Bundesliga Weekend Preview: Round 13

Bayern Munich host league leaders Bayer Leverkusen in a make-or-break scenario this Sunday…

Nov 20, 2009 7:00:22 AM

Bundesliga: Hoeness, Gerland, Heynckes, Bayern Munich (firo)

Teams

Saturday (all times local)
15:30 Eintracht Frankfurt – Borussia M’gladbach
15:30 Koeln – Hoffenheim
15:30 Freiburg – Werder Bremen
15:30 Schalke – Hannover
15:30 Stuttgart – Hertha Berlin
15:30 Wolfsburg – Nuernberg
18:30 Borussia Dortmund – Mainz

Sunday
15:30 Bayern Munich – Bayer Leverkusen
17:30 Hamburg – Bochum

Eintracht Frankfurt – Borussia M’gladbach

In their last outing, Frankfurt were blitzed at the start, conceding three goals in the opening minutes of a 4-0 loss to Leverkusen. In response, coach Michael Skibbe said his team just wasn’t good enough to face the side he felt will eventually become champions. Borussia M’gladbach will be an altogether different sort of challenge, and perhaps Skibbe’s men will turn around their fortunes with an impressive display.

It’s been a difficult season for Borussia M’gladbach, but after going nearly two months without a point, Michael Frontzeck’s men have gone undefeated in their last three matches, a stretch that includes a 3-2 win in Hamburg. Having gone three points clear of the relegation zone, M’gladbach will look to continue their unbeaten streak further against Frankfurt.

Koeln – Hoffenheim

After signing Lukas Podolski in the summer, the last thing one would expect Koeln to lack is attacking quality but with 12 matches gone the Rhine club has the joint-worst scoring record in the league. The €10m Podolski has managed just one goal, and his partner Milivoje Novakovic a paltry two. After Podolski scored a brace for Germany in midweek and Novakovic qualified for the World Cup with Slovenia, perhaps the duo will turn around their fortunes on Saturday.

Hoffenheim may not be in the same form as last season but, at times, die Hoffe have been very impressive. Bosnia and Herzegovina internationals Vedad Ibisevic and Sejad Salihovic will be devastated at failing to qualify for the World Cup and how they react may decide the outcome.

Freiburg – Werder Bremen

Bundesliga newcomers Freiburg may be in 12th place but they are only four points above the relegation zone. The club from Germany’s south west corner have relied on the excellent form of forward Mohamadou Idrissou and midfielder Ivica Banovic to date and will need another masterful performance from the attacking duo if they are to take points from Bremen.

Werder’s excellent form was evident in the German national team, which featured five of Thomas Schaaf’s men (four of whom played) in Wednesday’s friendly against Ivory Coast. Werder are among the league’s hottest teams right now and have shot up to second place in the standings. Victory will not be easy: Schaaf will be without influential figures Claudio Pizarro and Tim Borowski. However, there remains plenty of quality in his squad and success should be expected.

Schalke – Hannover

After rapidly rising towards the top of the Bundesliga standings, Schalke have slipped back to fourth place, thanks to consecutive draws against Hamburg, Leverkusen and Bayern. Hannover may not have the same quality as Schalke’s previous opponents but will be extra-motivated following last week’s tragic death of goalkeeper Robert Enke.

A visit to Hannover’s website at any point during the last ten days accurately reflects the sentiments of the team. “Wir trauern um Robert Enke” (we mourn Robert Enke) it reads. Yet, less than two weeks after the great goalkeeper’s untimely demise, the show must go on. Never has there been a more difficult time to play, but perhaps Hannover will have some extra motivation for the upcoming match with Schalke.

Stuttgart – Hertha Berlin

A showdown of the underachievers kicks off on Saturday when Stuttgart face Hertha Berlin. The hosts, who had a dismal start to last season, took third place after finishing the season in stunning form. Yet, through 12 matches, the Swabians sit in 15th place, a single point clear of Nuernberg. But if there was ever a team that could help them turn around their recent form, it’s Hertha.

The only team more underachieving than Stuttgart is Hertha Berlin. The capital team led the Bundesliga for several weeks in early 2009, before eventually finishing fourth. The 2009-10 season has not gone quite so smoothly. As yet, no team has scored fewer or conceded more goals than Hertha, who have a dismal record of one win, one draw and ten losses. As the old saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Perhaps that step will come against Stuttgart.

Wolfsburg – Nuernberg

Normally, a match against Nuernberg would be considered a relatively easy match, but Wolfsburg may be heading for troubled waters. A report on Wednesday indicated that Edin Dzeko still wishes to leave Germany in favour of AC Milan and after Bosnia and Herzegovina’s failure to qualify for the World Cup, Dzeko and Zvjezdan Misimovic will undoubtedly be disappointed. If the attacking pair can pull themselves together, victory is all but certain. If they cannot, however, Wolfsburg may be in trouble.

Nuernberg have, on occasion, put on good displays but need to develop consistency if they are to survive the drop. Their 2-2 draw with Werder Bremen two weeks ago was a rather unlucky result, as Werder scraped a draw thanks to a late brace from Aaron Hunt. With just nine points from 12 matches, Nuernberg will need to remain focused for the full 90 minutes, as they do not want to waste another good performance.

Borussia Dortmund – Mainz

After a difficult start to the season, Dortmund have been in excellent form thanks to the goalscoring record of Argentine striker Lucas Barrios, who has netted in each of his last five matches. During that span, the Ruhr side have proven to be competitive against the league’s elite, earning 1-1 draws against Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen. Mainz will be a tough side to beat but in front of more than 80,000 fans, Dortmund will be in an inspirational setting.

Mainz have been the most impressive of the league’s newcomers, having climbed to sixth place. Although a few questionable refereeing calls have helped them along the way, there is no doubt that Mainz belong in the top ten at least. Austrian midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz has been in excellent form thus far and has to be in the consideration for player of the year, having netted six times and provided five assists. He and striker Aristide Bance will try to take the game to Dortmund on Saturday.

Bayern Munich – Bayer Leverkusen

The game of the week and Bayern’s game of the season so far will pit the Bavarians against league leaders Bayer Leverkusen. Bayern’s form against quality opposition has been very poor and the record holding champions have slipped to eighth place in the league standings. With a fit-again Arjen Robben likely to start, Bayern are well prepared for their must-win scenario in Munich.

Although Sunday’s match is not as crucial for Leverkusen as it is for their opponents, a win for the visitors would put Juup Heynckes’ side so far ahead of the competition that failure to win the title in May would be a real surprise. Boasting the league’s best defence, the second-best goalscoring record and the best away goal differential, Leverkusen have to be considered favourites in Sunday’s pivotal match.

Hamburg – Bochum

Mladen Petric returned to training on Thursday but it will be several weeks before the Croatian striker is able to feature. In his absence, Hamburg have faced their toughest opponents and done well, but have fallen from their first-place position. With influential midfielder Ze Roberto also out of action, the northerners will have their work cut out against under-performing Bochum.

The 2009-10 season has been a disappointment for Bochum , who are currently in a heated relegation battle and have the second-worst defensive record in the league. It isn’t very great a point gap at the bottom, but the industrious Ruhr side will have it all to do against Hamburg, who boast the Bundesliga’s most prolific offence.

Clark Whitney, Goal.com

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