Bundesliga Season 10/11

[Dodomeki]

Schalke sack Magath

16 March 2011

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Schalke have announced that coach Felix Magath will leave the Bundesliga club with immediate effect.

Magath, 57, had been widely tipped for the exit owing to the team's disappointing form in the league this season.

A championship-winning coach with Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich, Magath was due to meet with club officials at an extraordinary session of the supervisory board on Wednesday, but chose not to attend.

The club later confirmed that he had been removed from the post, but a replacement is yet to be announced.

"Schalke have very good reasons to part company with Felix Magath," chairman Clemens Tonnies said.

"We will not communicate these reasons as a legal battle now awaits us. We're very disappointed about the departure of Felix, but we feel this is the best solution for Schalke."

Earlier, Magath's lawyer Ralf Hoecker revealed the reasons behind his client's refusal to attend the meeting.

"Mr Magath won't attend Wednesday's board meeting as he feels participating doesn't make any sense," Ralf Hoecker said.

"Mr Magath only received a minimal and incomplete agenda of the meeting on Tuesday. He needs to be well prepared if he is to debate about important subjects."

Magath, who arrived at the Veltins-Arena in July 2009, guided the team to a second-place finish in his first season in charge, but leaves with the team 10th in the Bundesliga table.

They have reached the final of the DFB Pokal and the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

A Germany international midfielder, Magath spent the majority of his playing career with Hamburg before coaching the club.

He has also taken charge of Nuremburg, Werder Bremen, Frankfurt and Stuttgart.

 

[Dodomeki]

Bundesliga: Moenchengladbach 0 Kaiserslautern 1

19 March 2011

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Borussia Moenchengladbach goalkeeper Logan Bailly's own goal handed Kaiserslautern a 1-0 away win in the Bundesliga on Friday.

Kaiserslautern entered the match in good form, having unbeaten in three games, while Moenchengladbach had only lost one of their last four as they aim to try and escape the relegation zone.

But their hopes of survival took a dip with Bailly's bizarre own goal, which came just after the hour mark.

The Belgian international conceded when he punched Christian Tiffert's corner into the back of his own net and he was never given a reprieve by his team-mates, who failed to equalise in a frantic ending to the match.

Kaiserslautern's win sees them climb into 12th and three points above relegation, while Moenchengladbach remain bottom and five points from safety.

 

[Dodomeki]

Magath hired for Wolfsburg rescue

Published on March 18, 2011 by admin

Felix Magath has returned to Wolfsburg as head coach only two days after his depart from Bundesliga rivals Schalke.

Magath, 57, split association with Schalke on Wednesday and has already concluded a two-year contract with Wolfsburg, the club he walked out on after winning the Bundesliga title in 2009.

The former Germany international over Schalke acrimoniously notwithstanding running the club to the DFB Cup final and the last eight of the Champions League.

Magath claims he resigned, but alternative reports prove he was sacked. He is now tasked with saving struggling Wolfsburg from relegation.

“I concluded immediately,” Magath said in regards to the offer from his former club.

“When I left Wolfsburg after the extraordinary success, there was a lot of sadness. I was regularly happy here.”

“Of course the hit from Wolfsburg a couple of days ago came as a surprise, but I did not have to consider it for a second.

Everything then went very quickly.”

Wolfsburg sacked English manager Steve McLaren in Feb and the squad have since mislaid 4 out of 5 matches under caretaker Pierre Littbarski and are second bottom in the league, two points from safety.

General manager Dieter Hoeness has paid for the failures of McLaren and Littbarski with his pursuit – the former Bayern striker will now leave the club, with Magath set to take over his duties.

“We had multiform open and helpful discussions to break down into parts the situation, but we had opposite opinions,” Wolfsburg authority Dr Garcia Sanz said, referring to Hoeness’s position on the new manager.

“We thus decided to partial association mutually. We would like to appreciate Dieter Hoeness for the work he has done.”

“We made hit with Felix Magath on Tuesday dusk and then all went utterly quickly.”

 

[Dodomeki]

Bundesliga wrap: Hamburg hit Cologne for six

20 March 2011

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Hamburg won their first Bundesliga match in four games with a 6-2 thrashing of Cologne on Saturday.

