FC Bayern München - 1. FC Köln
Bayern will face Köln for the 81st time in the Bundesliga (35 wins, 22 draws, 23 defeats). Only against Wattenscheid (37.5%) have the record champions won a lower ratio of their top-flight games than against Köln (43.8%).
FCB are without a win in five league games against Köln (three draws, two defeats) - against no other current BL teams have the Munich-based side gone this long without a win.
In their last meeting with the Billygoats, Bayern lost despite holding a 2-0 lead at the half-time whistle.
Bayern's last home win over Köln came nearly 10 years ago when FCB beat the Billygoats 3-0 in March 2002.
Apart from Augsburg, who are yet to play at Allianz Arena, Köln are the only current BL side against whom Bayern have never won a league game at their new stadium (three draws, one defeat).
FCB have not lost their last league game of the year since 1984 (13 wins, 13 draws).
Köln have gone three games without defeat for the first time since Stale Solbakken took charge of the team this summer (one win, two draws).
Köln have conceded an average of 3.14 goals per away game this term - more than any other team in the league.
This fixture will see a meeting of the two most prolific Bundesliga strikers of the year 2011. Mario Gomez has netted 31 goals this year, while Lukas Podolski has so far tallied 23 goals.
No team is as dependent on a single player as Köln are on Lukas Podolski. The Billygoats' front-man has scored 52% of their league goals (14 out of 27) and has been directly involved in two thirds of Köln's BL goals this term (18 out of 27).
Bayer Leverkusen - 1. FC Nürnberg
It has been over nine years since Bayer last lost a home game against Nürnberg - in December 2002 FCN won 2-0 at BayArena. Since then Leverkusen have won three and lost none of their six BL home games against Nürnberg (three draws).
Last season Nürnberg were the only side in the Bundesliga against whom Leverkusen failed to win a match (0-0 H, 0-1 A).
Leverkusen have only netted 22 goals this term. The last time Bayer had registered so few goals after 16 games in the Bundesliga was back in 1995/95.
Nürnberg have only taken five points from the last ten BL games: fewer than any other team in the league. Dieter Hecking's men have now lost five of their last six league games (one win).
Leverkusen are unbeaten in six league games (three wins, three draws) - a feat they last achieved between February and April when they went eight BL games without defeat.
Bayer goalkeeper Bernd Leno has kept clean sheets in 47% of his BL games (seven out of 15). No other shot-stopper to have made at least four BL appearances, has registered such a high ratio of clean sheets.
FCN defender Philipp Wollscheid, who will join Bayer Leverkusen next season, is currently the second-best duellist in the league, winning 72% of his duels.
Bayer striker Stefan Kießling made 59 BL appearances for Nürnberg between 2002 and 2006, scoring 13 goals in the process.
Eren Derdiyok has netted four of Bayer's last five league goals and has already scored as many goals in the first 16 games of this campaign than in the whole of last season (six).
Leverkusen have only suffered two defeats in their previous 22 BL home games against Nürnberg (13 wins, seven draws).
Hamburger SV - FC Augsburg
The only previous competitive match between these two sides came in the Second Round of the German Cup in 1986/87 when Hamburg beat Augsburg 2-1.
This fixture will see the team with the most games in BL history (1644), Hamburg, take on the side with the fewest BL matches (16), Augsburg.
Hamburg haven't lost any of their last 11 home matches in all competitions against teams from Bavaria (seven wins, four draws).
New HSV manager Thorsten Fink is unbeaten in his first seven games with the Redshorts (two wins, five draws). The BL record for the longest unbeaten run after taking charge of a team is held by Karl-Heinz Feldkamp who lost none of his first 14 league games at Kaiserslautern.
Augsburg have found the back of the net in each of their last five games, but have only scored more than once (twice) in one of those games.
Hamburg, on the other hand, remained goalless for the first time in eight competitive matches under the tutelage of new manager Thorsten Fink when they drew 0-0 with Mainz last weekend.
FCA haven't scored in the first half since the sixth matchday. Augsburg have netted fewer first-half goals than any other team in the league (three).
Hamburg and Augsburg have faced the most shots on target this term (92 each).
Paolo Guerrero has scored in each of Hamburg's last three BL games on home soil. Marcell Jansen scored in the Redshorts' last two home games.
Former HSV player Sebastian Langkamp is currently the best duellist in the league, winning 73% of his duels. His teammate Gibril Sankoh is third in in this ranking, having won 69% of his duels.
