[GER] Bundesliga 2007/2008 (17 Viewers)
- Thread starter sateeh
- Start date
It is very surprising that you can enjoy a goalless match like Dortmund vs Bayern. Great match with only goals missing. Dortmund were much closer to the win especially from the 60th to 80th minute when they managed to miss some incredible chances with Kringe hitting the post from 3-4 meters. He was in a narrow position though.
Bundesliga Weekend Preview: Round 12
Another busy round of Bundesliga action gets underway this weekend following on from the midweek Cup exploits, with Bayern Munich looking to keep up their formidable start to the season against Frankfurt.
Hot on their tails however are Hamburg and Werder who both have home games where three points are on offer. Elsewhere, Stuttgart will be aiming to continue to climb out of their mini-crisis with a win over fellow strugglers Nürnberg.
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Friday 2nd November (all times local)
20:30 Energie Cottbus v Schalke 1-0
Saturday 3rd November
15:30 Werder Bremen v Hansa Rostock
15:30 Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt
15:30 Bayer Leverkusen v Arminia Bielefeld
15:30 Nürnberg v Stuttgart
15:30 Hamburg v Hertha Berlin
15:30 Hannover v Borussia Dortmund
Sunday 4th November
17:00 Bochum v Wolfsburg
17:00 Karlsruhe v Duisburg
Werder Bremen – Hansa Rostock
Werder are one of the form teams in the Bundesliga at the moment and will be looking for another three points against Hansa on Saturday. Thomas Schaaf’s side have won five of their last league games and have also had recent victories in the Champions league and German Cup. The only team to have stopped them grabbing all three points recently was Schalke last week when the two drew 1-1 in a highly entertaining match at the Veltins Arena.
Hansa are currently 14th just two points above the drop zone. Frank Pagelsdorf has a number of injury worries to concern himself with ahead of Saturday, although he will have been boosted by the club’s 6-0 midweek German Cup win over Kickers Offenbach.
Last week saw the Ostseestädter draw with Karlsruhe to add to their previous week’s point against Schalke.
Bayern Munich – Eintracht Frankfurt
A rare thing happened on Sunday at the Signal-Iduna Park in Dortmund- Bayern failed to score. That was the first game this season that Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side had failed to find the back of the net thus far this season. However the Bavarians returned to scoring ways with a 3-1 midweek cup win over historical rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach with their prolific duo of Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose both on target.
Frankfurt lost to Dortmund in the cup, so only have the Bundesliga to concern themselves with this season. 'Die Adler’ recovered last week from their 5-1 mauling the previous week, to secure a goalless draw with Hannover. Friedhelm Funkel would no doubt be absolutely delighted with a point from his side’s visit to the Allianz Arena.
Bayer Leverkusen – Arminia Bielefeld
Bayer trainer Michael Skibbe will be disappointed his side are not higher in the table after showing much promise last year. They are currently in a poor run of form following four defeats and one draw in their last five league outings. Last weekend’s defeat to Stuttgart was put down to fatigue following their UEFA Cup exploits, but with no German Cup fixture midweek following their elimination at the hands of St. Pauli, they should be fresh and ready for their Saturday clash with Bielefeld.
Ernst Middendorp’s side were as high as second in the league earlier in the season but have since slipped to 13th. After their 8-1 humiliation at the hands of Werder Bremen Bielefeld lost to Hamburg, and drew twice against Karlsruhe and Cottbus. The club now find themselves in a fight against dropping any further down the table after going six league games without a win.
Nürnberg – Stuttgart
Two of the Bundesliga’s more successful teams from last season both find themselves in a quite different situation this time around.
Cup winners Nürnberg are hovering just above the bottom three and were sent crashing out of the Cup on Wednesday by Carl-Zeiss Jena. Hans Meyer’s side have baffled many this season with their poor showing in the league. An apparently convincing 5-1 win over Frankfurt two weeks ago had given the impression that a recovery was on the cards, only for 'der Klub’ to slump to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Wolfsburg last weekend, and then be stunned midweek by the second division outfit.
Reigning champions VfB find themselves down in 12th and put an awful run of five consecutive defeats behind them last weekend with a narrow 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen. Armin Veh’s side were given a scare however in midweek needing extra-time to get past SC Paderborn in the Cup. If the Leverkusen win was a boost, the performance in the cup, will have made it clear that the crisis is far from over for the Swabians.
