Thursday, 19 December 2013

Bundesliga Matchday 17 Preview: Bayern and Leverkusen on top before winter break

When the Bundesliga takes to the pitch this weekend, two things won't change, regardless of results.  Bayern Munich will remain and top and Bayern Leverkusen will come in second ahead of the winter break.  Gladbach has a chance to move ahead of Dortmund, pending the outcome of their games.

Bayern will not play their matchday 17 game until January 29th.  The team is currently at the FIFA Club Word Cup tournament in Morocco and has qualified for the final, which will be played on Saturday.

Leverkusen travels to Werder Bremen on Saturday.  The Hanseaten are just one point out of the relegation zone, while Leverkusen trails Bayern by seven point.  As of late Leverkusen has performed well and should be able to walk away both all three points in Bremen.  Borussia Dortmund hosts Hertha BSC Berlin.  Berlin is two points behind Schalke, which occupies the last Euro League qualifying position now.  This should be a competitive match, which could get either way.

Gladbach, currently in fourth spot and equal with Dortmund in points hosts Wolfsburg on Sunday.  Both Gladbach and the Wolves have only dropped four matches in 16 and this should be one of the most interesting showdowns this weekend. 

Schalke 04 travels to Nuernberg, which is still chasing its first victory of the season.  Nuernberg's balance sheet in 16 games stands at ten draws and  six losses.  Schalke will be striving to close the gap with Wolfsburg or at least maintain the current two point difference.  Nuerberg is definitely in a position to take one point at home.

The remaining three Saturday matches feature SC Freiburg against Hannover 96,  Hamburg hosting Mainz and Braunschweig against Hoffenheim.   On Friday the matchday opens in Frankfurt, when the fiesty side from Augsburg test the struggling Eintracht. The first half of the season was a successful one for Augsburg, while Frankfurt is just one point out of the relegation zone with 14 points.  Whether or not Frankfurt can move ahead Bremen remains to be seen.

Some trivia and rumours that are making the rounds have been noted in NZ 3 News and here is some of the take:


Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich is in Morocco, seeking to win the world club title, so Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund have an opportunity to make up some ground in the last round before the winter break.

No matter what, Bayern will spend the break atop the standings, seven points ahead of Leverkusen and 12 points ahead of Dortmund. Bayern kicks off the second half of the season on Jan. 24 against Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Leverkusen travels to Werder Bremen and Dortmund hosts Hertha Berlin. Here are five things to know about the Bundesliga weekend:  Read more

There won't be any significant changes in the league table, especially at the top an bottom, but one can expect a few exciting and hard fought matches. 

20.12.2013, 20.30    Eintracht Frankfurt vs FC Augsburg    1-1
   
21.12.2013, 15.30    Borussia Dortmund vs Hertha BSC    1-2 
21.12.2013, 15.30    Werder Bremen vs Bayer Leverkusen    1-0   
21.12.2013, 15.30    SC Freiburg vs Hannover 96    2-1   
21.12.2013, 15.30    Hamburger SV vs FSV Mainz 05    2-3   
21.12.2013, 15.30    Eintr. Braunschweig vs 1899 Hoffenheim    1-0  
21.12.2013, 18.30    1. FC Nürnberg vs Schalke 04    0-0
   
22.12.2013, 15.30    Bor. Mönchengladbach vs VfL Wolfsburg    (-:-)   
29.01.2014, 20.00    VfB Stuttgart vs Bayern München    (-:-)

Posn  Team             GP   W   D   L    GF/GA   Points
1      FC Bayern        16    14   2    0       42:8         44
2      Leverkusen       17    12   1    4       32:16       37
3      Dortmund         17    10   2    5       38:20       32
4      M'gladbach       16    10   2    4       33:17       32
5      Wolfsburg         16      9   2     5      26:17       29
6      Hertha BSC       17     8  4     5       27:20       28
7      Schalke             17      8   4    5       32:26       28
8      Augsburg           17     7   3    7      21:25        24
9      Mainz                17      7   3    7      25:32       24
10    Stuttgart             16     5    4   7      28:29        19
11    Hoffenheim        17     4    6   7      36:38        19
12    Bremen               17     5     4   7    22:37        19
13    Hannover           17     5    3    9     23:31        18
14    Hamburg            17     4    4    9     33:38        16
15    Frankfurt            17     3     6   8     20:29        15
16    Freiburg              17     3     5   9     16:31       14
17    Nürnberg             17    0    11   6     17:33       11
18    B'schweig            17     3     2  12    10:32       11

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