FC St. Pauli - 1.FC Nürnberg

The monday night game take place in Hamburg when St. Pauli hosts Nürnberg to finish Round 11. Both had Cup games against BL teams last week and both were not successful to advance. Nevertheless the form is more on Nürnberg’s side as on the home team from Coach Lienen. St. Pauli has big problems lately and they need results now if they want to come out of the bottom, to get some hope back. The winless run from 4 games (including Cup 5) is hard for a traditional strong home team and not expected as well while Nürnberg started an excellent winning streak and coming with 4 wins in a row to Hamburg.

The start was almost the same as the run now, they lost to begin 3 matches and started to collect Points as they won to Bielefeld, followed from two draws but then the negative run arrived again and is there yet. According to the weak performance against Sandhausen Lienen changed in Cup on 5 positions what was not so bad because most of them were in trouble. Because some of the starters were not available due to several reasons. In this case youngster Koglin gave his starting debut but should be out of the eleven this game again. Both key defenders Sobiech and Ziereis returned on Friday in team training and should be ready to start today. Also Heddenstad is back in training and a real option for the right back wing. For this reason Hornschuh is free for the central back if one of both mentioned defenders are not at 100%. Attacker Bouhaddouz and midfield player Kalla are still out while Sobota is a big doubt at the moment.

It was not the best start for Nürnberg and they were all a bit disappointed about but after they could turn the match around against Bielefeld they are on track and running from win to win. They have maybe the same run like last Season and Coach Schwartz find the right balance after being in cross fire of the supporters. The situation has changed and he can work relaxed now but of course has to deliver results. The aims are higher in Nürnberg as in Sandhausen. But before the Cup game some problems arrived because with starter Bulthuis and Möhwald were two players out injured, if they return is not sure yet. Also not sure is if midfield player Behrens can start after getting injured against Schalke in Cup. His shoulder is a big problem and allow no training so far. The situation is getting worse if all three can not play as Coach Schwartz has no real alternative then. Mühl plays in central back for Bulthuis then but can also play in central midfield. For this reason Leibold can move back in central midfield while Salli returns into the starting lineup since his red card against Union Berlin.

Bundesliga Informations for Saturday

FC Augsburg - Bayern München

- Bayern won 8 of the last 10 matches with Augsburg.

- Augsburg won twice against Bayern because both times they were already champion.

- Bayern is unbeaten since 18 BL matches (14-4-0).

- And did not lose a single road game in the last 13 (10-3-0).

- Augsburg conceded less goals as in all other Seasons after 8 BL games (11).

- Bayern scored in all their last 17 BL games at least one goal and has one of the best offense.

- They can look at 10 different Scorers this Season so far.

- Augsburg is winless since 3 BL games under new Coach Schuster (0-1-2).

- They won only 1 of the last 6 BL matches at home (1-2-3).

VfL Wolfsburg - Bayer Leverkusen

- Wolfsburg won 4 of the last 5 BL matches with Leverkusen.

- Only the last encounter on 1.April 2016 was lost ..... 0-3 in Leverkusen.

- At home VfL won all the last 6 BL games with Bayer and won 15 from 20 home games.

- The last defeat at home was in October 2010 with 2-3.

- Leverkusen scored in all their last 28 BL games at least 1 goal.

- The last time they end up goalless against VfL was in October 2002 when they lost 0-2.

- Since Season 2006/07 Bayer has the weakest start ever with only 10 Points after 8 Rounds.

- Both teams in some trouble, Wolfsburg winless at home, Leverkusen are out of form too.

- Wolfsburg won only 1 of the last 8 home games while Bayer lost 4 of the last 5 road games.

Werder Bremen - SC Freiburg

- Both clubs meet each other the 33. time this Saturday.

- Bremen could not win one of the last 3 home games with Freiburg (0-2-1).

- In 2016 Bremen conceded incredible 54 goals what is very weak, defensive problems, of course.

- They conceded in this Season already 21 goals what is one of the weakest numbers for them.

- Since they lost to Bayern 0-1 at October 2015 they always score at least one goal at home.