A first-half hat-trick to Mladen Petric set up the comprehensive victory for the hosts at Imtech Arena, with Anis Ben-Hatira also finding the back of the net to put Hamburg four goals to the good at the break.

Cologne's Mato Jajalo pulled a goal back for the visitors in the 50th minute, but two minutes later, Gojko Kacar reinstated Hamburg's four-goal advantage. Ze Roberto converted from the penalty spot to put Hamburg further ahead, before Lukas Podolski added a consolation goal in the 62nd minute for the visiting side.

League leaders Borussia Dortmund dropped more points in a 1-1 draw at home to Mainz.
Dortmund, who went down 1-0 away to Hoffenheim in their last match, led through Mats Hummels' eighth-minute goal at Signal Iduna Park.

Nuri Sahin should have put them 2-0 up but fired wide from the spot after Christian Wetklo fouled inside the box. Nevertheless, Dortmund appeared on course to record a narrow win before Petar Sliskovic struck with a minute remaining to snatch a point for visitors Mainz.

The result means Bayer Leverkusen can cut Dortmund's lead at the top of the Bundesliga to seven points with a win over Schalke on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Bayern Munich consolidated fourth spot in the league with a late 2-1 win over Freiburg at the badenova Stadion.

Louis van Gaal's side took the lead in the ninth minute when Franck Ribery's free-kick found the head of Mario Gomez, who flicked the ball past Freiburg goalkeeper Oliver Baumann. Papiss Demba Cisse missed an ideal chance to equalise, when his tame penalty in the 14th minute was saved by Thomas Kraft.

But the Bundesliga's second top scorer made up for his mistake when he equalised three minutes later for the hosts. But they would be denied late when Ribery found the winner in the 88th minute to leave Bayern two points behind third-placed Hannover.

They held onto their gap ahead of Bayern with a 2-0 win over Hoffenheim at the AWD Arena, with Didier Ya Konan and Mohamed Abdellaoue scoring the goals on either side of half time.

Werder Bremen gave their survival hopes a significant boost with a 3-1 away win at Nuremburg, while Eintracht Frankfurt moved three points clear of the drop when they beat fellow strugglers St Pauli 2-1 courtesy of Theofanis Gekas brace.

 

[Dodomeki]

Bundesliga wrap: Leverkusen edge closer to leaders

21 March 2011

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Bayer Leverkusen cut their deficit on leaders Borussia Dortmund to seven points with a 2-0 win over Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Josef Heynckes' side did the damage early at the Bay Arena, with Eren Derdiyok scoring in the 19th minute before a Christoph Metzelder own goal doubled the home side's advantage eight minutes on.

The result piles the pressure on runaway leaders Dortmund, which dropped two points in their 1-1 draw with Mainz on Saturday.

Neither Stuttgart nor Wolfsburg did their survival prospects any help as the two relegation-threatened teams played out a 1-1 draw.

Wolves had taken the lead in the 40th minute through Brazilian Grafite, and the goal looked to have helped them secure a valuable three points, until an injury-time equaliser from Georg Niedermeier extended Stuttgart's unbeaten league run to four games.

The draw meant Wolfsburg remain second-last, two points from Stuttgart in 15th.

 

[Dodomeki]

Re: Cologne hail capture of Makino


Bayern Munich HQ suffers blue paint attack

10:46 BST, Mon 28 Mar 2011

BERLIN, March 28 (Reuters) - Bayern Munich's club offices were attacked with blue paint at the weekend and officials have handed over surveillance tapes to the police, the German champions said on Monday.

The club said unknown attackers threw several bags of blue paint on Sunday at the front windows of their headquarters located on Saebener street where the team also trains.

"Bayern Munich have filed a complaint with police for property damage against unknown individuals," Bayern said in a statement, adding they had also provided authorities with surveillance camera footage to help identify the assailants.

Bayern are currently locked in a bid to rescue second division club and city rivals 1860 Munich from bankruptcy with many 1860 fans, whose colour is blue, vocally opposing the involvement of Munich's bigger and more successful team.

"Everyone can have their opinion but vandalism is stupid," 1860 president Dieter Schneider told reporters.

