Bundesliga 2012, Week 15 preview and fixtures: Bayern Munich faces Borussia Dortmund in massive clash

After picking up a massive point on the road against Borussia Dortmund, Fortuna Düsseldorf return home with 5th place Eintracht Frankfurt coming to town. Düsseldorf have fallen in the table down to 15th just three points out of the relegation zone. Another point against a top team in the division would be a huge confidence booster with two matches remaining before the winter break. After a blistering start, Frankfurt have cooled in recent weeks including a big defeat at home against Mainz midweek. Picking up three points on the road against Düsseldorf will re-establish some confidence before matches against Bremen and Wolfsburg to end the first half of the season.
Prediction: Fortuna Düsseldorf 0 - 2 Eintracht Frankfurt

Schalke vs Borussia Mönchengladbach - 15:30 CET / 9:30 AM ET

Schalke are winless in their last three matches and will be hoping a victory over visiting Borussia Mönchengladbach is in the cards for Saturday. They’ve struggled scoring goals in that period with only two goals on their account. They should find the back of the net this weekend against Gladbach, but it depends on getting Klaas Jan Huntelaar into the attack early and often. For Gladbach, it’s about being solid at the back early in the match to build confidence as they move forward.
Prediction: Schalke 2 - 0 Borussia Mönchengladbach

Bayer Leverkusen have quietly moved into second place in the table in recent weeks with some impressive results including wins over Bayern Munich and Schalke. They’ll host a Nürnberg side this weekend that won for the first time in eleven matches. This Leverkusen side is too strong and playing too well to drop points at home against Nürnberg.
Prediction: Bayer Leverkusen 3 - 0 Nürnberg

Mainz vs Hannover - 15:30 CET / 9:30 AM ET

Mainz came away with a huge win midweek away to Eintracht Frankfurt giving the Eagles their first home loss of the season. Thomas Tuchel has been building a strong side that has been one of the better defensive sides in the league this season. The big surprise in their win in Frankfurt was the emergence of Shawn Parker. The German-American was fantastic picking up a goal and an assist. Hannover picked up a win over lowly Greuther Fürth the other day. Meh.
Prediction: Mainz 2 - 2 Hannover

Augsburg vs Freiburg - 15:30 CET / 9:30 AM ET

They ran into the buzzsaw that is Bayern Munich midweek, but Freiburg will beat Augsburg this weekend.
Prediction: Augsburg 0 - 2 Freiburg

Greuther Fürth vs Stuttgart - 15:30 CET / 9:30 AM ET

This is the match I’m not watching. Fürth is awful, and Stuttgart has let me down beyond belief this year. DO NOT DISAPPOINT ME AGAIN, STUTTGART!
Prediction: Greuther Fürth 0 - 1 Stuttgart

Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund - 18:30 CET / 12:30 PM ET

Bayern Munich are now 11 points ahead of Borussia Dortmund in the table. If the Bavarians are victorious this weekend, the lead is 14 points, and you can write BVB’s championship aspirations completely off. Bayern have been flying high with 12 wins in 14 matches this season. BVB have seen their struggles including over the weekend when they dropped points at home against Fortuna Düsseldorf. This is a statement match for Bayern who are coming off of two seasons without a trophy of any sort. Both sides are healthy, and this should be an amazing match.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 2 - 1 Borussia Dortmund

Wolfsburg vs Hamburg - 17:30 CET / 11:30 AM ET

Bas Dost and Diego have been trying to lift this Wolfsburg side back up the table, but they’ve had no luck. Mainly because they’re not very good defensively. Hamburg completely surprised me midweek with their victory over Schalke while missing Rafael Van der Vaart and Heung-Min Son. I’m a big, big fan of their young Latvian forward Artjoms Rudnevs. I think they’ll manage to pip a goal and take all three points.
Prediction: Wolfsburg 0 - 1 Hamburg