Bundesliga 2012, Week 11: Bayern, BVB, Schalke all win

Hoffenheim scored late in the first half to cancel out an early Fortuna Düsseldorf goal in the first ever Bundesliga match between the two sides.

The second half consisted of near-dominance from Düsseldorf while chances were few and far between for Hoffenheim. Wiese performed well enough throughout the second half to keep out the Düsseldorf attempts, and both sides settled for a 1-1 draw.

Schalke will look to keep pace with league leaders Bayern Munich when Werder Bremen visit the Veltins Arena. At the end of the day, they could end up anywhere from four to ten points behind the Bavarians.

The Royal Blues’ goal scoring has been distributed amongst several players this year. Five players have scored two or more goals, and a total of twelve players have scored at least one goal this year. Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Lewis Holtby, and Jefferson Farfan have scored three each. Last season they relied heavily on Huntelaar, but the more balanced scoring should serve them well as the season goes along.

The defending champions travel to Augsburg this weekend where they’re heavily favored to come away victors. Last season, they left Augsburg with only a draw.

Augsburg have struggled to do much of anything this season. They’ve only scored five goals and conceded fifteen, and they sit dead last in the table. Things are not working for Markus Weinzierl’s side, and a solution needs to be found.

Bayern Munich have the opportunity to put 10 points between themselves and third place Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday when the Eagles come to the Allianz Arena. With the win, Bayern will be sitting on 30 points after only 11 matches.

Mario Mandzukic missed the midweek Champions League match against Lille after becoming ill, but he will return this weekend. He wasn’t needed midweek as Bayern thrashed the French side 6-1. The match featured a hat trick from Claudio Pizarro. While Mandzukic will likely replace Pizarro in the starting eleven, Bayern should be fine.