 

[Dodomeki]

Bundesliga: Game abandoned after crowd trouble

2 April 2011

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Schalke led 2-0 away to St Pauli when Friday's Bundesliga match was abandoned due to an object striking the assistant referee.

Playing in their first match under new coach Ralf Rangnick, veteran Spanish striker Raul put visitors Schalke 1-0 up after 26 minutes at the Millerntor-Stadion.

St Pauli had a goal disallowed for offside in the second half and Schalke doubled their lead seconds later, with a strike from substitute Julian Draxler.

Defender Jan-Philipp Kalla was sent off for a second bookable offence and St Pauli were down to nine men when Fin Bartels was shown a straight red in the 79th minute.

Officials abandoned the match just minutes before the final whistle when assistant referee Thorsten Schiffner - the man who disallowed St Pauli's goal - was hit by a missile thrown from the stands, believed to be a full plastic beer cup.

"We had to call off the game. There was no other choice," referee Deniz Aytekin said. "Even in the first half the assistants had been hit by lighters and coins."

The game was immediately halted and the players taken off the pitch, with the officials forced to shelter under the umbrellas of security staff as more projectiles were hurled in their direction.

It is yet to be announced if the points will be awarded to Schalke or if the match will be replayed.

St Pauli, third from bottom and in the relegation play-off places, face the possibility of a heavy fine, stadium ban and a points deduction.

"Such scenes are unacceptable," St Pauli coach Holger Stanislawski said. "These things should not happen in stadiums. I can only apologise to the assistant in the name of St Pauli."

 

[Dodomeki]

Bundesliga wrap: Front-runners notch wins

2 April 2011

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Borussia Dortmund maintained their seven point lead at the top of the Bundesliga after a come-from-behind 4-1 win against Hannover.

Juergen Klopp's side had taken just one point from their last two games, but their victory on Saturday ensures they their buffer remains intact with seven games remaining.

Hannover, currently fourth and fighting hard for a maiden Champions League berth, looked set to extend Dortmund's winless run to three games when Mohammed Abdellaoue put them ahead just before the hour mark at the Signal-Iduna-Park.

But the goal sparked Dortmund into action, and it took just two minutes for Mario Gotze to draw them level.

Five minutes later Lucas Barrios gave them the lead, and the Paraguayan striker doubled his tally on 73 minutes to all but seal the match.

Kevin Grosskreutz got in on the act seven minutes from time to cement the victory and keep Dortmund seven points clear of Leverkusen following the challengers 1-0 win at Kaiserslautern.

Sidney Sam struck the winner for Leverkusen in the 74th minute at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion to maintain their pursuit of Dortmund, but time appears to be running out for Jupp Heynckes' side.
Bayern Munich overtook Hannover in third position after they beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 1-0 at the Allianz Arena.

Arjen Robben delivered a 73rd minute goal to defeat the Bundesliga's bottom side.

In Saturday's remaining matches, Hoffenheim and Hamburg played out a scoreless draw, Sami Allagui's second-half goal gave Mainz a 1-1 draw against Freiburg, while Werder Bremen also came from a goal down in their 1-1 stalemate with Stuttgart.

 

[Dodomeki]

Bundesliga wrap: Wolfsburg, Cologne leave it late

4 April 2011

Eintracht Frankfurt and Wolfsburg both missed the chance to clear away from the Bundesliga relegation zone after playing out a 1-1 draw.

Wolfsburg moved ahead of St Pauli and into the relegation playoff zone while four points clear are Frankfurt, who sit in 13th.

Alexander Meier opened the scoring for Frankfurt in the 56th minute before Wolfsburg were reduced to 10 men when Arne Friedrich received two bookings in the space of nine minutes.

But against the odds, Wolfsburg substitute Mario Mandzukic leveled the scores five minutes before full-time.

Cologne continued their hot and cold form with a late 1-0 win over Nuremberg.

For the last five games, Cologne have gone win-loss but a 92nd-minute winner from Milivoje Novakovic saw them get a positive result this time out.

The loss leaves sixth-placed Nuremberg sitting in the final Europa League spot with a number of teams in the chasing pack.

 

[Dodomeki]

German federation to rule on St Pauli game next week

18:16 BST, Sat 2 Apr 2011

BERLIN, April 2 (Reuters) - The German football federation (DFB) will rule early next week on the St Pauli-Schalke 04 Bundesliga game that was abandoned on Friday after the linesman was hit by a plastic beer cup, Schalke said on Saturday.