Hamburg – Hertha Berlin
Bayern’s closest challengers face Hertha Berlin at the HSH-Nordbank Arena. Huub Stevens’ side are currently riding the crest of a wave with nine wins in their last ten games and find themselves just four points behind Bayern Munich. They have also shown they are more than a one man team, as influential skipper Rafael van der Vaart has been missing since the international break with an injury although he is now ready to return. A 3-1 win over Freiburg on Wednesday has seen the Hanseaten advance to the last 16 of the German Cup.
Lucien Favre sees his Hertha side nestling comfortably in mid-table. Five wins have been mirrored with five defeats and a single draw. The capital club were sent tumbling out of the Cup in midweek by Wuppertaler SC, which was the big shock of the second round. Their recent home form has been better than their away form, so HSV should be confident of gaining another three points.
Hannover – Borussia Dortmund
Hannover and Dortmund’s meeting at the AWD-Arena will give both sides the opportunity to grab three important points. The home side are currently just below the top five and will not want to fall behind the pack chasing the European qualification berths. However the Reds need a win after drawing a blank in their last two Bundesliga outings and then falling at the hands of Schalke in the German Cup on Wednesday.
Dortmund were impressive last weekend against Bayern, when they were unlucky not to have inflicted the first defeat of the season upon Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side. More composure in front of goal was needed. Thomas Doll’s side also need the points following a run of only one win in the last six league games, which has seen them slip to 11th.
Bochum – Wolfsburg
Bochum are another side in free-fall after early season promise. VfL have not won in the league since the 24th August and have secured only two points from a possible 24 in the last eight games. They were also sent crashing out of the Cup by second division Alemannia Aachen in the week to put even more pressure on trainer Marcel Koller.
Felix Magath on the other hand seems to be slowly stamping his mark on Wolfsburg. 'Die Wölfe’ have climbed up to 7th in the table and are undefeated in their last six games. A 1-0 win over Karlsruhe in the Cup was another example of their recent turn up in form.
Karlsruhe – Duisburg
Despite a recent down-turn in form, Karlsruhe remain in the top four. After three straight wins, the Wildparkstadion club have not won in any of their last three games, and will be concerned with putting a stop to any slide down the table. A Cup defeat to Wolfsburg in midweek means that they will be extra determined to gain three points on Sunday.
Duisburg are currently second from bottom in the Bundesliga with eight defeats to their name already this season- more than any other team. Rudi Bommer may call new signing Roque Junior into the side to bolster the Zebras defence.
Mathew Burt, goal.com
Another busy round of Bundesliga action gets underway this weekend following on from the midweek Cup exploits, with Bayern Munich looking to keep up their formidable start to the season against Frankfurt.
Hot on their tails however are Hamburg and Werder who both have home games where three points are on offer. Elsewhere, Stuttgart will be aiming to continue to climb out of their mini-crisis with a win over fellow strugglers Nürnberg.
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Friday 2nd November (all times local)
20:30 Energie Cottbus v Schalke 1-0
Saturday 3rd November
15:30 Werder Bremen v Hansa Rostock
15:30 Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt
15:30 Bayer Leverkusen v Arminia Bielefeld
15:30 Nürnberg v Stuttgart
15:30 Hamburg v Hertha Berlin
15:30 Hannover v Borussia Dortmund
Sunday 4th November
17:00 Bochum v Wolfsburg
17:00 Karlsruhe v Duisburg
Werder Bremen – Hansa Rostock
Werder are one of the form teams in the Bundesliga at the moment and will be looking for another three points against Hansa on Saturday. Thomas Schaaf’s side have won five of their last league games and have also had recent victories in the Champions league and German Cup. The only team to have stopped them grabbing all three points recently was Schalke last week when the two drew 1-1 in a highly entertaining match at the Veltins Arena.
Hansa are currently 14th just two points above the drop zone. Frank Pagelsdorf has a number of injury worries to concern himself with ahead of Saturday, although he will have been boosted by the club’s 6-0 midweek German Cup win over Kickers Offenbach.
Last week saw the Ostseestädter draw with Karlsruhe to add to their previous week’s point against Schalke.