- Since 7 matches is Bremen winless against a newcomer in the league (0-3-4).

- The last win against a new promoted team was celebrated against Paderborn 4-0 two years ago.

- The first time since 20 years has Freiburg lost all the first 4 BL road games..

- The last time this happened was Freiburg relegated in the end.

- The only team who has also no Points on the road is Darmstadt 98 .......

Dynamo Dresden - Eintracht Braunschweig

The next Round is short ahead and leader Braunschweig can take advantage and expand their lead with a win. This can put additional pressure on all the teams behind but the game is not an easy one in Dresden. Home strong Dynamo is supported very huge in their own stadium although they had some problems lately. Nevertheless they want to move on and turn things around after the not expected Cup knock out to Arminia what was a bit unlucky anyway. They are going into this match to make amends for their fans and themselves too, therefore they should be very hot.

Newcomer Dresden had a really good start into the new Season with an unbeaten run from 5 matches what let them dream a lot but the next matches were not as expected. The derby to Aue was lost 0-3 what was incredible and the first shock above all for their fans. The next three matches they move on winless but they could stop the negative run to promotion candidate Stuttgart with 5-0 at home. Against Heidenheim 0-0 and Bielefeld in Cup they were not able to score sort of failing huge in front of the goal although the opportunities were there.  

Dresden’s Coach Neuhaus has not worries in front of the game to Braunschweig as he has all available and can choose from a lot. This means maybe that he move back all his changes he has made in Cup. Because the rotation was not from success and he needs to get back on track now. Müller, Lambertz and Kutschke were all rested in Cup and can start here again while Kreuzer, Hauptmann and Testroet sit on bench again. But it is not sure if last one is out of the starting lineup as he was able to produce a lot of dangerous situations, the only luck was not with him.

An incredible start for Braunschweig with 5 wins in league in a row, the only set back was the Cup knock out to Würzburg. They showed also that they can work with this and are on track immediately. If the Cup knock out or the 0-2 to Stuttgart they fall not in some crisis. They move on and continue their good way what is a great sign for the good spirit and strength in team this Season. From the last 4 matches could they win 3 and draw to Heidenheim, but all the victories were celebrated at home what is their main fortress. The matches were all close and they won all last 3 with a one goal margin. Nevertheless the team is much more prepared and know how to bring close games to a successful end. The experience from last Seasons are big and their trend are really positive ……

Due to the Cup knock out in first Round Eintracht had the whole week to prepare for Dresden and also could watch the game in Cup from Dresden. But Lieberknecht wants not to look about Dresden, he wants to see his team active and control the game as well. He can not count on long term injured players like Ofosu Ayeh, Biada and Abdullahi so far. To swallow a bitter pill has Moll who came from Dresden to Braunschweig and was really hot for the showdown with his old team but he saw the fifth yellow card against Fürth and is suspended today. This brings Coach Lieberknecht to think a lot as he has to build a new central part in midfield, maybe Boland can play there. In offense he has a lot more to choose and can rotate there anyway. Nyman had not the best day lately what let Lieberknecht think to move Hernandez in attack while Khelifi can play on the left wing in midfield. Also some other changes are possible ….

1.FC Kaiserslautern - VfL Bochum

Important match for the home team above all not to lose too much Points to the teams ahead. With a win they can jump out of the red zone and get some light back. But with a lot of absent players they have to calculate with this regions in table what is not the best anyway. On the other side Bochum is looking to get closer to the top and maybe return into the promotion race in the upcoming weeks but there are wins needed immediately.