Visitors Schalke were leading 2-0 against St Pauli, who had two players sent off, when the linesman was hit on the back of the head with a full cup of beer before falling to the ground two minutes from time.

The referee halted the game a minute later, ordering both teams off the pitch.

"The DFB will start its investigation early in the week and then announce its verdict," Schalke, who face holders Inter Milan in the Champions League quarter-finals next week, said in a statement.

Schalke, in 10th place with 33 points, are likely to be awarded three points with relegation-threatened St Pauli almost certain to face a fine or further sanctions.

 

[Dodomeki]

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[Dodomeki]

Schalke get points for abandoned game

6 April 2011

Bundesliga officials have awarded Schalke the full points for Friday's abandoned match against St Pauli.

The game was abandoned two minutes from regular time with Schalke leading 2-0 after a plastic beer mug was thrown at a match official.

Security staff had to use umbrellas to shelter players and officials from missiles as they made their way from the pitch.

"We expected this decision," Schalke's sports director Horst Heldt said. "We are happy that we have now officially won."

The decision to hand Schalke the win sees them move into tenth on the table, while relegation-battlers St Pauli drop to 17th on the standings.

 

[Dodomeki]

Bundesliga: Eintracht Frankfurt 1 Werder Bremen 1

9 April 2011

A late Martin Fenin equaliser secured a point for Eintracht Frankfurt as they drew 1-1 with Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Friday.

Both sides entered the game just a handful of points above the relegation zone, but in decent form, highlighted by Werder's five-match unbeaten run heading into the match.

Frankfurt entered the game also on the back of improved form, having lost just one of their last four, and they were keen to record a victory in front of their home fans at the Commerzbank-Arena.

Frankfurt's Maik Franz and Werder's Denni Avdic were both given cautions inside the first five minutes as the match made a frenetic start, but neither side could convert half-chances into the game's opening goal.

That had to wait until the second half, when Frankfurt 's Halil Altintop turned the ball into his own net after 58 minutes to give the visitors the lead.

As the game drew to a close, it looked like Bremen would claim all three points, until Fenin made his telling intervention with just seven minutes remaining.

The Czech substitute had not scored all season, but was on hand to convert Sebastian Jung's assist and ensure that both sides would share the spoils.

 

[Dodomeki]

 

[Dodomeki]

Bundesliga wrap: Dortmund held, Hannover go third

10 April 2011

Borussia Dortmund struck a late equaliser in their 1-1 draw at Hamburg, while Schalke's good week continued in Saturday's Bundesliga action.

Jakub Blaszczykowski's goal two minutes into injury time secured an all-important point for the league leaders, leaving Juergen Klopp's side destined to win their first league title since 2001-02 despite an unconvincing run of form since the German winter break.

Dortmund appeared set for just their fourth loss of the season when Ruud van Nistelrooy put Hamburg ahead on 39 minutes from the penalty spot, after Mats Hummels had clumsily bundled over Croatian forward Mladen Petric in the area.

Mario Goetze, Dortmund's 18-year-old prodigy, almost equalised just before half-time when his shot was cleared off the line and he went close to scoring again just after the break, when he headed over the bar.

Dortmund were beginning to impress and when Hamburg's Aenis Ben-Hatira was sent off for a second yellow card, they finally made the most of when Blaszczykowski got on the end of Patrick Owomoyela's pass and gave his side a priceless point.

Just five days after their shock 5-2 Champions League victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday, Schalke maintained their winning form with a 1-0 home triumph over Wolfsburg.

Jurado's 76th minute goal decided the contest, as Wolfsburg's winless run extended to five, with the defeat leaving the club third-bottom on the table.

Hannover climbed to third with a 2-0 home victory over Mainz, courtesy of goals to Didier Ya Konan and Sergio Pinto.

Ya Konan's strike was his 13th for the season and his third in five matches as Mirko Slomka's side took advantage of Bayern Munich's slip-up at Nuremberg, as the two sides played out a 1-1 draw.

Bayern looked on track for a fourth consecutive Bundesliga victory when Thomas Mueller converted Arjen Robben's assist after five minutes.

