Hannover 96 vs. Stuttgart
Bundesliga Preview, Week 16: Bayer Leverkusen Try To Claim Second Against Mercurial Hamburg SV
Winter has definitely descended upon Germany as several of last week’s games were affected by snow and frigid temperatures. With just two matches left until the mid-season break, clubs at the top and bottom of the league will be trying to cement their claims to European places, stretch the gap with the relegation places, or break out of some poor form. Stuttgart will be trying to pick up a win from somewhere as they kick off the weekend away to high-flying Hannover 96, Borussia Dortmund could be thirteen points clear following their match with Werder Bremen in the late game on Saturday, after Bayer Leverkusen try to take over second against Hamburg SV.
Friday, 2:30 PM, TV: GOL TV
The brilliant form of Hannover 96 has been one of the biggest shocks in a Bundesliga season full of surprises, and they continued their excellent run with victory in Mönchengladbach last week. Two goals in three minutes from Mike Hanke and Didier Ya Konan moved Hannover up to fourth place. Stuttgart have been on disastrous form, and despite being the better side for long periods and Hoffenheim playing the whole second half with ten men, they could only manage a draw at home last weekend. This should be a pretty good match to kick off the weekend’s games (finally the Friday kickoff is back on GOL TV), but the visitors will probably be happy to get anything here - they have yet to win on their travels this season.
Bayern Munich vs. St. Pauli
Saturday, 9:30 AM, TV: GOL TV
What to make of Germany’s record champions? An utterly inexplicable loss away to Schalke was followed by a very solid 3-0 home victory against Basel in the Champions League. They are now seventeen points behind first-placed Dortmund, but just seven behind Mainz in second. Bayern have three games before the winter break, but this is probably the easiest of them considering the visitors’ poor away record -- St. Pauli have lost their last three on their travels without scoring a single goal. On the other hand, Bayern looked like clear favourites last week against Schalke, and the Hamburg side will be buoyed by their crucial win against ‘Lautern, which moved them five points clear of the relegation places.
Hamburg SV vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Saturday, 9:30 AM
Leverkusen closed the gap with second-place Mainz to a single point last weekend, but their win over Cologne was not as easy as it should have been. Their troubles at home continued as they conceded twice to the second-worst away side in the league. Hamburg SV have many more problems as patchy form has seen them tumble down the table to ninth after a 1-0 loss to Freiburg. However, before Leverkusen’s win over HSV back in March, they hadn’t beaten the hosts in the league since 2006, and Armin Veh will want a return to that solid record. Bayer are very strong on the road -- the only side better than them is Dortmund -- and though Hamburg are pretty good at home, they will have a difficult task to keep the visitors at bay.
Hoffenheim vs. Nürnberg
Saturday, 9:30 AM
While some fair results against quality opposition have kept Hoffenheim in the race for Europe, Nürnberg have played themselves out of that contest with a string of four defeats in which they’ve scored just once and conceded eleven. The visitors have fallen from sixth to eleventh, and haven’t won a match against a side in the top half of the table. Hoffe, meanwhile, haven’t been particularly convincing in the last few weeks, but will fancy themselves here because of their strong scoring record at home and Nürnberg’s poor run away from the EasyCredit-Stadion.
Kaiserslautern vs. Wolfsburg
Saturday, 9:30 AM
These two sides are level on points and goal difference, with this weekend’s hosts a shade ahead on goals scored. Wolfsburg’s home draw against Bremen is probably more creditable than ‘Lautern’s loss at the Millerntor-Stadion, but the home side’s overall recent form is superior to that of Steve McClaren’s side. Neither look like they’ll have much to play for in the second half of this season, but they will both want to make sure that they are well clear of any relegation trouble as they head into the winter break. ‘Lautern’s loss last week was a bit harsh, and they should be able to rebound against a Wolfsburg side that look pretty rudderless at the moment.
Cologne vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
Saturday, 9:30 AM
Cologne scored twice in a match for the first time in over a month last week, but it wasn’t enough as Leverkusen ran out 3-2 winners in the BayArena. Frank Schaefer’s side now in seventeenth and face up to another difficult test this weekend, at home against resurgent Frankfurt. The visitors needed a late Theofanis Gekas penalty to ensure victory against Mainz last week, but looked clearly the better side and will want to continue their chase for European football against the worst home attack in the Bundesliga.
Borussia Dortmund vs. Werder Bremen
Saturday, 12:30 PM, TV: ESPN3.com
This match has goal-fest written all over it. The second-worst away defence in the Bundesliga against the third-best home attack (BVB really should be second-best as more than half of Stuttgart’s home goals came in two ridiculous games), and some good attacking quality on both sides. Bremen will have a hard time scoring against the league’s stingiest defence, but Borussia Dortmund could well slot several past a still-shaky Werder backline. The visitors did pick up a big 3-0 win over Inter Milan in midweek, but it was not a first-choice team and we’ve seen the tactical and motivational miracles that Rafa Benitez has worked in the San Siro. This should be a fun game with Dortmund as clear favourites and definitely odds-on to score quite a few.
Freiburg vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach
Sunday, 9:30 AM
Freiburg won again last weekend, and it was Papiss Demba Cissé with the vital goal again. He’s scored eleven of their twenty goals, and Freiburg are now in fifth place, the final European spot. The hosts face Leverkusen in their last match before the winter break, and will want to make sure they take maximum points from this clash with woeful ‘Gladbach in anticipation of that stern test. Michael Frontzeck’s side still can’t defend, and are still last in the table with little hope of remedying their situation. Cissé will want to use this match to close his two-goal gap to Theofanis Gekas in the race for the Bundesliga’s top scorer, and it would be foolish to bet against him.
Mainz 05 vs. Schalke 04
Sunday, 11:30 AM, TV: ESPN3.com
Thomas Tuchel and Felix Magath couldn’t have had more different results in recent weeks. Off the back of a 5-0 trouncing by ‘Lautern, Schalke 04 somehow beat Bayern in a game that the champions dominated, and secured top spot in their Champions League group with a victory in Lisbon against Benfica. Mainz looked to be back on the upswing after successive league wins, but were deservedly beaten in Frankfurt last weekend and could be as low as fourth by the kick-off on Sunday. Schalke aren’t a bad side on paper and have been improving as the season has gone on, while Mainz have performed significantly better than the sum of their parts, although they have not been playing as well recently. The home side should be favourites here, but Magath’s team can certainly pull off an upset (even completely against the run of play), as they showed last week
See More:
