Matchday 20 Preview: The show must go on
February 6, 2015
As much as Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp insisted at the pre-match press conference on Thursday that his "batteries are fully charged" and that "resignation is not an option," this hasn't quite been the New Year that his Borussia Dortmund team were hoping for.
A draw in the first round back against Leverkusen suggested progress, but a home defeat against Augsburg on Wednesday night has them staring down the barrel of a very concerning possibility. On Saturday, they travel to Freiburg for a real relegation battle. Christian Streich's side are in 15th, but only have two more points than Jürgen Klopp's team, opening the door for Dortmund to climb up the table if they can win for the first time in five games. The news that Kevin Grosskreutz is out for six weeks after suffering a muscle tear won't help an already troubled camp, but BVB should take heart from the fact they've won all nine of their previous league meetings with Freiburg.
Dortmund will be looking to Bayern to do them a favor. The Bavarians could peg one of BVB's direct competitors back if they can get back to winning ways against 16th-placed Stuttgart. Bayern, irrespective of favors, will be looking to improve. For the first time this season, Germany's biggest and most successful club have gone two league games without a win, but they have beaten their upcoming opponents in the last 12 meetings (nine in the league, three in the German Cup). Jerome Boateng has been banned for three games after his red card against Schalke, but sporting director Matthias Sammer has confirmed the club will appeal. With Boateng suspended and Dante out of form, Guardiola might start Holger Badstuber - who picked up his latest injury in the reverse fixture earlier this season. Stuttgart is in desperate need of goals, having only managed one in their last four games.
Interest is always high when it comes to Bayern Munich, but this fixture is the most attended in Bundesliga history: over five million people across 95 match-ups have watched these two sides live.
Top-six clash and goals galore
Friday night's game is a top-six clash between Champions League hopefuls Borussia Mönchengladbach and Roberto Di Matteo's Schalke. A win for the former could see them stretch clear in third, although in the last 14 years together in the Bundesliga, Gladbach have never finished above Schalke. The hosts are without Martin Stranzl and Andre Hahn, while goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther is expected to make his first ever start in the Bundesliga after replacing the injured Fabian Giefer in Munich on Tuesday night.
In-form Wolfsburg host stuttering Hoffenheim in a game that promises goals: 52 have been scored in the last 13 league games between these two. Recently acquired attacker Andre Schürrle is also expected to make his debut for the Wolves. Cologne are at home against Paderborn, also on Saturday. While the guests are beginning to facing the reality of relegation, the home side are notoriously poor in front of their own crowd having won only one of their nine home games this season.
Elsewhere, Pal Dardai takes over in the capital after the unsurprising dismissal of Jos Luhukay as Hertha boss. The boys from Berlin travel to Mainz hoping for a better outcome than earlier in the season when Mainz won 3-1. Off the back of their most convincing win in months, Hamburg host a Hannover team who are currently enduring their worst season restart in five years.
On Sunday, Viktor Skripnik's Werder Bremen is aiming for their fourth consecutive win despite facing fifth-placed Bayer Leverkusen. The final game of Matchday 20 sees Augsburg, who has now won seven of their last nine games and are the only team in the league to always win when they take the lead, play Eintracht Frankfurt.