To begin they were only able to get 2 draws out of the first 5 Rounds, at Round 6 they could celebrate the first win but after this one it was going down again. With 3 defeats in a row and only 4 goals scored so far they are far away from best. For this reason they have to improve huge above all in their offensive play as they have the weakest offense so far. In the last 3 they did not score a single goal what made it impossible to get anything anyway. Additional they had not so much luck this Season and a lot of injuries let them fall in a deep crises. With Halfar, Mudjza and Pryzybylko they have 3 long term injured starters already and with Zoua is an important guy still injured with knee problems. The next bad news was the injury from midfield hope Kerk who gave his starting debut last Round but got injured this week in training. He is confirmed out for the rest of the year now. This means a lot of important players not available for Coach Korkut and therefore the offensive is suffering a lot without all this guys. With midfield player Ring was the next important player not available in Braunschweig last week and he is a big doubt again. No one know if he can start today after facing a back injury. The other doubtful players Pollersbeck, Heuback and Koch should be ready and start today. The next good news are that Gaus and Osawe are back in the squad after suspension and both can be in the starting lineup immediately according to the problems mentioned above.

Bochum’s start was average and they were not able to bring more stability in their play and performance so far what is seen in the results so far. After good matches they were not able to continue what let them back in the midfield although they had much more aims this Season. The injury worries arrived in Bochum as well and they can not count on following players … Fabian, Losilla, Stöger, Celozzi and also Gyamerah is out now. The youngster was on a good way to be a starter but the luck was not with him. Some changes can be made by Coach Verbeek compared to the last game while Cousane could not convince as back wing is Hoogland planned there this game. In central back move Dawidowicz into the starting lineup and complete the defensive line. If Cousane plays in central midfield then is more as open as he had not the best day against Sandhausen, in this case Wydra is the next option or alternative there.

Bayern München - Bor. M'Gladbach

The classic from former years is coming back more and more as with Bayern and Gladbach hosts two top sides each other. It was always a big game in the 70s and a very close and hot one as well. Both teams were big rivals at this time but the way from both clubs were different in recent years. Nevertheless this is the top match of the Round and will be played on Saturday evening.

A lot of trouble in Munich above all after failing to win in all 3 last matches (Bundesliga). Above all Rummenigge was not amused about the performance and attitude of the team against Frankfurt and he said that this was not Bayern Munich worthy. He wants to see a reaction in all competitions, also Coach Ancelotti was not very pleased about the performance in Frankfurt. This is the first time since years that this happened and they are not happy with the team. Under Guardiola all was well and they are working like machines, Ancelotti gave them to much tolerance maybe. He wants to change some of this and want to see a reaction, of course. This was already there under the week when they were able to win the CL match against PSV Eindhoven with 4-1. This was already a statement again and they were absolutely dominating the game in the first 40 minutes but showed also some weakness in defense. Although they are firing from all guns they lead only 2-1 at half time. A much higher result was possible but they wasted too much. Maybe they are back on track now and showed that the strength is still there what was a real sign for the Bundesliga anyway. According to the strong performance it is not far away that the same starting lineup get the next chance but with a lot to choose from he can change always short before the game, of course.

The team from Gladbach has a lot of problems on the road, they were not able to win a single match in Bundesliga this Season so far. At home it is different they won 3 of 4 and were very close at the last one too but they missed two penalties what was absolutely incredible. Of course such matches happen where nothing work although they had a lot of opportunities to win. Despite the bad result the moral was there and they showed a real good match in Glasgow against Celtic where it is not easy to get anything but they won 2-0 there. Both lame duck Hahn and Stindl (shot the penalties against HSV) scored the goals in this game and made some compensation. With this win they are back in business in CL and can hope for more now, all depends on the upcoming matches. Nevertheless this should gave them self confidence for the game in Munich as well. Coach Schubert is still unbeaten in all 4 last games against Bayern. He won 3-1 and draw in Munich last Season …….

If he can continue this depends on how good can Gladbach replace a lot of missing players. They were able to compensate this in Glasgow already but the second time this week it would be a hard one because with 3 times winless Bayern is coming a hard nut now. It may stand the same starting lineup on the pitch as in Glasgow, only Raffael is maybe an option but not sure yet. If Hermann move out of the starting lineup but they try to risk not to much with him after injury.

