Bundesliga Preview, Week 17: Borussia Dortmund Look To Enter Winter Break With Victory Against Eintracht Frankfurt

Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. Hamburg SV

Friday, 2:30 PM, TV: ESPN3.com

There’s not too much to say about ‘Gladbach aside from the fact that they’re terrible - they fell to a fourth successive defeat last weekend against Freiburg and have taken just four points from twenty-seven. Hamburg were also beaten a week ago at home to Leverkusen, and the 4-2 scoreline against Leverkusen flattered HSV, who created little despite having the majority of possession. The visitors should be favourites here simply because ‘Gladbach are so awful, and both defenses are weak, so expect a few goals to open the final weekend of matches in 2010.

Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Borussia Dortmund

Saturday, 9:30 AM, TV: GOL TV
They may be flying high in the Bundesliga, but a 2-2 draw at Sevilla on Wednesday sent Borussia Dortmund out of Europe, leaving BVB with just the league to concentrate on for the remainder of the season. Jürgen Klopp’s team were far from their incisive best in midweek, but should fancy their chances against Frankfurt as they look to continue their perfect league run away from home. Eintracht Frankfurt fell to a 1-0 defeat in Cologne last week, but were unlucky to not pull level with some intense pressure in the closing stages. Unfortunately for the hosts, their record at the Commerzbank-Arena this season is pretty poor, and it’s quite unlikely that Dortmund will play as poorly as they did in Seville.

Nürnberg vs. Hannover 96

Saturday, 9:30 AM

Are Hannover the top surprise in this season of shocks? Quite possibly. With victory over Stuttgart last weekend, Hannover are up into third place and just two points off their final points total from last season. Nürnberg haven’t won in five matches, but grabbed a late and fortunate equalizer in Hoffenheim last week. Hannover will be missing Didier Ya Konan, who scored twice against Stuttgart, as the Ivorian will be out until January after knee surgery, though they should still be favourites here. They will certainly miss Ya Konan’s pace, but should have enough to overcome a slumping Nürnberg.

Schalke 04 vs. Cologne

Saturday, 9:30 AM

Schalke have claimed nine points from their last twelve after a slightly fortunate win in Mainz last weekend, and are up to tenth place. Cologne also grabbed a win last weekend, 1-0 at home to Frankfurt, and have clawed their way to within two points of fifteenth. Both sides have been fairly inconsistent this season, but Cologne are awful away and Schalke have won their last four home matches by a combined score of 12-0, so Felix Magath’s side should have the edge.

Wolfsburg vs. Hoffenheim

Saturday, 9:30 AM

This is really a pretty nondescript match -- Wolfsburg are only three points above the relegation zone, but they won’t go down (there are teams that are much worse), and Hoffenheim are three points off of a European place, but they are unlikely to reach that level either. The only reason to watch this match is Wolfsburg’s occasionally garbage defending, and a few of Hoffenheim’s exciting players like Demba Ba. Otherwise, give this one a miss.

Werder Bremen vs. Kaiserslautern

Saturday, 9:30 AM

Defeat against Borussia Dortmund was hardly a surprise for Werder Bremen, but the truly poor quality of their performance, just days after hammering Inter Milan, will not give Bremen fans much confidence. Kaiserslautern are just a point behind the northerners after a 0-0 draw at home to Wolfsburg last week, but will surely have a harder time at the Weserstadion, where Bremen have a solid record this season. Both sides have weak defences, so this should be an open game with the hosts more likely to come out on top.

St. Pauli vs. Mainz 05

Saturday, 12:30 PM

Mainz are a far cry from their spectacular early-season form, as defeat against Schalke last week was their fifth in seven league games. St. Pauli lost their fourth in succession on their travels, but have been performing slightly better at the Millerntor-Stadion with a draw against Wolfsburg and a win over Kaiserslautern in recent weeks. Even so, Thomas Tuchel’s side played well against Schalke and have a solid away record in spite of their poor record, so they’ll fancy their chances to take a win into the mid-season break.

Bayer Leverkusen vs. Freiburg

Sunday, 9:30 AM, TV: GOL TV

Leverkusen grabbed an important victory over Hamburg SV last weekend and closed out their Europa League group stage campaign with a 1-1 draw against Atlético Madrid. Freiburg have been doing very well this season, and a couple more goals from Papiss Cissé in the victory against ‘Gladbach lifted last season’s strugglers into fifth place. This won’t be an easy game for Leverkusen, particularly considering their poor home record, but they will be boosted by Stefan Kießling’s return to fitst-team action -- he played the whole second half on Thursday.

Stuttgart vs. Bayern Munich

Sunday, 11:30 AM, TV: ESPN Deportes, ESPN3.com

It was (mostly) a good week in Munich -- FCB won 3-0 against St. Pauli, Bastian Schweinsteiger signed a new contract, Arjen Robben and Holger Badstuber returned to training, but Toni Kroos is out until January with a stress fracture of one metatarsal. Stuttgart fired Jens Keller after their 2-1 loss against Hannover, but hammered Odense 5-1 in their first game under Bruno Labbadia. They have a very solid home record, and Bayern have won just once on their travels this season, so this match could be a lot harder for the champions than it may appear by comparing league positions.