Bundesliga preview and tips - day 23
Borussia Dortmund – Hertha Berlin
Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 defeat to Werder Bremen last weekend brought to an end a run of three successive victories for Thomas Doll’s side and they will be seriously challenged by Hertha Berlin on Friday.
Although looking safe from the drop-zone, 13th place in the league for a team of Dortmund’s calibre must be seen as a disappointment. Much will depend on the form of strike duo Mladen Petric and Alexander Frei.
The Berlin side look to be clicking of late with their strike force of Pantelic and Raffael looking increasingly dangerous. After losing comprehensively to Frankfurt in the first game back after the winter break, Hertha have won three and drawn one.
An away win against Stuttgart showed that they have what it takes to gain points on the road.
Tip: 1
Arminia Bielefeld – Schalke
Following their fantastic penalty shoot-out victory over Porto on Wednesday night, Schalke return to Bundesliga action as they visit Bielefeld looking to put an end to a run of three successive defeats.
The fact that they come up against a team in free-fall will give them even more confidence of picking up a valuable three points, but they will have to avoid the dangers of complacency or a Champions League hangover as so often is the case.
Bielefeld’s point last weekend against Rostock brought to an end a run of five consecutive losses, but trainer Michael Frontzeck is still awaiting his first win since replacing Ernst Middendorp as the Bielefeld trainer.
Tip: 2 or under 2.5
Stuttgart – Werder Bremen
The most attractive tie of round 32 sees last season’s champions entertain this season’s pretenders to the crown Werder Bremen. A disappointing midweek display from Werder saw them lose 2-0 to Glasgow Rangers so trainer Thomas Schaaf will be looking for a positive reaction on Saturday as Werder look to keep up the pressure on leaders Bayern.
Stuttgart were not in action last weekend due to the cancellation of their match away at Cottbus. They have had that extra time off, whereas Werder will no doubt be a little fatigued from their travels to Scotland.
Although out of the title race, Stuttgart could have a big say in the destination of the crown they currently hold. They beat Bayern earlier in the season at the Gottlieb-Daimler after seemingly being in the middle of a crisis. Could they be about to do the same to second placed Werder.
Tip 1x or Over 2.5
Eintracht Frankfurt – Bochum
Frankfurt will be looking to add impetus to their push for a European place with a win over Bochum on Saturday. Currently in seventh, they are four points behind fifth placed Karlsruhe, who face Bayern this weekend.
After a promising start after the winter break, Eintracht have slipped back to their old ways a little of late with two defeats in their last three games. Last weekend’s heavy 4-1 loss to Hamburg would have hurt and trainer Friedhelm Funkel will be looking for a reaction.
Bochum have hit a little form of late with successive wins over both Hannover and more surprisingly last weekend against Bayer Leverkusen. The return from suspension of Stanislav Sestak will be a welcome boost for them.
Tip: 1
Wolfsburg – Energie Cottbus
Defeat last weekend to Karlsruhe brought to and end a club best run of form which saw the ‘Wölfe’ go seven matches unbeaten. Their resolve will be tested on Saturday against an Energie Cottbus side who are desperate for points and who have had a free week following the postponement of their game with Stuttgart last week.
Cottbus have lost their last two home games but picked up points in their last two away games so they won’t mind too much their trip to the Volkswagen Arena.
Felix Magath’s side will want a swift return to winning ways as they look to build on recent form and start to move up from the mid-table position of 10th.
Tip : 1
Bayern Munich – Karlsruhe
Bayern return to Bundesliga action two days after their 5-0 demolition of Anderlecht in the Uefa Cup looking to extend their lead at the top of the Bundesliga. With Werder having a tough trip to Stuttgart, Bayern will be fancying their chances of extending their lead from four points to six or perhaps seven.
Ottmar Hitzfeld possesses the squad to rotate with the likes of Ribéry, Klose, Toni and Schweinsteiger only playing 45 minutes on Thursday.
Karlsruhe continue to soar at the top end of the table and they would surely be happy to come away from the Allianz Arena with a point.
Tip : 1 H(0-1)
Duisburg – Hansa Rostock
Duisburg remain bottom of the pile in the Bundesliga and their best chance of survival lies in their ability to take points off of the teams at the bottom end of the table. They succeeded in doing that two weeks ago against Bielefeld so will be looking to do the same against Rostock at home on Saturday.
Hansa have managed to pull themselves clear of the bottom three but a few results the wrong way could well see them sucked back in this really is another one of those “six-pointers” that could count for so much at the end of the season.
Tip: Over 2.5 or Niculescu to score - Duisburg
Nürnberg – Hamburg
Two teams at opposite ends of the table meet on Sunday with Nürnberg hosting third place Hamburg. ‘Der Klub’ are only off the bottom of the table on goal-difference, so a defeat to high-flying HSV could very well see them at the foot of the table at the end of Sunday.
Hamburg are looking to fend off the challenge from Bayer Leverkusen, who they lost to on Thursday in the Uefa Cup, while at the same time keeping up their challenge to both Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich.
Time will tell whether Hamburg show any ill-effects from their midweek exertions, but with Thomas von Heesen still looking for his first league win in charge of Nürnberg, he will be hoping that is the case.
Tip: x
Bayer Leverkusen – Hannover
The final game of the weekend sees Bayer Leverkusen entertaining Hannover at the Bay-Arena. Michael Skibbe’s side were involved in midweek Uefa Cup action so will be a little more tired than Hannover, but they do enjoy home advantage.
They need the three points on Sunday as Hamburg currently lead them by just that number of points.
Hannover meanwhile continue to have a consistent season and are maintaining their challenge for a European qualification berth. They are currently eighth, four points behind Karlsruhe.