1899 Hoffenheim - Hertha BSC
Hoffenheim have so far played four competitive matches against Hertha with none of these ending in a draw and each team beating the other twice.
2008/09 Hertha held the upper hand in both meetings (1-0 H, 1-0 A), while in 2009/10 Hoffenheim won both duels against Hertha (5-1 H, 2-0 A).
Hoffenheim's scored five goals at home for the first time in the Bundesliga in their emphatic 5-1 win over Hertha two years ago. Additionally, this was one of their highest victories in the German top flight - Hoffenheim have never won a BL match by more than four goals.
This is 1899's worst Bundesliga start in their short top-flight history. Never before have they accumulated fewer wins (six), suffered as many defeats (seven), scored as few goals (18) and taken as few points (21) as they have this season.
Hoffenheim have only enjoyed one win in their last six league games (three draws, two defeats) when they beat Nürnberg 2-0 last weekend.
TSG have only netted six goals in the last 10 BL games, fewer than any other team in the league.
Hertha are without a win in five BL games (three draws, two defeats), only Lautern and Hannover have gone longer without a victory (six games each).
All of Adrian Ramos' four goals this term have been assisted by Rafael. With six assists to his name the Brazilian is Hertha's top provider.
Vedad Ibisevic has netted five of Hoffenheim's last six league goals. His next goal will be his 50th in the Bundesliga (114 appearances).
VfL Wolfsburg - VfB Stuttgart
The Wolves are unbeaten at home against Stuttgart in five games, winning their last four BL games at VW Arena against the Swabians.
Stuttgart's last victory at Wolfsburg came nearly six years ago when the Swabians beat the Wolves 1-0 in December 2005.
Felix Magath's men have won four of their last six league games at VW Arena (one draw, one defeat).
The Wolves have gone nine games without a shut-out - no team in the league has currently been waiting this long for a clean sheet.
Wolfsburg are playing their worst BL season ever. VfL have never accrued fewer points after 16 games of a BL season than they have this term (17).
Both sides have only won one of their last seven league games. Wolfsburg have only taken six points from these games, while Stuttgart have chalked up seven.
Wolfsburg have already conceded 34 goals this term with half of these goals coming in their last six games. Only bottom-placed Freiburg have shipped more goals than Wolfsburg (35).
Stuttgart have only won one of their last five games before the winter break (two draws, two defeats) when they beat Hoffenheim 3-1 at home in December 2009.
Wolfsburg have netted at least twice in each of their last four games on home soil.
Former Wolfsburg player Christian Gentner has scored Stuttgart's last three league goals.
SC Freiburg - Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund have only lost one of their last 11 BL outings at Freiburg (four wins, six draws).
Freiburg have only kept one clean sheet in their previous 24 BL games against Dortmund. Their only shut-out against Borussia came in October 2001 when they beat BVB 2-0 at home.
In none of the last nine BL duels between these two teams did the side that opened the scoring manage to win. Five of these games ended in draws, four were turned around completely.
SCF have only enjoyed one win in their last eight games (three draws, four defeats). At home Freiburg have gone four games without a victory (two draws, two defeats).
Dortmund, on the other hand, are unbeaten in 10 league games (seven wins, three draws) - currently the longest run of its kind in the league. The last time Borussia had such a long unbeaten run was between August and December 2010 when they went 15 games without defeat.
SCF striker Papiss Cisse was directly involved in 55% of his team's 20 BL goals this term (nine goals, two assists).
BVB have scored in each of their last 12 league games - currently the longest run of its kind in the Bundesliga.
Freiburg, on the other hand, have gone eight games without a shut-out - only Wolfsburg have currently been waiting longer for a clean sheet (nine games).
Dortmund have only shipped five goals in their last ten BL games - only in their last two championship winning seasons (2010/11 & 2001/02) had they conceded fewer goals 16 games into the campaign than they have this term (11).
Only Bremen (12 times) have hit the woodwork more often than Dortmund (11 times, same as Hannover).
FC Schalke 04 - SV Werder Bremen
Schalke have won three of their last five meetings with Werder, keeping a clean sheet in each victory (one draw, one defeat).
The Royal Blues have lost only one of their last nine BL duels with Bremen on home soil (five wins, three draws).
