Bundesliga, Week 21 preview and fixtures: Schalke aim to make a statement in Leverkusen

Many have been calling for Schalke to sack Jens Keller for months now. However, Die Königsblauen decided to stick by their guy, and its a decision that has paid off. At least, it’s paid off so far.

The rumors were hot and heavy during the winter break, with Thomas Schaaf being the guy named to be coming in to the club. Fortunately for Jens, the club never pulled the trigger, and the 43 year old remains in charge to this day. The question on everyone’s tongue has been, “What has Keller done differently for Schalke in the second half?” Well, the answer is most likely “nothing”. Schalke’s improvement has a lot to do with the return of Klaas Jan Huntelaar, and the club playing less-than-quality opponents.

While Leverkusen may have had a big win last weekend against Borussia Mönchengladbach, we can’t overlook their mega upset in the DFB Pokal on Wednesday. With a trip to the semifinals of the Pokal on the line, “Neverkusen” reared it’s ugly head to stop Sami Hyppiä‘s side from advancing. A win by Leverkusen, at home, will put them nine points ahead of Schalke and the fourth Champions League place.

Quickly touching on the champions, they’ll be hosting Freiburg on Saturday. Oliver Baumann leads the Bundesliga in saves, and he’ll likely be making numerous saves if Freiburg have any chance of upsetting the Bavarians. Expect FC Bayern to roll on to another victory.

Sunday features an interesting encounter when Hertha Berlin invites Wolfsburg to the Olympiastadion in the nation’s capital. Wolfsburg edged Hoffenheim midweek in the Pokal, but they are targeting European football for next season. A victory over Hertha Berlin would go a long ways to give Die Wölfe some breathing room. Hertha BSC are targeting a return to European football in their first year back in the Bundesliga. This match will have major implications as the season moves along.

Mainz vs Hannover

Eintracht Braunschweig vs Hamburg

Borussia Dortmund vs Eintracht Frankfurt

Werder Bremen vs Borussia Mönchengladbach

Hoffenheim vs Stuttgart

Bayer Leverkusen vs Schalke

Augsburg vs Nürnberg

Hertha Berlin vs Wolfsburg