Tip: 1
Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 defeat to Werder Bremen last weekend brought to an end a run of three successive victories for Thomas Doll’s side and they will be seriously challenged by Hertha Berlin on Friday.
Although looking safe from the drop-zone, 13th place in the league for a team of Dortmund’s calibre must be seen as a disappointment. Much will depend on the form of strike duo Mladen Petric and Alexander Frei.
The Berlin side look to be clicking of late with their strike force of Pantelic and Raffael looking increasingly dangerous. After losing comprehensively to Frankfurt in the first game back after the winter break, Hertha have won three and drawn one.
An away win against Stuttgart showed that they have what it takes to gain points on the road.
Tip: 1
Arminia Bielefeld – Schalke
Following their fantastic penalty shoot-out victory over Porto on Wednesday night, Schalke return to Bundesliga action as they visit Bielefeld looking to put an end to a run of three successive defeats.
The fact that they come up against a team in free-fall will give them even more confidence of picking up a valuable three points, but they will have to avoid the dangers of complacency or a Champions League hangover as so often is the case.
Bielefeld’s point last weekend against Rostock brought to an end a run of five consecutive losses, but trainer Michael Frontzeck is still awaiting his first win since replacing Ernst Middendorp as the Bielefeld trainer.
Tip: 2 or under 2.5
Stuttgart – Werder Bremen
The most attractive tie of round 32 sees last season’s champions entertain this season’s pretenders to the crown Werder Bremen. A disappointing midweek display from Werder saw them lose 2-0 to Glasgow Rangers so trainer Thomas Schaaf will be looking for a positive reaction on Saturday as Werder look to keep up the pressure on leaders Bayern.
Stuttgart were not in action last weekend due to the cancellation of their match away at Cottbus. They have had that extra time off, whereas Werder will no doubt be a little fatigued from their travels to Scotland.
Although out of the title race, Stuttgart could have a big say in the destination of the crown they currently hold. They beat Bayern earlier in the season at the Gottlieb-Daimler after seemingly being in the middle of a crisis. Could they be about to do the same to second placed Werder.
Tip 1x or Over 2.5
Eintracht Frankfurt – Bochum
Frankfurt will be looking to add impetus to their push for a European place with a win over Bochum on Saturday. Currently in seventh, they are four points behind fifth placed Karlsruhe, who face Bayern this weekend.
After a promising start after the winter break, Eintracht have slipped back to their old ways a little of late with two defeats in their last three games. Last weekend’s heavy 4-1 loss to Hamburg would have hurt and trainer Friedhelm Funkel will be looking for a reaction.
Bochum have hit a little form of late with successive wins over both Hannover and more surprisingly last weekend against Bayer Leverkusen. The return from suspension of Stanislav Sestak will be a welcome boost for them.
Tip: 1
Wolfsburg – Energie Cottbus
Defeat last weekend to Karlsruhe brought to and end a club best run of form which saw the ‘Wölfe’ go seven matches unbeaten. Their resolve will be tested on Saturday against an Energie Cottbus side who are desperate for points and who have had a free week following the postponement of their game with Stuttgart last week.
Cottbus have lost their last two home games but picked up points in their last two away games so they won’t mind too much their trip to the Volkswagen Arena.
Felix Magath’s side will want a swift return to winning ways as they look to build on recent form and start to move up from the mid-table position of 10th.
Tip : 1
Bayern Munich – Karlsruhe
Bayern return to Bundesliga action two days after their 5-0 demolition of Anderlecht in the Uefa Cup looking to extend their lead at the top of the Bundesliga. With Werder having a tough trip to Stuttgart, Bayern will be fancying their chances of extending their lead from four points to six or perhaps seven.
Ottmar Hitzfeld possesses the squad to rotate with the likes of Ribéry, Klose, Toni and Schweinsteiger only playing 45 minutes on Thursday.
Karlsruhe continue to soar at the top end of the table and they would surely be happy to come away from the Allianz Arena with a point.
Tip : 1 H(0-1)
Duisburg – Hansa Rostock
Duisburg remain bottom of the pile in the Bundesliga and their best chance of survival lies in their ability to take points off of the teams at the bottom end of the table. They succeeded in doing that two weeks ago against Bielefeld so will be looking to do the same against Rostock at home on Saturday.
Hansa have managed to pull themselves clear of the bottom three but a few results the wrong way could well see them sucked back in this really is another one of those “six-pointers” that could count for so much at the end of the season.
Tip: Over 2.5 or Niculescu to score - Duisburg
Nürnberg – Hamburg
Two teams at opposite ends of the table meet on Sunday with Nürnberg hosting third place Hamburg. ‘Der Klub’ are only off the bottom of the table on goal-difference, so a defeat to high-flying HSV could very well see them at the foot of the table at the end of Sunday.
Hamburg are looking to fend off the challenge from Bayer Leverkusen, who they lost to on Thursday in the Uefa Cup, while at the same time keeping up their challenge to both Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich.
Time will tell whether Hamburg show any ill-effects from their midweek exertions, but with Thomas von Heesen still looking for his first league win in charge of Nürnberg, he will be hoping that is the case.
Tip: x
Bayer Leverkusen – Hannover
The final game of the weekend sees Bayer Leverkusen entertaining Hannover at the Bay-Arena. Michael Skibbe’s side were involved in midweek Uefa Cup action so will be a little more tired than Hannover, but they do enjoy home advantage.
They need the three points on Sunday as Hamburg currently lead them by just that number of points.
Hannover meanwhile continue to have a consistent season and are maintaining their challenge for a European qualification berth. They are currently eighth, four points behind Karlsruhe.
Tip: 1
posted by Midnight Sun @ 12:34,
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