20:30 – Nuernberg – Eintracht Frankfurt
Saturday
15:30 Borussia Dortmund – St Pauli
15:30 Hannover – Kaiserslautern
15:30 Hoffenheim – Koeln
15:30 Freiburg – Wolfsburg
15:30 Hamburg – Werder Bremen
18:30 Mainz – Bayern Munich
Sunday
15:30 Bayer Leverkusen – Stuttgart
17:30 Borussia Moenchengladbach – Schalke
Nuernberg – Eintracht Frankfurt
Fresh off an emphatic win away to Stuttgart, Nuernberg will hope to make it four wins on the bounce against Frankfurt on Friday. The Bavarians have been in scintillating form, and will soon benefit from the return of Ilkay Guendogan. The young playmaker is not yet fit to face Frankfurt, and will be joined by Juri Judt, Mike Frantz and Albert Bunjaku in the stands.
Following losses in four of Frankfurt’s last five matches, CEO Heribert Bruchhagen declared a state of crisis at his club. Die Ader have yet to score this spring, and could soon face a relegation battle if they are not careful. As they head south, Michael Skibbe’s side will be missing injured quintetSebastian Jung, Ricardo Clark, Chris, Caio and Zlatan Bajramovic.
Borussia Dortmund – St Pauli
Dortmund looked to have beaten Kaiserslautern after Sven Bender’s late goal, but the league leaders dropped points after an even later equaliser from Jan Moravek. BVB are still ten points ahead of Leverkusen, but will hope to wrap up the title sooner than later. As they face St Pauli, the Ruhr side will be missing suspended centre half Neven Subotic, and injured quartet Patrick Owomoyela, Florian Kringe, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Shinji Kagawa.
Despite going behind early, St Pauli rebounded to score three unanswered goals against Gladbach in round 22 before winning the Hamburg derby on Wednesday. The Buccaneers have won three consecutive matches, but face a new level of competition in Dortmund on Saturday. As they head to the Ruhr area, St Pauli will be missing suspended centre half Carlos Zambrano, and injured trio Fabio Morena, Carsten Rothenbach and Florian Lechner.
Hannover – Kaiserslautern
Hannover went a goal ahead of Bremen last week, but eventually saw their lead evaporate en route to a 1-1 draw. Die Roten have slipped out of a Champions League position, but remain well placed to qualify for Europe. As they take on relegation battlers Kaiserslautern, the 96ers will be missing Manuel Schmiedebach (suspended), as well as Christopher Avevor and Leon Andreasen (both injured).
Thanks to Moravek’s late strike against Dortmund, Kaiserslautern were able to avoid a fourth consecutive loss. The roten Teufel remain winless since before the winter break, however, and will be keen to end this streak and move further away from the relegation battle. FCK will be without injured trio Erwin Hoffer, Jan Simunek, and Oliver Kirch as they head to Saxony.
Hoffenheim – Koeln
Hoffenheim engaged Bayern last week and were put to the sword in a 4-0 loss. The Sinsheim club will hope to rebound against Koeln, but will face stiff resistance in the vastly improved Geissboecke. Marco Pezzaiouli’s side will be without suspended left back Edson Braafheid, as well as unfit duo Manuel Gulde and Chinedu Obasi on Saturday.
Last week’s 4-2 win against Mainz extended Koeln’s fine run of form to three wins in their last four matches. Die Geissboecke have climbed out of the relegation zone since Frank Schaefer’s takeover as coach, and will be keen t secure a position in the 2011-12 Bundesliga season as early as possible. Ahead of this weekend, Schaefer has ruled out Kevin McKenna, Christopher Schorch and Wilifred Sanou, who are unfit.
Freiburg – Wolfsburg
Freiburg have impressed this season thus far, but looked more like a relegation-fighting side in last week’s 1-0 loss to Schalke. Robin Dutt’s men will try to rebound against an unsettled Wolfsburg side, but will be missing an injured contingent including Jonathan Jaeger, Simon Pouplin, Pavel Krmas, Tommy Bechmann, Julian Schuster and Daniel Williams.