VfB Stuttgart - 1860 München

In this encounter are two teams involved which both are running behind their expectations. Both received hard defeats last weekend and they are looking forward for better times right now. VfB lost really incredible against Dresden 0-5 while 1860 got a harsh 1-3 defeat in their home stadium. For this reason Stuttgart fall down to Place 6 and the absolutely top favorite for promotion has a lot of work to do if they want to be able to be in the race until the end, although they are only 2 Points behind Place 2. Today’s opponent has much more problems despite a good start because the last 5 games were nothing. Only 1 Point they got out of these games and they are back where they were already last Season but never want to be. Therefore it can be the next hard Season after dreaming from 1.Bundesliga after the first Rounds.

Stuttgart started an average start and after only 6 Points after 4 Rounds Coach Luhukay left, interim Coach Janßen did a good job but they signed unknown young Coach Wolf. With Janßen and Wolf they could go 3-1-0 but the weekend showed an incredible downtrend what makes Wolf a bit stunned right now. He need results according to the position they are at the moment. He claims that this should not happen again but looking forward as well and said that the team want to show a much better side this time. He is very positive about the performance for the 1860 game and believe in success here.

Changes may are not possible about the situation in squad right now, Hosagai is out with a broken toe while Terodde returns and should be in the starting lineup immediately after the alternative with Mane as striker failed in Dresden, although he was the man at home against Fürth. Some changes in team are possible where Asano can play right offensive while Großkreutz move back and play instead of Klein there. Additional can Özcan start on an offensive position while Zimmermann moves back and play the open position in midfield (Hosogai is missing).

To begin it was all well in Munich and all are dreaming because of 7 Points out of 4 matches buth with the unlucky defeat to Union 1-2 the trend is going more and more down. Of course they were able to get a deserved 2-2 against St. Pauli but the upcoming 3 matches were all lost with 1-7 goals (Hannover, Würzburg, Düsseldorf). Above all the last game gave a lot of concern about the performance and attitude of the team. If they continue like this it is very hard to avoid any worst case.

Coach Runjaic trying a lot this week with training behind closed doors and so on. He gave also not many information about his team before the game in Stuttgart. The only one was that Rodnei will start as central back and that Boenisch is not ready to be in the squad as he face a slight injury. Additional there are not many options to change anything according to the full injury list with 9 players. Therefore they have to wait till many of the players return above all Aigner is a key factor for the play from 1860. Both Rodnei and Andrade showed some better performances after coming in against Düsseldorf what put them in a good position to start. First one was already mentioned from Runjaic …… Two youngster can be in the squad as well with Jakob and Weber according to the bad situation with injured players at the moment. Nevertheless this match is very important for the team and also for the Coach, if they get the next defeat it would be hard to hold Runjaic as he has nothing what speaks for him then.

Eintracht Braunschweig - 1.FC Kaiserslautern

Leader Eintracht Braunschweig hosts bottom side 1.FC Kaiserslautern to end up Round 9. The home side wants to continue their good start with 6 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat while Kaiserslautern wants to leave the danger zone. Because they are not very pleased with the current 16. Place.

It was an incredible start for Braunschweig with 5 wins in a row but they could not hold it anymore and lost deserved 0-2 against Stuttgart. Nevertheless they got back on track and won to Düsseldorf and showed that they can react on a lost game. But overall the form is looking a bit down as they were very close to concede the second defeat in Heidenheim but were able to draw this game before the break. Now after two weeks preparing for the next matches they should be more fresh and have reload their batteries what can help anyway. 

Coach Lieberknecht can count on almost the same guys who stand on the pitch in Heidenheim, only Biada got injured in team training this week. This means that maybe Schönfeld returns into the starting lineup and the system can be a 4-4-2. Additional it can be that he changes some more as he has a strong squad and a lot to choose from. With Correia and Baffo are two guys very close to the starting eleven and also in offensive he has with Hernandez a good option too. The attack will be build with Nyman and Kumbela. Overall he will think what is the best against this opponent and decides …….

The start was not as expected and they had only 2 Points on their account after 5 Rounds, the atmosphere was getting better after the first win to Dresden at home but they could not confirm it in the next matches. With 0-3 against Heidenheim and bottom team Bielefeld 0-0 they are back to old style. Therefore it can be very important for them how they come out of the break.