S04 suffered their first ever defeat in their new stadium, Arena auf Schalke, against Werder when Bremen beat them 4-1 in November 2001. This 4-1 drubbing is still the Gelsenkirchen-based side's heaviest defeat at their new home.
Schalke have enjoyed three home wins on the bounce for the first time since December 2010 when they won four home games in a row.
Werder have only won one of their last six BL games on the road (three draws, two defeats).
Thomas Schaaf's men haven't kept a clean sheet in any of their last 17 league games away from Weserstadion and have shipped a total of nine goals from their last two BL away games.
Only Werder have recouped more points from losing positions this term (16) than Schalke (ten).
Both managers have woeful records against the respective upcoming opponent. Huub Stevens has lost eight of his last nine BL duels with Bremen (one win), while Thomas Schaaf has only won two of his last 13 BL matches against Schalke (four draws, seven defeats).
Prior to the Europa League match against Maccabi Haifa on Wednesday S04 striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar had already netted 25 goals in all competitions: more than any other BL player this term.
Peruvian striker Claudio Pizarro has been directly involved in 17 of Werder's last 22 league goals (11 goals, six assists).
1. FC Kaiserslautern - Hannover 96
Hannover have won five of their last six BL games against Lautern. Their only defeat against the Red Devils during that stretch came in April 2006 when they lost 1-0 to FCK on the road.
Lautern have failed to score more than one goal in any of their last 13 league meetings with Hannover and have been shut out by the Reds in seven of those games.
No team has currently been waiting as long for a win as Lautern and Hannover have - both have gone six league games without taking all three points.
The Red Devils have only kept one clean sheet this season: all other BL teams have enjoyed at least two shut-outs this term.
Hannover's defensive record isn't much better, though. Mirko Slomka's men kept only their second clean sheet of the campaign when they drew 0-0 with Leverkusen last weekend.
Lautern have scored the fewest goals in the Bundesliga. With 12 goals from 16 games their goal haul is worse than ever before 16 games into a BL season. Previously they had always at least netted 15 goals after 16 games in the German top flight.
The Reds' last three league games all ended in draws. Last season Hannover registered only three draws over the course of the whole campaign. If they draw with Lautern, they would equal the club record for the most consecutive draws in the Bundesliga.
With eight points and a goal difference of minus four the Red Devils currently have the worst home record in the Bundesliga. Marco Kurz' men have so far only played seven league games on home turf, though.
Lautern are yet to win a BL game on a Sunday since regaining their top-flight status in 2010 (four draws, four defeats).
Hannover manager Mirko Slomka has enjoyed clean sheet wins in all of his three previous BL meetings with the Red Devils.
Borussia Mönchengladbach - 1. FSV Mainz 05
Mainz have won seven of their last nine league meetings with Gladbach (one draw, one defeat), taking all three points in each of their last three duels with the Foals.
Both sides have lost their last game before the winter break in four of the last five seasons. Mainz at least enjoyed one win in their last league game of the year during that stretch when they beat St. Pauli 4-2 in December 2010, though Gladbach have only claimed one point from their last five pre-Christmas fixtures when they drew 1-1 with Paderborn (BL 2) in 2007.
Gladbach have only shipped 20 goals in the 28 league games since Lucien Favre took charge of the team in February (an average of 0.71 per game) - only reigning champions Dortmund have conceded fewer goals during this period.
Mainz have already dropped 18 points from winning positions this term: five more than any other team in the league. Thomas Tuchel's men have only won four of the 11 games in which they held the lead this season (three draws, four defeats).
The Foals are unbeaten in 11 BL games at Borussia Park (eight wins, three draws) - currently the longest run of its kind in the Bundesliga. Additionally, Borussia are one of only two BL teams, who are yet to lose a home game this season (Hannover being the other).
Mainz have lost fewer away games than any other team this term (one win, five draws, one defeat). Their only defeat came at Kaiserslautern where they were beaten 3-1 by FCK.
Only Freiburg (20) have conceded more second-half goals than Mainz (19). Gladbach, on the other hand, have shipped fewer goals after the half-time break than any other team in the league (five).
Borussia are the only side in the league yet to score a goal in the closing 15 minutes of a game this term.
The Foals have not conceded more than one goal in 15 of their 16 league games this campaign.
Mike Hanke has scored three of the Foals' last four league goals.
Lucas Podolski has scored 14 goals in 15 appearances for Koln in the Bundesliga this season. Five of them have been in the last three matches.
Bayern 2-1 FC Koln 