Bayern Munich – Eintracht Frankfurt
A rare thing happened on Sunday at the Signal-Iduna Park in Dortmund- Bayern failed to score. That was the first game this season that Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side had failed to find the back of the net thus far this season. However the Bavarians returned to scoring ways with a 3-1 midweek cup win over historical rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach with their prolific duo of Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose both on target.
Frankfurt lost to Dortmund in the cup, so only have the Bundesliga to concern themselves with this season. 'Die Adler’ recovered last week from their 5-1 mauling the previous week, to secure a goalless draw with Hannover. Friedhelm Funkel would no doubt be absolutely delighted with a point from his side’s visit to the Allianz Arena.
Bayer Leverkusen – Arminia Bielefeld
Bayer trainer Michael Skibbe will be disappointed his side are not higher in the table after showing much promise last year. They are currently in a poor run of form following four defeats and one draw in their last five league outings. Last weekend’s defeat to Stuttgart was put down to fatigue following their UEFA Cup exploits, but with no German Cup fixture midweek following their elimination at the hands of St. Pauli, they should be fresh and ready for their Saturday clash with Bielefeld.
Ernst Middendorp’s side were as high as second in the league earlier in the season but have since slipped to 13th. After their 8-1 humiliation at the hands of Werder Bremen Bielefeld lost to Hamburg, and drew twice against Karlsruhe and Cottbus. The club now find themselves in a fight against dropping any further down the table after going six league games without a win.
Nürnberg – Stuttgart
Two of the Bundesliga’s more successful teams from last season both find themselves in a quite different situation this time around.
Cup winners Nürnberg are hovering just above the bottom three and were sent crashing out of the Cup on Wednesday by Carl-Zeiss Jena. Hans Meyer’s side have baffled many this season with their poor showing in the league. An apparently convincing 5-1 win over Frankfurt two weeks ago had given the impression that a recovery was on the cards, only for 'der Klub’ to slump to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Wolfsburg last weekend, and then be stunned midweek by the second division outfit.
Reigning champions VfB find themselves down in 12th and put an awful run of five consecutive defeats behind them last weekend with a narrow 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen. Armin Veh’s side were given a scare however in midweek needing extra-time to get past SC Paderborn in the Cup. If the Leverkusen win was a boost, the performance in the cup, will have made it clear that the crisis is far from over for the Swabians.
Hamburg – Hertha Berlin
Bayern’s closest challengers face Hertha Berlin at the HSH-Nordbank Arena. Huub Stevens’ side are currently riding the crest of a wave with nine wins in their last ten games and find themselves just four points behind Bayern Munich. They have also shown they are more than a one man team, as influential skipper Rafael van der Vaart has been missing since the international break with an injury although he is now ready to return. A 3-1 win over Freiburg on Wednesday has seen the Hanseaten advance to the last 16 of the German Cup.
Lucien Favre sees his Hertha side nestling comfortably in mid-table. Five wins have been mirrored with five defeats and a single draw. The capital club were sent tumbling out of the Cup in midweek by Wuppertaler SC, which was the big shock of the second round. Their recent home form has been better than their away form, so HSV should be confident of gaining another three points.
Hannover – Borussia Dortmund
Hannover and Dortmund’s meeting at the AWD-Arena will give both sides the opportunity to grab three important points. The home side are currently just below the top five and will not want to fall behind the pack chasing the European qualification berths. However the Reds need a win after drawing a blank in their last two Bundesliga outings and then falling at the hands of Schalke in the German Cup on Wednesday.
Dortmund were impressive last weekend against Bayern, when they were unlucky not to have inflicted the first defeat of the season upon Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side. More composure in front of goal was needed. Thomas Doll’s side also need the points following a run of only one win in the last six league games, which has seen them slip to 11th.
Bochum – Wolfsburg
Bochum are another side in free-fall after early season promise. VfL have not won in the league since the 24th August and have secured only two points from a possible 24 in the last eight games. They were also sent crashing out of the Cup by second division Alemannia Aachen in the week to put even more pressure on trainer Marcel Koller.
Felix Magath on the other hand seems to be slowly stamping his mark on Wolfsburg. 'Die Wölfe’ have climbed up to 7th in the table and are undefeated in their last six games. A 1-0 win over Karlsruhe in the Cup was another example of their recent turn up in form.
