Bundesliga preview

Davis Van Opdorp: Gladbach may take advantage of Bayern distraction

Fighting for a European spot, Borussia Mönchengladbach would normally dread facing Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, especially when the Bavarians can win the title. However, the champions-elect have a different competition on their mind, which may give the Foals the opportunity to pick up valuable points.

Gladbach's return from a dreadful start has been one of the stories of the season, but a mediocre second half of the campaign has undermined their comeback story. Fortunately for them, they are just one point behind fourth-placed Hertha Berlin, and their powerful attack – third-most goals scored in the Bundesliga – could power them back into the top-four.

As one of two teams to beat Bayern this season, Gladbach have a decent chance to achieve what every team above them in the table could not: take points off the Bavarians away from home. Though Bayern still need three points to secure their fourth-consecutive Bundesliga title, they have three matches to do so with a very important second leg against Atletico Madrid in midweek.

This match on Saturday is a unique opportunity for Gladbach to take a big step in the race for a Champions League spot, but as we've seen in recent away fixtures, they don't always seize their chances.

Jonathan Harding: A relegation six-pointer in the Hessen Derby

Two of the ugliest goals the Bundesliga has ever seen kept Frankfurt's top-flight hopes alive last weekend, but they must win again this weekend if they hope to survive relegation. A visit to Darmstadt certainly increases the possibility of more ungainly goals, but with what's at stake, the Eagles won't care how their goals come.

With three games to go, the tentacles of relegation have sucked Darmstadt into the fight. Dirk Schuster's side have impressed since their promotion, but they'll need to stick if they're to avoid the usual end-of-season slip that newly promoted sides regularly suffer. Knowing one more win probably secures them another season of Bundesliga football should, however, be quite some motivation.

This will be a fight, and a tough one to watch whether you're a fan of either team or not. Frankfurt must keep Sandro Wagner quiet, while continuing to get the best out of Anis Ben-Hatira. What little hope is left at Frankfurt comes in the form of the former Hertha man, and Marco Russ of course. If Frankfurt do win, Werder Bremen will be sweating in an automatic relegation spot even before their Monday night game against Stuttgart.

Stefan Bienkowski: Leverkusen are due an upset against tricky Hertha

Bayer Leverkusen are perhaps the most formidable team outside of the top two at the moment - as we can clearly see from their comfortable stance in third place - but there's a slight chance that they may become slightly complacent against Hertha Berlin this weekend. Last week we saw a dysfunctional Schalke team completely surprise them with two early goals and a missed penalty long before Roger Schmidt's team could compose themselves and wrestle the game back from the Royal Blues.

Indeed, Leverkusen's recent form has been built on the return of key players - Lars Bender, Kevin Kampl, Charles Aranguiz - yet this week has seen both Vladlen Yurchenko and Wendell join another growing list of injured players in key areas. Schmidt will have to do without both players as well as Kyriakos Papadopoulos and Tin Jedvaj too.

Hertha don't have quite as much firepower as Schalke but they are far more disciplined in their tactics and have their own attacking talents in Salomon Kalou and Vedad Ibisevic, who have scored 28 goals between them this season. If they can get to Leverkusen's make-shift defence on Saturday there's every chance they could score and cause an upset and pick up a vital three points in their