Last week’s loss to Hamburg was a case of “new coach, same problem” for Wolfsburg, who struggled for scoring opportunities and were undone by a defensive error. Die Woelfe are still in the midst of a relegation battle, and will hope to secure their survival from the drop sooner than later. Ahead of Saturday’s match, Pierre Littbarski has ruled out Simon Kjaer (suspended), Mario Mandzukic, Tolga Cigerci, Alexander Madlung and Thomas Kahlenberg (all injured).
Hamburg – Werder Bremen
Hamburg missed out on a clear chance to move into the top tier of the Bundesliga table on Wednesday, but lost the cross-city derby to St Pauli. Armin Veh’s side has tremendous potential, but must improve in order to finish in the top five. As they take on crisis-stricken Bremen, die Rothosen will be missing Dennis Diekmeier and Romeo Castelen.
Bremen came back from a goal behind to earn a draw against Hannover in last week’s fixture, leaving the Hanseaten just a point ahead of the relegation play-off. The Nordderby is always motivational, and could provide just the spark Bremen need to turn around their season. Claudio Pizarro has been ruled out due to muscular problems, and will join suspended goalkeeper Tim Wiese and an injured contingent including Samuel, Naldo, Christian Vander, Onur Ayik, Sebastian Boenisch and Daniel Jensen in the stands.
Mainz – Bayern Munich
Mainz played well in spells, but were ultimately overcome by Koeln in their last outing. The Oh Fives have slipped to fifth place in the Bundesliga, and their dreams of a European berth are rapidly fading. Long-term casualties Bo Svensson and Adam Szalai remain sidelined.
Led by the brilliant Thomas Mueller and Arjen Robben, a resurgent Bayern battered Hoffenheim last week, and moved back into third place. The Bavarians are within striking distance of Leverkusen, and will be highly motivated ahead of next week’s Champions League showdown with Inter. Robben and Mario Gomez have shaken off mild midweek injuries, and Toni Kroos, Diego Contento are back in the squad following injury breaks. However, long-term casualty Ivica Olic will have to watch from the stands.
Bayer Leverkusen – Stuttgart
Leverkusen bounced back from defeat and closed the gap on Dortmund with last week’s 3-0 win away to Frankfurt. The Werkself have impressed this year, and are in pole position to qualify for the Champions League. As he prepares his side to face Stuttgart, Jupp Heynckes will be missing Michael Ballack, Tranquillo Barnetta and Fabian Giefer.
Stuttgart slumped to a dismal 4-1 home loss to Nuernberg in their most recent match, and in doing so slipped further in the relegation fight. The Swabians still have plenty to do if they are to avoid the drop, but a positive result against Leverkusen would be a good start. Pavel Pogrebnyak, Arthur Boka, Timo Gebhart, Christian Gentner, Johan Audel and Mamadou Bah are injured for Sunday’s match, and Ciprian Marica will also miss out after being banished to the reserves.
Borussia Moenchengladbach – Schalke
Despite going a goal ahead early, Gladbach suffered a woeful collapse as they conceded three unanswered goal to St Pauli and slumped to a demoralising defeat. Die Fohlen have to go on a serious winning streak if they are to have a chance even at a spot in the relegation play-off match. They face a resurgent Schalke side, but will have more rest than their opponents, who played in Europe in midweek. On the downside, Gladbach will be missing Igor de Camargo (suspended), as well as Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Jean-Sebastian Jaures (injured).
Tuesday’s gritty performance against Valencia saw Schalke live up to their potential and earn a 1-1 draw in Spain. Felix Magath is once again dreaming of a European berth in the fall, but will need a strong run between now and May in order to achieve such an end. Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Christian Pander, Angelos Charisteas, Tim Hoogland, Christoph Moritz, Levan Kenia and Danilo Avelar are unfit, and will miss Sunday’s match.
