Bundesliga Preview, Week 15: Bayern Munich Visit Schalke 04 In Round Of Mismatches

St. Pauli vs. Kaiserslautern

Friday, 2:30 PM

This match is far from the most glamorous way to kick off the weekend, but it is massively important for the hosts, who have taken just one point from their last eighteen and sit just two points above the relegation play-off place. St. Pauli were humbled again last weekend away to Werder Bremen, as a Hugo Almeida hat-trick sent them to a third straight away defeat, and Bremen’s clean sheet meant that St. Pauli scored just once in November. Their home form is markedly worse than their record on the road, and they will need a significant change of fortune to claim a result against a Kaiserslautern side coming off of a 5-0 victory at home to Schalke. Srdjan Lakic scored twice, and ‘Lautern have notched three goals or more in each of their last three matches. The visitors are favourites here, and deservedly so based on the form of both sides; a win would move them eight points clear of the relegation zone, while St. Pauli could be as low as 17th by the end of the weekend.

Stuttgart vs. Hoffenheim

Saturday, 9:30 AM

The hosts haven’t won since their 6-0 thrashing of Bremen in early November, but managed to win their Europa League group in midweek despite throwing a 2-1 lead away in Bern with just eight minutes to play. They haven’t had any problems scoring, but conceded four away to Hamburg last weekend (and lost 4-2, just as they did away to Young Boys) and are back in seventeenth place. Hoffenheim came from two goals down to draw with Leverkusen last week, and they’ll be looking for a win over the third-worst defence in the league to stay in the thick of the tight race for Europe -- only six points separate third from ninth.

Wolfsburg vs. Werder Bremen

Saturday, 9:30 AM

Hugo Almeida had some game last weekend -- he scored a hat-trick against St. Pauli and got sent off in the dying minutes of Bremen’s 3-0 victory. The Portuguese striker has been banned for three matches, and Bremen will miss him; they couldn’t even fill their bench last weekend. Die Wölfe are still scoring goals, bur simply can’t keep the opposition from rippling the net either. They grabbed a late equalizer last week in Köln, but failed to win a match in November and have slipped down to thirteenth. Bremen haven’t been great on the road this season, but Wolfsburg’s defence is mediocre and Thomas Schaaf’s side could relieve a lot of pressure on their boss with a solid win.

Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. Hannover 96

Sautrday, 9:30 AM

‘Gladbach took a first-half lead at Signal Iduna Park last week, but any advantage against Dortmund is likely to be fleeting, and the league leaders roared back with four unanswered goals to condemn their visitors to an eighth league defeat this season. ‘Gladbach still have by far the worst defence in the Bundesliga and given Hannover’s recent form the hosts will be fortunate to avoid a thrashing. Hannover beat Freiburg last weekend with a confident 3-0 victory to move up to fourth in the table, and their strong run should continue at Borussia-Park, where ‘Gladbach still haven’t won this season.

Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Mainz 05

Saturday, 9:30 AM, TV: GOL TV

Just as we were starting to write Mainz off following their awful run in late October and early November, they responded with a pair of wins and are now back in second place, seven points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund. Thomas Tuchel’s side took a much more straightforward route to victory last week than they had against ‘Gladbach, winning 3-0 as Andre Schürrle and Sami Allagui both scored again. Eintracht Frankfurt are practically the exact opposite -- after a strong seven-match unbeaten run, they’ve lost their last pair of matches (at home to Hoffenheim and away to Bayern Munich) 4-0 and 4-1. Frankfurt have had trouble scoring at home all season, and they’ll have to raise their level against a Mainz outfit that’s begun to hit the back of the net again.

Freiburg vs. Hamburg SV

Saturday, 9:30 AM

Hamburg SV’s up-and-down season continued last week with a 4-2 win against Stuttgart. HSV had lost their previous two, and probably should have won by more against the Swabian side, but they conceded twice for the third straight match and haven’t kept a clean sheet since late October. After a strong run of form, Freiburg lost their second consecutive match last week away to Hannover, and will face up to a difficult test this weekend - Hamburg have a pretty good home record this season.

Schalke 04 vs. Bayern Munich

Saturday, 12:30 PM, TV: ESPN3.com

The last time these two sides clashed in the Bundesliga, it was for top spot in the table and a vital advantage in the closing weeks of the season. The last time they met in any competition, in the DFL-SuperCup back in August, both were still expected to be fighting for the meisterschaft. Four months on, and Schalke are sitting just once place and one point above the relegation zone, while Bayern Munich are fourteen behind leaders Borussia Dortmund. Felix Magath’s side were hammered 5-0 last week by Kaiserslautern, and they won’t fancy their chances against FCB, who have finally remembered how to score goals. The Munich side won 4-1 against Frankfurt last weekend, and will be buoyed by Miroslav Klose’s return to fitness - Louis Van Gaal very nearly has his full team back after some horrible injury problems.

Bayer Leverkusen vs. Cologne

Sunday, 9:30 AM

Bayer Leverkusen were off and away last weekend against Hoffenheim - Sidney Sam’s seventh of the season and an Arturo Vidal penalty had them 2-0 up after just ten minutes - but were dominated by their hosts, who leveled from the spot in stoppage time. However, Leverkusen got back on track in midweek with a group-clinching win against Rosenborg in the Europa League (Sam scored again in a 1-0 win), and they’ll fancy their chances against a Cologne side who sacked their General Manager Michael Meier this week after conceding a late equalizer at home to Wolfsburg last Sunday. Leverkusen have had a patchy home record this season - just nine points taken from a possible twenty-one - but the visitors have won just once on the road this season, and Jupp Heynckes’ side are solid favourites.

Nürnberg vs. Borussia Dortmund

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

Sorry folks, but there really is no need to preview this game. If you’ve watched Borussia Dortmund this season, you know how good their football is and you’ll tune in again. If not, you are seriously missing out. A BVB win would guarantee that Jürgen Klopp’s side will head into the winter break as leaders, and to be quite honest, Nürnberg don’t have a chance against this team. After a good run, FCN conceded three goals for the third straight game last week (against Mainz), and Dortmund will surely continue that streak.