But Nuremberg have been solid all season, and despite losing their last two, have a place in the top six for a reason, as highlighted by Christian Eigler's equaliser on the hour-mark.

Goals from Papiss Demba Cisse and Heiko Butscher in the second half saw Freiburg come from behind to defeat Hoffenheim 3-2 at the badenova-Stadion.

Julian Schuster put Freiburg in front after 23 minutes but goals to Vedad Ibisevic and Ryan Babel, his first for the club since joining from Liverpool, put the visitors in front at the break.

But Freiburg responded impressively, with Cisse scoring his 20th league goal of the season from the spot before Ibisevic grabbed the winner with 12 minutes remaining.

Srdjan Lakic scored a brace to help Kaiserslautern to their third win in four, with a 4-2 away triumph over Stuttgart improving their survival chances in the German top flight.

 

[Dodomeki]

 

[Dodomeki]

Bayern sack van Gaal

10 April 2011

Louis van Gaal has been sacked as manager of Bayern Munich with immediate effect, the club confirmed on Sunday.

Van Gaal was due to leave the club a year early at the end of the season but the Bayern board decided to fire the 59-year-old Dutchman with five games remaining.

The German club had already announced that Van Gaal would be replaced by Bayer Leverkusen's Jupp Heynckes at the end of the Bundesliga season, but a 1-1 draw at Nuremberg on Saturday has prompted them into action prematurely.

The draw saw Bayern concede third place and Champions League qualification to Hannover, with only five games left in the Bundesliga season.

Van Gaal guided Bayern to a league and cup double last season, but the 22-time German champions currently lie fourth in the Bundesliga, 14 points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund.

Board members Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Uli Hoeness and Karl Hopfner are

believed to have met with sporting director Christian Nerlinger and

taken the decision late on Saturday.

"The board, director of sport and president of FC Bayern took this decision together,? read a club statement released on Sunday.

"After the 1-1 draw in Nuremberg yesterday and the renewed slide to fourth in the table, and with the threat of missing out on the minimum aim of a place in the Champions League next season, this decision was taken in FC Bayern's best interests.?

"Louis van Gaal's assistants Frans Hoek, Jos van Dijk and Max Reckers have also been relieved of their duties."

Club coach Andries Jonker expected to take charge for the remainder of the season.

Bayern's domestic form has been poor this campaign and they now risk missing out on the lucrative European competition in a year in which the final will be held in Munich.

Bayern's next fixture is against Leverkusen, meaning Heynckes could well deal a further setback to the European aspirations of the team he will coach next season.

 

[Dodomeki]

Bundesliga wrap: Leverkusen ride luck, Moenchengladbach romp

11 April 2011

Bayer Leverkusen neared Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund with a 2-1 victory over St Pauli on Sunday, while Cologne were thrashed.

Leverkusen's fifth-straight win in the German top flight moved the club within five points of Dortmund, one day after the league leaders were held to a 1-1 draw at Hamburg.

But the hosts were forced to work for the result after St Pauli took a surprise lead through Charles Takyi in the 58th minute.

Florian Bruns picked out Takyi with an inch-perfect cross from the right and the Ghanaian-born striker made no mistake with his first touch, feathering the ball inside the far post.

But St Pauli's lead lasted a mere eight minutes before Leverkusen substitute Eren Derdiyok set up Leverkusen's equaliser.

Switzerland midfielder pounced on a poor clearance, drove into the area on a clever one-two with Gonzalo Castro, drew St Pauli goalkeeper Benedikt Pliquett to him and tucked a pass back to Stefan Kiessling to fire into the empty net in the 66th minute.

Fellow Leverkusen substitute Lars Bender nabbed the winner in the 77th minute, with the former Germany Under-20 international springing the offside trap on Sidney Sam's through ball and threading a low shot under Pliquett.

Elsewhere, bottom-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach moved within two points of escape from the relegation zone with a 5-1 thumping of visiting Cologne.

Juan Arango's opener and a brace to Marco Reus had the Bundesliga strugglers up 3-0 at the break.

Reus' second was a thing of beauty, with the midfielder bringing down Mike Hanke's header well outside the area and unleashing a wonderful volley that dipped under the crossbar.

