Derby Weekend in the Bundesliga

The first leg of the Bundesliga is nearing its end. Bayern Munich are looking to go into the break with the lead; the contenders are trying to keep pace. Munich face their northern Bavarian neighbor, Nuremberg (actually, in Franconia—the Nurembergers don’t like being called Bavarians). Felix Magath’s squad had a stellar November, winning all six of their matches, including a Champions League and a German Cup contest and jumped to the top of the standings.

Nuremberg are in 12th place and more concerned with staying in the top division, but there is no reason to believe that they will win this match. The “Club” have managed to take home three points against Munich only once in their last seven meetings. One fact that might stand in their favor is Slovakian midfielder Marek Mintal. He has found the mark 12 times, making him the league’s current goal-scoring leader.

Bayern Munich, however, have an arsenal of weapons to beat any opponent: strikers Roy Makaay, Claudio Pizarro and super sub Paolo Guererro. There’s also international midfielder Michael Ballack.

And in the last row, they have Germany’s number one keeper Oliver Kahn. He has shown signs of weakness this season and now has an injured finger to boot. Everyone knows this, including Nuremberg’s coach Wolfgang Wolf, who plans to use the injury to his team's advantage: “We have to make Oliver Kahn use both his hands.”

Dortmund, Schalke: No love lost

The hottest match of the weekend takes place on Sunday, when bitter rivals Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 meet in Westfalen Stadion. There’s no love lost between the Ruhr area clubs and the latest “incident” did not help.

It occurred at the management level when Schalke’s general manager, Rudi Assauer, offered financial assistance to debt-ridden Dortmund in the form of a benefit match. Dortmund’s managing director, Gerd Niebaum, took offense and refused the offer, much to the displeasure of Assauer.

Schalke can afford to be magnanimous to their poor cousins. Dortmund’s midfielder Tomas Rosicky summed up the significance of this match, saying “for us it is about survival.” Survival because Borussia are just three points away from the relegation zone.

Schalke, on the other hand, have shot up to second place in the league under coach Ralf Rangnick. They are brimming with confidence. They are hot in the league. And they have not lost to Dortmund in their last 11 match-ups. Schalke’s international striker Gerald Asamoah has ticked his team for another victory against Borussia: “I do not think our run against Dortmund will be coming to an end," he said.

Hanover vs. Hamburg: a mid-pack race

One of the more interesting matches on Saturday could be Hamburg against Hanover. Coach Thomas Doll has fetched Hamburg out of the relegation zone, depending on the offense to win games. They have scored 12 goals in the last three matches and find themselves firmly in the middle of the pack. Unfortunately, one of their go-getters, Sergej Barbarez (6 goals) has to sit this match out after receiving his fifth yellow card last week.

Hanover have been riding the success of goalie Robert Enke. He has given up only one goal per game this season and helped Hanover to an UEFA Cup spot—so far. The only loss in their last nine Bundesliga matches was in Munich, 3-0.

Stuttgart, Bremen and Wolfsburg need three

Third-place Stuttgart find themselves in a slump as they host Bochum who is currently in the drop zone. Goals have been in short supply for a Stuttgart team filled with offensive weapons. Coach Matthias Sammer would like some more talent on the squad: “We have high hopes but quality is expensive. With a bit more we could go far," he said.

Bochum’s arrival should be good for Sammer’s squad. Bochum have an abominable record in Stuttgart, having won only four of 27 fixtures there. Bochum is hoping that they can carry over the quality of play from last week’s 3-1 victory against Nuremberg.

Defending champs Werder Bremen still have not got into the groove this season. Thomas Schaaf’s club is not playing badly but they fail to make the kill in games they should win. Freiburg must be easy prey. Volker Finke’s side is wallowing in the relegation zone with 10 points and there is already lots of talk about preparing for the second division next season.

Wolfsburg have dropped its last two matches, falling from first place to fourth in that span. A hard-fought game against Berlin last week might leave a bitter taste in their mouth and now they must play at Leverkusen, one of the best home teams in the league. Erik Gerets’ Wolfsburg have also lost four successive away matches.

Hertha Berlin have collected 11 points in their last five games. In fact, three of those were road victories. This week they play against Borussia Mönchengladbach at the “unfriendly” confines of Berlin’s Olympic Stadium where they have not won since October 16.

Gladbach’s new coach Dick Advokaat has not turned things around (one victory in four games) since he took over on November 2. Advokaat, who calls himself a disciplinarian, promises to stir things up in the winter break. Until then, Gladbach want to avoid falling into the relegation zone.

Also playing on Saturday: Bielefeld hosts last-place Rostock. On Sunday, Kaiserslautern travel to their nearest neighbor for the first time in the Bundesliga, Mainz.