The sitatuion in squad is not the best according to their long injury list because with Halfar, Jacob, Przybylko and Mudjza are still 4 starters not available. Also Osawe is not in the squad after his suspension from the club due to some ridiculous behavior. A big doubt is additional behind Zoua who may face a late test if he can play or not. It would be important to have him in the squad otherwise Görtler is the only option in attack for today.

Last but not least miss midfield player Gaus with suspension this game because he was sent off against Bielefeld. A lot of hope they have to all the ill players from last week. With Heubach, Ziegler, Moritz and Koch they had 4 players who did not train due to the mentioned reason above. According to all the bad news now some good one ….. with Ewerton they have one player ready who can start the first time today and help to get more stability in defense while second one Kerk can help to leverage the offensive play.

Bor. M'Gladbach - Hamburger SV

HSV has nothing to celebrate this Season so far, today?

This encounter should be a clear thing on paper but it can be very different anyway. Gladbach was doing really well at home and won all three of their games in their stadium while Hamburg had not much to earn on the road and lost all 3 matches so far. But they have hope to turn things around above all after new Coach Gisdol could work two weeks with the team now and also the good results against Gladbach from last Season.

It looks like that Gladbach has two different teams or two faces. One at home where they are running from win to win and one on the road where they could only earn 1 Point so far. They were absolute harmless in second half against Schalke and lost deserved 0-4. It was maybe the change from Coach Schubert in half time because he take an eye on more offensive power and replaced defender Vestergaard with captain and midfield player Stindl which took them in much danger in defense. According to stats was Vestergaard one of the best players from Gladbach with the most ball action and most won duels man vs. man.  Therefore they are very happy that they play at home and hope that they can continue the run there.

Compared to the last away game Schubert maybe changes twice. He field both rested players Stindl and Wendt who replace Johnson and Vestergaard. This means that Christiansen move into the middle while Wendt take his preferred position on the wing. In offensive is Stindl back in team as mentioned above and he should be needed as with Raffael is an important offensive player not available again. Also Hazard returned with some knee problems from national team and is still a doubt. If he must pass Herrmann can be the first option to replace him. Up front plays Hahn who is very hot against his former club.

According to stats and all the last games speaks not much for Hamburg here but they have some hope. After the 1-1 to begin of the Season against Ingolstadt at home they were not able to collect a single Point. They got 5 defeats in a row and running very vulnerable from week to week and hope for better times. Also Coach Gisdol was not able to turn things around in his first game as HSV Coach and they lost to Hertha 0-2. They showed not much in this game although a reaction was expected from the team with the new man on the sideline. 

When they need some extra motivation they should watch the vidos from both games from last Season, because they won both, 3-0 on the road and 3-2 at home. According to news has Coach Gisdol some problems with his personal and he must changes some compared to the last game. Captain and head of the defense Djourou got injured in team training under the week and is out, for him can play Cleber beside Spahic in central back. The next doubt is behind attacker Wood who returned slight injured from national team. If he can not play Gregoritsch can be the first option in offense. Up front should get Lasogga the next chance and he should help with his power to score some goals. It would be very interesting to see what Gidsol has worked out with his team in the two weeks now.

Borussia Dortmund - Hertha BSC Berlin

After the international break Bundesliga is starting this Friday evening again. The first encounter is an top class between third Borussia Dortmund and second Hertha BSC Berlin which both could win 4 of their first 6 matches. This can be an important one for Dortmund if they do not want to lose the contact to leader Bayern Munich total.

After the second defeat against Leverkusen 0-2 before the break a lot of trouble about Coach Tuchels statements that most of the opponents playing to aggressive against them and make a lot of tackles and fouls. This is why they have a lot of problems and also a lot of injured players. But this happened against a team who has too much advantage against smaller clubs. What would Bayern say, they have the problem for years now. Are they already moaning in Dortmund about this?

One of the positive aspects is that long term injured Reus returns into team training this week but he is not ready for this game as he was away too long now. He should get back to his full fitness in the next weeks and they know that he needs the time and Tuchel wants to give him this at least. But overall after the actual situation they hope that he recover soon. But it is more the defensive who have a lot of missing player now. Both Bender and Subotic are still out longer but with Sokratis they have one more on the list. This means that Bartra who has some problems lately must start although he is not ready yet. Additional returned both back wings Guerreiro and Pisczek injured from their national teams. A lot of important guys out in defensive right now what makes Tuchel not very happy. He has to build up a new defensive line. With Schmelzer and Passlack he has two guys for both wings ready. In offensive he can count on the good playing guys …..

After Hertha knocked out of the Europe League qualy against Bröndby most of the experts were thinking of a hard Season for them but it was all different right now. The team from Berlin is doing very good so far and staying straight behind Bayern Munich what is a big success so far. But in this case we should mentioned what teams they have played so far ….. with Freiburg, Ingolstadt, Hamburg, Frankfurt and weak Schalke none of the top teams …. Only Bayern Munich and there they lost very easy 0-2 and looked really helpless. This is the next big test now against the second big team in Bundesliga. Overall a hard game for them, could they not win much in Dortmund lately.

Hertha arrive in Dortmund also with some problems as they miss the head of their play Darida in midfield who his one of the most important player. Also Pekarik is still not available, he starts running this week again but is no option for this game. A big doubt is Swiss guy Lustenberger who face an injury. If he can start it should be the same lineup in defensive as at least but if not? This means Stark move forward to central midfield while Brooks comes in for the central back positon then. In offensive it can be that Kalou’s chance is getting bigger to get some minutes now. He is fully fit now also mental wise what let him be a real option for Coach Dardai. In this case Haraguchi must on bench but this should not the case for this game as he returned with a lot of self confidence and very motivated from national team where he scored a goal (Australia 1-1).

Infos BL-Matches for Saturday

Bayern München - 1.FC Köln

- Attention Bayern !!! Only against Bremen more defeats 26 as against Cologne 23 in BL history.
- At home they lost 9 times to Cologne what is incredible for them.
- But the last 6 games in Munich were all won from Bayern with 18-2 goals.
- They were able to win the 5 matches to begin a Season the 10. time.
- Next home match for Bayern, next top match. After Hertha, now Cologne .....
- Cologne is unbeaten in 10 of their last BL matches (only Bayern 15 longer).
- Last time Cologne was so good placed was in August 1989 in front of the game in Munich.
- But the last time they had such a good position lost they easy 1-5 in Munich.



Hertha BSC Berlin - Hamburger SV

- Hertha won 5 of their last 6 matches against Hamburg.
- Only the match in March 2016 was lost with 0-2 but this happened in Hamburg.
- In all their 5 wins Hertha could keep a clean sheet against Hamburg.
- Against no other team Hertha celebrated so many victories as against Hamburg 21.
- They scored in incredible high of 65 goals against HSV so far.
- With 10 Points after 5 matches Hertha has the second best start in their BL history this time.
- On the other side HSV has with 1 Point after 5 matches their club negative record this Season.
- Bruno Labbadia was sucked and new Coach Gisdol is on bench for the first time today.
- Since 2010 had HSV 13 Coaches so far what speaks not much for stability on this position.



SC Freiburg - Eintracht Frankfurt

- Both teams meet each other the 25. time now.
- Frankfurt was able to get an average from 1,5 Points against Freiburg what is the second best value.
- Only against SV Darmstadt 1,7 Points they have an higher average.
- In the 24 matches so far there were only 3 draws between these teams.
- 11 time won Frankfurt, 10 times won Freiburg ..... very even outcome overall.
- In the last 7 BL matches Eintracht was only able to get 1 win (1-3-3).
- This was in September 2009 with 2-0.
- 3 defeats on the road and 2 wins at home is the actual outcome for Freiburg this Season.
- If the streak continues SCF is set for the win today but it would be a tough match anyway.
- Frankfurt is unbeaten since 3 matches, 4 times managed they at least last Season between Round 2-5.