Slovenian Milivoje Novakovic pulled one back for Cologne five minutes after the restart, meeting Slawomir Peszko's cross with a side-footed finish from close range.

But Filip Daems restored Borussia's advantage from the penalty spot 14 minutes later following a Cologne handball, and Norwegian defender Havard Nordveit put the game beyond reach with a rare goal - his first in the top-flight - three minutes later.

 

[Dodomeki]

Bayern appoint Jonker
12 April 2011

Newly appointed Bayern Munich manager Andries Jonker consulted close friend and sacked boss Louis van Gaal before taking the job.

The 48-year-old was offered the position after the Munich board decided to sack van Gaal following the 1-1 draw at Nuremberg on Saturday, which saw Bayern drop out of the Bundesliga top three, and consequently, the UEFA Champions League spots.

Jonker will be in charge for at least the remainder of the season on an interim basis, and admitted he thought long and hard before taking the top job.

"I have a very close relationship with Louis van Gaal," Jonker said.

"It's a weird feeling. I'm not happy."

"We were hugely successful for one season but now the group, the staff, is falling apart. It's disappointing."

Jonker worked with van Gaal at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona and the Dutch national team.

He consulted his close friend before accepting the job with Bayern Munich to ensure there were no hard feelings between the pair.

"If he were in my shoes, he would take the job. That was very important to me," Jonker said.

"He also insisted that we would remain friends. After that I decided to accept the offer from Bayern."

The new boss said it would take time for him to decide whether he would drastically alter game plans laid by van Gaal in his own coaching regime.

Jonker was adamant van Gaal did plenty right, but he also wanted his team to achieve the goals set for the remainder of the season.

"I'm convinced that we can reach our target of qualification for the Champions League, but we can only do it together - the fans, players, staff and board," Jonker said.

"It doesn't matter what I think. The important thing is that we achieve our goals."

Jonker said his door would be open to the players as he underlined the importance of communication.

He will be without duo Holger Badstuber and Arjen Robben for Sunday's Bundesliga clash against Bayer Leverkusen, with the Dutchman Robben sent off against Nuremberg, earning him a two-match ban and 15,000 Euro fine.

 

[Dodomeki]

Bundesliga preview: Jonker´s baptism of fire
15 April 2011

Andries Jonker will take charge of Bayern Munich for the first time when they host Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Jonker has agreed to stand in for the final five matches of the season following the sacking of head coach Louis van Gaal last Sunday.

Van Gaal was scheduled to leave the club at the end of the season, but his departure was abruptly brought forward after a disappointing 1-1 draw at Nuremberg that saw the team slide to fourth in the table.

"I have a very close relationship with Louis van Gaal," Jonkers said.

"It's a weird feeling, I'm not happy. We were hugely successful for one season but now the group, the staff, is falling apart. It's disappointing."

"It was a difficult question for me because we'd worked so intensively together for such a long time."

"If he were in my shoes, he would take the job. That was very important to me. He also insisted that we would remain friends. After that I decided to accept the offer from Bayern."

Ironically, Jonkers' first match in charge comes against second-placed Leverkusen.

They are led by Jupp Heynckes, the man set to take over permanently at the Allianz Arena next season.

The match is vital for both teams, with Leverkusen needing to close the five-point gap on league leaders Borussia Dortmund if they are to have any hope of an unlikely upset in the title race.

Dortmund will look to defend their position at home to Freiburg, also on Sunday.

Bayern meanwhile are one point behind third-placed Hannover, who occupy the coveted final Champions League qualification berth.

Hannover can increase the gap to four points ahead of Bayern's match when they visit Hamburg a day earlier on Saturday.

Elsewhere on Saturday, second-last St Pauli travel to third bottom Wolfsburg in a crucial relegation showdown.

The teams are level on 28 points, two adrift of safety, with Wolfsburg ahead on goal difference.

Werder Bremen are at home to Champions League semi-finalists Schalke, Hoffenheim host Eintracht Frankfurt and Nuremberg visit Kaiserslautern.

Stuttgart, two points clear of the relegation zone in 15th place, have a vital match away to mid-table Cologne.

In the first fixture of the round on Friday, bottom club Borussia Monchengladbach - four points off safety - travel to fifth-placed Mainz.