Breno is on his way back while Arjen Robben has recently taken up jogging at the training ground. Robben, though, won’t be playing in the matches till after the winter break.
Louis Van Gaal will perhaps name the same side as he named against Mönchengladbach. Despite the 3-3 draw, Bayern did give a great account of themselves in the first half. “Die Roten” are 12 points behind Dortmund though, and cannot afford to drop points uselessly.
Nuremberg is sixth in the table and has performed well this season. Their star performers this season have been the trio of Julian Schieber, Mehmet Ekici and the outstanding Ilkay Guendogan. Mehmet Ekici is on loan at Nuremberg from Bayern.
Nuremberg rarely manages to beat their “big brothers” but “Der Club” can certainly fancy a draw, especially due to the weak Bayern defence. However, Nuremberg has a tendency to concede from set pieces and Bayern will certainly look to take advantage.