Karlsruhe – Duisburg
Despite a recent down-turn in form, Karlsruhe remain in the top four. After three straight wins, the Wildparkstadion club have not won in any of their last three games, and will be concerned with putting a stop to any slide down the table. A Cup defeat to Wolfsburg in midweek means that they will be extra determined to gain three points on Sunday.
Duisburg are currently second from bottom in the Bundesliga with eight defeats to their name already this season- more than any other team. Rudi Bommer may call new signing Roque Junior into the side to bolster the Zebras defence.
Mathew Burt, goal.com
Poor Schalke Crash To Cottbus
Energie Cottbus secured their first Bundesliga win of the season with a 1-0 win over Schalke at the Stadion der Freundschaft. A goal early in the second half from Christian Bassila secured a deserved win against a lacklustre Schalke side.
In a fairly eventful yet goalless first half, the home side were the ones with the most chances. It appeared that trainer Bojan Prasnikar had sent the Lausitzer out with instruction to test Manuel Neuer at the earliest opportunity as both da Silva and Rangelov fired in vicious efforts, which had to be parried away on the greasy surface.
Schalke’s first effort came from a Grossmüller free kick 20 minutes into the first period. The Uruguayan bent in a testing ball, which Tremmel flapped at only for Kukielka to clear with the ball seemingly on its way in at the far post.
Cottbus then produced tow good chances of their own on the half hour mark. Firstly Dennis Sörensen curled a shot beyond the helpless Neuer only to see it come back off the bar. Shortly after the Dane was involved again but was unable to make contact with an inviting right wing cross from Rangelov after Neuer had flapped at the ball.
Schalke then were unlucky just before the break when Captain Marcelo Bordon slammed a free kick against the crossbar from distance.
Less than a minute into the second half and Cottbus deservedly took the lead through Christian Bassila. A free kick flighted in from the left caused all sorts of problems in the Königsblauen penalty area, and following a miscontrol from Rangelov, both Westermann and Jones got in each other’s way as they tried to clear.
The ball instead fell invitingly to Bassila, who scored his first ever Bundesliga goal pasta helpless Neuer.
The home crowd, obviously buoyed by the goal, showed great voice whenever the home side ventured forward, although Schalke continued to press and brought on Mesut Özil and Sören Larsen for Kuranyi.
Jermaine Jones slammed a shot against the bar after 67 minutes and substitute Larsen was unable to control his enough to trouble Tremmel with the rebound. Schalke continued to press forward and at times were forced to defend with their backs against the wall. Mesut Özil had a dangerous shot towards the end, but Tremmel saved well.
In the end Bojan Prasnikar's side gained their first win of the season. The result however is not enough to lift them off the bottom of the table.
1-0 Bassila (46)
Energie Cottbus: Tremmel, da Silva, Mitreski, Kukielka, Cvitanovic, Bassila, Angelov (Ipsa), Rost, Skela (Ziebig), Rangelov (Rivic), Sörensen
Schalke: Neuer, Rafinha, Westermann, Krstajic, Bordon, Ernst (Rakitic), Jones, Grossmüller, Asamoah, Kuranyi (Özil), Lövenkrands (Larsen)
goal.com
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What a surprise this result is. Schalke dropping points in Cottbus. I hope they will return to their form for the CL match.
Energie Cottbus secured their first Bundesliga win of the season with a 1-0 win over Schalke at the Stadion der Freundschaft. A goal early in the second half from Christian Bassila secured a deserved win against a lacklustre Schalke side.
In a fairly eventful yet goalless first half, the home side were the ones with the most chances. It appeared that trainer Bojan Prasnikar had sent the Lausitzer out with instruction to test Manuel Neuer at the earliest opportunity as both da Silva and Rangelov fired in vicious efforts, which had to be parried away on the greasy surface.
Schalke’s first effort came from a Grossmüller free kick 20 minutes into the first period. The Uruguayan bent in a testing ball, which Tremmel flapped at only for Kukielka to clear with the ball seemingly on its way in at the far post.
Cottbus then produced tow good chances of their own on the half hour mark. Firstly Dennis Sörensen curled a shot beyond the helpless Neuer only to see it come back off the bar. Shortly after the Dane was involved again but was unable to make contact with an inviting right wing cross from Rangelov after Neuer had flapped at the ball.
Schalke then were unlucky just before the break when Captain Marcelo Bordon slammed a free kick against the crossbar from distance.
