Bundesliga set to restart
January 29, 2015
It's been a long wait for fans of the Bundesliga, but the German top flight is set to finally restart this weekend when league leaders Bayern Munich travel to Wolfsburg on Friday night. Bayern are now 11 points in front on the table, and have only let in 4 goals in the first 17 rounds: some might say this season is already getting a bit boring.
"I don't care if things are getting boring," said the team's striker Thomas Müller to German channel Sky Sports. "I want the second half of the season to be boring, that way I know we are still winning."
Bayern's opponents may not feel quite the same way though. Wolfsburg have been easily the league's second most consistent team this season but have been rocked in the winter break by the death of Junior Malanda in a car accident. Rumors of Andre Schürrle's possible transfer to the club which are circulating this week will also test their powers of concentration.
Dortmund on the rebound?
The other team that fans of German football will have a close eye on this weekend are Borussia Dortmund, who are due to meet third-placed Bayer Leverkusen in the late game on Saturday evening. Dortmund's coach Jürgen Klopp confirmed on Thursday that the team would be missing Erik Durm, Sven Bender, Sebastian Kehl and Jakub Blaszczykowski for the game. The team's Australian goalkeeper Mitch Langerak will still be in Sydney, for the Asian Cup final.
"Finally we have had enough time to get ourselves really ready," Klopp said. "But, of course it is not as if we have a big advantage: other teams have also had time to prepare."
Klopp, whose team have been languishing in 17th position all winter after an uncharacteristically poor first half of the season, admitted that he was looking forward to the re-start of the league.
"It's like we have been getting ready for an exam," said Jürgen Klopp. "All of the guys have been busy learning, they've been very committed."
Back in action
Elsewhere on Saturday, fifth-placed Schalke will welcome Hannover to Gelsenkirchen. Fans of the Royal Blues will be interested to see how the club's newest signing Matija Nastasic from English champions Manchester City will fare in his first competitive outing for the club.
Freiburg will host Frankfurt in south-west Germany in what should be an easy game for the guests. Freiburg, who are currently last in the league and have been struggling with their defense, will need to be especially wary of Frankfurt's golden boot contender, Alex Meier.
Mainz host Paderborn, where Shinji Okazaki will make his return after Japan was dismissed from the Asian Cup. Stuttgart will also host Borussia Mönchengladbach, while Hamburg welcome Cologne.
In Sunday's action, Werder Bremen will play host to Hertha Berlin who are now just three points off the relegation zone. Both teams, in fact, will be desperate for points after they both limped into the winter break. Bremen will be boosted at the back by the new signing of Jannik Vestergaard from Hoffenheim.
Vestergaard's former club will then be in action in the final Sunday game, as they travel south to the state of Bavaria to take on Augsburg. The southerners were one of the surprise teams of the first half of the season, coasting to sixth position despite their limited budget.