Borussia Dortmund – Schalke
The return leg of the Ruhr derby will be held in Dortmund this Friday. BVB won their away fixture 3-1 thanks to a brace from Shinji Kagawa. Due to a metatarsal fracture, the Japanese playmaker will not have a chance to replicate his virtuoso performance; instead, the torch will be passed on to Mario Goetze. Dortmund will be keen to extend their eleven-point Bundesliga lead. Ahead of Friday’s showdown, Juergen Klopp has ruled out suspended defender Neven Subotic, as well as injured quartet Shinji Kagawa, Sebastian Kehl, Florian Kringe and Patrick Owomoyela.
After being humiliated in front of their home fans last fall, Schalke will hope to respond in equal fashion. Die Knappen strengthened late in the transfer window as Anthony Annan, Ali Karimi and Angelos Charisteas joined their ranks. Of the newcomers, only Annan is expected to earn playing time while the rest work towards fitness in training. Additionally, Tim Hoogland, Christoph Moritz, Angelos Charisteas and Levan Kenia will be unavailable to play due to injuries.
Hannover – Wolfsburg
Hannover lost for the second consecutive time last Friday, a dismal 2-0 result against Leverkusen. Having slipped to fifth place, the Saxons will aim for improvement in a tricky fixture against their new-look hosts. Jan Schlaudraff, Carlitos and Leon Andreasen have been ruled out of contention to play due to injuries.
After suffering a disappointing loss to Dortmund last week, Wolfsburg made a slew of late transfers on Monday. Die Woelfe are expected to come out a very different team on Saturday, and it will be interesting to see whether Steve McClaren can find a winning formula in such little time. All the new signings are expected to be available for selection, except for Koo Ja-Cheol, who will arrive in Wolfsburg on February 10. Assuming Simon Kjaer is pronounced fit, Tolga Cigerci will be the only injured representative of McClaren’s squad.
Nuernberg – Bayer Leverkusen
Their 2-0 win against Hamburg was a triumphant result for Nuernberg, who last week advanced further away from the relegation zone. At least in attack, the Bavarians have managed well in the absence of playmaker Ilkay Guendogan. They face an even tougher task against Leverkusen, and in addition to Guendogan, Mike Frantz and Albert Bunjaku will be unavailable due to injuries. As well, Andreas Wolf is suspended for accumulated cautions.
Leverkusen comfortably dispatched Hannover in their most recent match, and in doing so moved even closer to securing a Champions League spot. Die Werkself are playing with real confidence these days, and it shows. Jupp Heynckes will have a few tactical headaches as he makes his plans for Saturday’s match, but he will definitely be unable to call upon Tranquillo Barnetta and Benedikt Fernandez, who are unfit.
Mainz – Werder Bremen
Mainz rebounded from successive defeats with a win against Kaiserslautern last week. The Oh Fives are fourth in the Bundesliga table, but remain in striking distance of second place as they head into round 20. Last week’s win did come at a price, though: Adam Szalai suffered a severe knee injury and is set for a lengthy lay-off. Bo Svensson is also unfit, and will join the Hungarian in the stands.
After taking the lead against Bayern, Bremen collapsed by allowing three unanswered goals en route to their fourth loss in five games. Since then, the Hanseaten have brought in Samuel as cover in defence, although it will require a whole team response to turn around their fortunes. Ahead of this Saturday’s match, Thomas Schaaf has ruled out injured quintet Wesley, Naldo, Sebastian Boenisch, Daniel Jensen, Christian Vander and suspended goalkeeper Tim Wiese.
Koeln – Bayern Munich
The spring campaign has already had an emphatic high and dismal low for Koeln, who suffered a 3-0 defeat to St Pauli in their last match. Die Geissboecke are three points clear of the safety of 15th place, and will hope for a positive result against a Bayern side that has often struggled on the road. Kostas Giannoulis, Kevin McKenna and Sebastian Freis will miss out on the match due to injuries.
Last Saturday, a heroic second half comeback in Bremen saw Bayern win just their third away match of the year. Now third in the table, the Bavarians will seek another road win as they head to Koeln. They continue to be without long-term casualty Ivica Olic, as well as fellow injured players Diego Contento and Toni Kroos. Arjen Robben is questionable due to illness, but Franck Ribery could make his return as a substitute.
Hoffenheim – Kaisersautern
Last week, Hoffenheim went ahead early and held their lead for 86 minutes as they downed Schalke. The Sinsheim club sits eighth in the Bundesliga table now, and remain in the running for a Europa Leaue berth. As they prepare to face Kaiserslautern, the villagers will have to do without Manue Gulde and Chinedu Obasi, who are unfit.
Kaiserslautern lost their second consecutive match last week, a 1-0 result against Mainz. Die roten Teufel are just three points clear of the drop zone now, and are in danger of a quick relegation back to the 2. Bundesliga. They face tough, but manageable competition in the form of Hoffenheim but will have to do without injured trio Martin Amedick, Jan Simunek and Illiyan Micanski if they are to earn a positive result.
Borussia Moenchengladbach – Stuttgart
Gladbach earned their second win in three matches last week, but remain at the very bottom of the Bundesliga table. Die Fohlen now have a relegation “six pointer” as they face Stuttgart, who are only 17th on superior goal difference. Michael Frontzeck will hope to lead his team to its first home win, but will have to do so minus the services of unfit duo Roel Brouwers and Jean-Sebastian Jaures.
Fresh on the heels of a loss to Freiburg, Stuttgart signed Shinji Okazaki and Tamas Hajnal to bolster their faltering attack. The revamped Swabians face a critical match this weekend and will have a boost in the form of Hajnal, although Okazaki has been ruled as not yet prepared to play. In addition to the Japanese star, Johan Audel and Mamadou Bah will miss the match due to injuries.
Hamburg – St Pauli
Hamburg lost quite a bit of momentum last week as the Rothosen sunk to a 2-0 defeat in Nuernberg. Now back in the north, HSV have a difficult derby tie against cross-city rivals St Pauli. There were no changes to Armin Veh’s squad late in the transfer window, and the coach is expected to use a squad similar to that which featured last week. Heung-Min Son returns from the Asian Cup, but Romeo Castelen and Dennis Diekmeier remain sidelined with injuries. As well, Gojko Kacar is suspended following his recent red carding.
Relegation battlers St Pauli earned their biggest win of the season last week, a 3-0 result against Koeln. The Buccaneers are just three points clear from the drop zone, and will be especially motivated as they take on their city rivals. Coach Holger Sanislawski will have to do without Fabio Morena, Jan-Philipp Kalla, Marius Ebbers and Florian Lechner on Sunday.
Freiburg – Eintracht Frankfurt
Last week’s narrow win against Stuttgart lifted Freiburg to their tenth victory of the year, a result that deservedly lifted their standing to sixth place. Led by Bundesliga top scorer Papiss Cisse and in-form midfielder Johannes Flum, the Breisgau could advance into the top five with a win on Sunday. If they are to do so, they will have to manage minus the services of Jonathan Jaeger, Simon Pouplin, Pavel Krmas, Tommy Bechmann, Julian Schuster and Danny Williams, who are not fit.
Frankfurt lost their third consecutive match last week, and have now gone 273 minutes without scoring. Die Adler will hope to reverse their woes with a convincing performance against Freiburg. Ahead of the match, coach Michael Skibbe has ruled out injured quartet Ricardo Clark, Chris, Aleksandar Vasoski and Zlatan Bajramovic.