Less than a minute into the second half and Cottbus deservedly took the lead through Christian Bassila. A free kick flighted in from the left caused all sorts of problems in the Königsblauen penalty area, and following a miscontrol from Rangelov, both Westermann and Jones got in each other’s way as they tried to clear.
The ball instead fell invitingly to Bassila, who scored his first ever Bundesliga goal pasta helpless Neuer.
The home crowd, obviously buoyed by the goal, showed great voice whenever the home side ventured forward, although Schalke continued to press and brought on Mesut Özil and Sören Larsen for Kuranyi.
Jermaine Jones slammed a shot against the bar after 67 minutes and substitute Larsen was unable to control his enough to trouble Tremmel with the rebound. Schalke continued to press forward and at times were forced to defend with their backs against the wall. Mesut Özil had a dangerous shot towards the end, but Tremmel saved well.
In the end Bojan Prasnikar's side gained their first win of the season. The result however is not enough to lift them off the bottom of the table.
1-0 Bassila (46)
Energie Cottbus: Tremmel, da Silva, Mitreski, Kukielka, Cvitanovic, Bassila, Angelov (Ipsa), Rost, Skela (Ziebig), Rangelov (Rivic), Sörensen
Schalke: Neuer, Rafinha, Westermann, Krstajic, Bordon, Ernst (Rakitic), Jones, Grossmüller, Asamoah, Kuranyi (Özil), Lövenkrands (Larsen)
goal.com
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What a surprise this result is. Schalke dropping points in Cottbus. I hope they will return to their form for the CL match.
. But it's the result that counts so I'm happy.
Bundesliga Weekend Preview: Round 13
Another busy round of Bundesliga action gets underway this weekend with Bayern Munich facing reigning champions Stuttgart at the Gottlieb-Daimler looking to put an end to their run of drawn games.
Elsewhere, second place Hamburg travel to the Veltins Arena looking to continue their impressive run of form, while Werder take on high-flying Karlsruhe at the Weser Stadion.
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Friday 9th November (all times local)
20:30 Duisburg v Bochum 0-2
Saturday 10th November
15:30 Stuttgart v Bayern Munich
15:30 Schalke v Hamburg
15:30 Werder Bremen v Karlsruhe
15:30 Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt
15:30 Hertha Berlin v Hannover
15:30 Hansa Rostock v Energie Cottbus
Sunday 11th November
16:00 Bielefeld v Nürnberg
16:00 Wolfsburg v Bayer Leverkusen
Stuttgart v Bayern Munich
The big clash of the weekend comes at the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion, where last season’s champions entertain this year’ favourites for the Bundesliga. However, this is no top of the table clash will the Swabians currently languishing down in 11th place. The word 'crisis’ has been bandied around for the last few weeks, and doesn’t look like going away anytime soon. Two rather unconvincing league wins and yet another loss in the Champions League have left the Stuttgart fans wondering when their season will get back on track.
Bayern’s apparent veil of invincibility has slipped in recent weeks, with two consecutive goalless draws, and the Bavarians were also held in midweek by English strugglers Bolton in the Uefa Cup.
Armin Veh will be looking for a repeat of the last clash at the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion when VfB beat Bayern 2-0 in Week 30 of last season. However, then they were a team on the way to the league championship, now they are a team on the ropes.
Schalke v Hamburg
Second place takes on seventh at the Veltins Arena, but it is the Hanseaten who currently occupy the spot behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga table. Unbeaten in their last ten games with nine wins amongst them, Hamburg are the form team in the Bundesliga right now.
Not involved this week in the Uefa Cup, Huub Stevens side should be that little fresher than their Gelsenkirchen rivals, who faced Chelsea on Wednesday in the Champions league.
The Königsblauen held the English giants to a 0-0 draw following their previous defeat at Stamford Bridge. However they will want to quickly forget their poor display last Friday in the Bundesliga as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat away at Cottbus, who had not won previously.
Werder Bremen v Karlsruhe
Werder take on Karlsruhe at the Weser Stadion on the back of a disappointing midweek result against Lazio in the Champions League. Their league form is on the way up and Thomas Schaaf will expect three points against the Bundesliga newcomers, who have surpassed all expectations so far this season.
KSC currently lie fourth, just one point behind Werder so they cannot be underestimated. Good away performances this season against Schalke, Frankfurt, and Wolfsburg have shown that they are more than capable of performing on the road.
Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt
BVB and Eintracht clash at the Signal-Iduna Park with only three points separating them in the league table. Both clubs will be looking to push towards the European places this season, but both have dropped needless points already this season.
Thomas Doll’s Dortmund suffered defeat last week away at Hannover, while Friedhelm Funkel saw his side doggedly hold Bayern goalless at the Allianz Arena. The two sides also met recently in the German Cup less than two weeks ago with Dortmund winning 2-1 to progress to the next round.
Hertha Berlin v Hannover
The visitors to the Olympic Stadium currently occupy a top five place and will have their sights firmly set on staying there for the remainder of the season. Dieter Heckings’s side are fast developing into a top side, with Huszti and Pinto pulling the strings for Mike Hanke up front.
Lucien Favre is still having to combat Hertha’s inconsistency in the league. After being knocked out of the Cup by Wuppertal, the capital club went down to a 2-1 defeat by Hamburg last weekend. Hannover on the other hand got back to winning ways with a 2-1 win over Dortmund.
Hansa Rostock v Energie Cottbus
Bottom club Energie Cottbus fresh from their surprise home victory over Schalke travel North to Rostock to face another side currently struggling at the wrong end of the table. The win against the Königsblauen was not enough to take Energie off the bottom of the table, but confidence will have been boosted, and trainer Bojan Prasnikar will be hoping this is the start of the Cottbus recovery.
Hansa are proving a difficult side to beat recently, and were somewhat unlucky to lose last week at Werder. Previous weeks have seen creditable draws against Schalke and Karlsruhe as well as wins against Stuttgart and Hertha Berlin.
Bielefeld v Nürnberg
Third-bottom Nürnberg go to 14th placed Arminia Bielefeld in an important clash at the bottom end of the Bundesliga. Taking points in these sorts of game will be vital to both sides’ eventual survival prospects.
Another midweek defeat, this time at the hands of English side Everton in the Uefa Cup, has shown there is no respite for a beleaguered Nürnberg as they lurch from one loss to another. It seems this may not be a blip, and 'der Klub’ are now bracing themselves for a long struggle against the threat of relegation.
Bielefeld are without a win in their last seven league matches, and have to look back as far as 15th September for their last three pointer against Hansa Rostock.
Wolfsburg v Bayer Leverkusen
Michael Skibbe has had his wish granted that his side not be made to play on Saturday following their midweek Uefa Cup trip to Moscow. A 2-1 defeat at the hands of Spartak Moscow was however not the preparation he would have wanted ahead of a clash with Felix Magath’s Wolfsburg.
Last weekend in the league however saw a much more positive performance as the Werkself trounced Bielefeld 4-0 at the Bay-Arena. Wolfsburg however were on the end of a 5-2 mauling at the hands of Bochum.
Felix Magath will be hoping that Bayer suffer some hangover from their trip to Moscow, despite being granted an extra day’s rest.
Mathew Burt goal.com
Another busy round of Bundesliga action gets underway this weekend with Bayern Munich facing reigning champions Stuttgart at the Gottlieb-Daimler looking to put an end to their run of drawn games.
Elsewhere, second place Hamburg travel to the Veltins Arena looking to continue their impressive run of form, while Werder take on high-flying Karlsruhe at the Weser Stadion.
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Friday 9th November (all times local)
20:30 Duisburg v Bochum 0-2
Saturday 10th November
15:30 Stuttgart v Bayern Munich
15:30 Schalke v Hamburg
15:30 Werder Bremen v Karlsruhe
15:30 Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt
15:30 Hertha Berlin v Hannover
15:30 Hansa Rostock v Energie Cottbus
Sunday 11th November
16:00 Bielefeld v Nürnberg
16:00 Wolfsburg v Bayer Leverkusen
Stuttgart v Bayern Munich
The big clash of the weekend comes at the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion, where last season’s champions entertain this year’ favourites for the Bundesliga. However, this is no top of the table clash will the Swabians currently languishing down in 11th place. The word 'crisis’ has been bandied around for the last few weeks, and doesn’t look like going away anytime soon. Two rather unconvincing league wins and yet another loss in the Champions League have left the Stuttgart fans wondering when their season will get back on track.
