Another busy round of Bundesliga action gets underway this weekend with a mouth watering clash at the top of the table between Werder Bremen and Hamburg. The top match of Round 15 sees the two North German sides battling to usurp Bayern at the top of the table.
Elsewhere Stuttgart take on Borussia Dortmund, while Bayern Munich look to fend off the challenge from Werder and Hamburg with an away trip to Bielefeld on Sunday.
Hansa Rostock v Hannover
Hansa Rostock and Hannover gets things underway on Friday at the DKB Arena with the points important for both sides for varying reasons. Hansa are precariously just a point above the bottom three, and a win would drag them that little bit further up the table.
Dieter Hecking’s Hannover side on the other hand are just below the European places in 8th and a win is important for them as they look to keep pace with fellow challengers Schalke and Stuttgart, who are a point ahead of them.
Stuttgart v Borussia Dortmund
A few weeks ago all the talk was of a crisis at Stuttgart with the club apparently on a downward slide. The boot now seems to be on the other foot, with Dortmund the club now in their own ‘mini-crisis’.
Stuttgart having beaten Bayern Munich in Week 13, which was followed up with another win last week against Frankfurt. VfB’s first victory in the Champions League on Tuesday will have given Armin Veh’s side an added confidence boost ahead of the arrival of Dortmund.
BVB on the other hand are in freefall having won only two of their previous ten games, suffering five defeats along the way. Trainer Thomas Doll is likely to come under increased pressure the run continue against Stuttgart. They will be buoyed however by the corresponding result from last season, which saw them triumph 3-1 at the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion.
Schalke v Bochum
Schalke turn their attention back to the Bundesliga following their midweek trip to Spain in the Champions League to face Valencia. The Königsblauen are lurking down in sixth place, but already find themselves nine points adrift of Bayern.
Trainer Mirko Slomka came out last week demanding a run a of positive results leading into the winter break and their 3-2 win over Hannover was the start. He will be looking to continue the run with three points against Bochum.
VfL currently lie tenth and the result on Saturday could see them either climb the table into the higher echelons, or be dragged down nearer to the relegation zone. Marcell Koller will be hoping the former happens.
Werder Bremen v Hamburg
The North German derby sees second place Werder Bremen hosting third place Hamburg at the Weser Stadion in the pick of the weekend’s action. Both sides are currently on 30 points and could take over at the top of the table with a win (if Bayern fail to beat Bielefeld on Sunday).
Both sides were victorious in European competition in midweek, although it can be argued that Werder had by far the more strenuous task. Their 3-2 victory over Spanish giants Real Madrid at the Weser Stadion has kept alive their slim hopes of qualifying for the next stage of this season’s competition.
Hamburg on the other hand had a relatively easy time of it in their Uefa Cup tie with French side Rennes. They eased to a rather comfortable 3-0 win, which was a great birthday present for trainer Huub Stevens and has set them up nicely for their short trip South.
Hertha Berlin v Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen travel to the capital on Saturday looking to maintain their current form and cement their place as a serious contender for European qualification this season. They currently lie fifth, but have both Schalke and Stuttgart hot on their tails.
The ‘Werkself’ had a rest from Uefa Cup action this week so will not be able to blame fatigue for any dip of form at the Olympiastadion. The loss of Arturo Vidal to injury will be a blow to Michael Skibbe, although he does have the likes of Carsten Ramelow and Bernd Schneider available again.
The home side will be looking to arrest their current poor run, which has seen them lose five of their last ten Bundesliga matches. Last weekend’s 2-1 loss to Karlsruhe dragged them down to ninth in the table. The one positive note is the continued goalscoring form of Marko Pantelic, who bagged his seventh of the season last weekend.
Energie Cottbus v Karlsruhe
Energie Cottbus remain rooted to the bottom of the table, while Karlsruhe have continued their fantastic start to the season and find themselves in the lofty reaches of the table in 4th.
Last season’s surprise package, Cottbus, are having a nightmare start to the current campaign with only eight points and one win from 14 games. They are currently six points away from safety, so three points against KSC would go a long way to improving their situation.
Everybody is waiting to see when the Karlsruhe bubble is going to burst, but the signs at the moment are all positive for Edmund Becker’s side. Despite recent losses to Wolfsburg and Werder, KSC have kept winning their fair share of matches to hold onto their fourth spot.
The match will be the first meeting between the two sides in the Bundesliga.
Wolfsburg v Eintracht Frankfurt
‘Die Wölfe’ have a home tie against Eintracht Frankfurt to follow up their defeat at the Allianz Arena last weekend in Felix Magath’s return to his old club. Both sides find themselves in the wrong half of the table, but only two points separate them.
Last season’s fixture ended 2-2, but in the previous five clashes, Eintracht failed to win or even score a goal.
Josué is likely to return to the team for Wolfsburg, while there may also be a place for Madlung alongside Ricardo Costa in defence. ‘Die Adler’ look set to be without Albert Streit and Michael Thurk.
Arminia Bielefeld v Bayern Munich
If there is a winner at the Weser Stadion on Saturday between Werder Bremen and Hamburg, Bayern will start Sunday in second place. The pressure to perform against Ernst Middendorp’s side would therefore be increased.
The Bavarians returned to winning ways last weekend following their defeat at Stuttgart. A 2-1 win on Felix Magath’s return to the Allianz Arena was enough to fend off the pressure at the top from the chasing pack.
However, they could only manage a draw away to Braga in the Uefa Cup on Thursday, so perhaps the mini-crisis is not fully passed. Bielefeld will be hoping that this is a good time to face Bayern.
They themselves need the points having slid down from the lofty reaches of the table down to their current position of 14th- just three points clear of the drop-zone.
Duisburg v Nürnberg
Nürnberg finally gave Hans Meyer something to smile about last weekend with a much needed win over Dortmund, to end their run of five successive defeats in all competitions.
The three points however were not enough to lift ‘der Klub’ out of the drop-zone, so another three points are required against Duisburg, who lie three points behind them in 17th.
The Zebras have had a tough time of it on their return to the top flight, but will enter the game in confidence, knowing that fatigue may affect Nürnberg after the midweek Uefa Cup travels against Zenit St. Petersburg.
Goal.com - Germany - Bundesliga Weekend Preview: Round 15
Skipper to the rescue