Bayern’s apparent veil of invincibility has slipped in recent weeks, with two consecutive goalless draws, and the Bavarians were also held in midweek by English strugglers Bolton in the Uefa Cup.
Armin Veh will be looking for a repeat of the last clash at the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion when VfB beat Bayern 2-0 in Week 30 of last season. However, then they were a team on the way to the league championship, now they are a team on the ropes.
Schalke v Hamburg
Second place takes on seventh at the Veltins Arena, but it is the Hanseaten who currently occupy the spot behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga table. Unbeaten in their last ten games with nine wins amongst them, Hamburg are the form team in the Bundesliga right now.
Not involved this week in the Uefa Cup, Huub Stevens side should be that little fresher than their Gelsenkirchen rivals, who faced Chelsea on Wednesday in the Champions league.
The Königsblauen held the English giants to a 0-0 draw following their previous defeat at Stamford Bridge. However they will want to quickly forget their poor display last Friday in the Bundesliga as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat away at Cottbus, who had not won previously.
Werder Bremen v Karlsruhe
Werder take on Karlsruhe at the Weser Stadion on the back of a disappointing midweek result against Lazio in the Champions League. Their league form is on the way up and Thomas Schaaf will expect three points against the Bundesliga newcomers, who have surpassed all expectations so far this season.
KSC currently lie fourth, just one point behind Werder so they cannot be underestimated. Good away performances this season against Schalke, Frankfurt, and Wolfsburg have shown that they are more than capable of performing on the road.
Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt
BVB and Eintracht clash at the Signal-Iduna Park with only three points separating them in the league table. Both clubs will be looking to push towards the European places this season, but both have dropped needless points already this season.
Thomas Doll’s Dortmund suffered defeat last week away at Hannover, while Friedhelm Funkel saw his side doggedly hold Bayern goalless at the Allianz Arena. The two sides also met recently in the German Cup less than two weeks ago with Dortmund winning 2-1 to progress to the next round.
Hertha Berlin v Hannover
The visitors to the Olympic Stadium currently occupy a top five place and will have their sights firmly set on staying there for the remainder of the season. Dieter Heckings’s side are fast developing into a top side, with Huszti and Pinto pulling the strings for Mike Hanke up front.
Lucien Favre is still having to combat Hertha’s inconsistency in the league. After being knocked out of the Cup by Wuppertal, the capital club went down to a 2-1 defeat by Hamburg last weekend. Hannover on the other hand got back to winning ways with a 2-1 win over Dortmund.
Hansa Rostock v Energie Cottbus
Bottom club Energie Cottbus fresh from their surprise home victory over Schalke travel North to Rostock to face another side currently struggling at the wrong end of the table. The win against the Königsblauen was not enough to take Energie off the bottom of the table, but confidence will have been boosted, and trainer Bojan Prasnikar will be hoping this is the start of the Cottbus recovery.
Hansa are proving a difficult side to beat recently, and were somewhat unlucky to lose last week at Werder. Previous weeks have seen creditable draws against Schalke and Karlsruhe as well as wins against Stuttgart and Hertha Berlin.
Bielefeld v Nürnberg
Third-bottom Nürnberg go to 14th placed Arminia Bielefeld in an important clash at the bottom end of the Bundesliga. Taking points in these sorts of game will be vital to both sides’ eventual survival prospects.
Another midweek defeat, this time at the hands of English side Everton in the Uefa Cup, has shown there is no respite for a beleaguered Nürnberg as they lurch from one loss to another. It seems this may not be a blip, and 'der Klub’ are now bracing themselves for a long struggle against the threat of relegation.
Bielefeld are without a win in their last seven league matches, and have to look back as far as 15th September for their last three pointer against Hansa Rostock.
Wolfsburg v Bayer Leverkusen
Michael Skibbe has had his wish granted that his side not be made to play on Saturday following their midweek Uefa Cup trip to Moscow. A 2-1 defeat at the hands of Spartak Moscow was however not the preparation he would have wanted ahead of a clash with Felix Magath’s Wolfsburg.
Last weekend in the league however saw a much more positive performance as the Werkself trounced Bielefeld 4-0 at the Bay-Arena. Wolfsburg however were on the end of a 5-2 mauling at the hands of Bochum.
Felix Magath will be hoping that Bayer suffer some hangover from their trip to Moscow, despite being granted an extra day’s rest.
Mathew Burt goal.com
