Bundesliga Preview: Round 33

The Bundesliga returns following an exciting round of midweek action, and a prosperous round 33 awaits.



Saturday

Borussia Dortmund – Arminia Bielefeld
Stuttgart – Energie Cottbus
Werder Bremen – Karlsruhe
Hamburger SV – 1. FC Koeln
Hannover – Wolfsburg
Hertha BSC – Schalke‘04
Bayer Leverkusen – Borussia Moenchengladbach
Bochum – Eintracht Frankfurt
Hoffenheim – Bayern Munich

Borussia Dortmund – Arminia Bielefeld

The home side were heavily beaten 3-0 by table-toppers Wolfsburg last Tuesday and dropped to sixth spot on the table following that defeat. They’re trailing number five HSV by only three points though, so Dortmund can still secure a top-five finish. They will rely on in-form Swiss forward Alexander Frei to do the business up front. Bielefeld are battling against relegation and are the Bundesliga’s number sixteen at the moment. Therefore, they desperately need to record a good result in order to avoid the drop. Arminia lost their midweek game against Hoffenheim 2-0.

Stuttgart – Energie Cottbus

Stuttgart had a difficult evening in Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday, but they eventually picked up the full three points courtesy of a late Ciprian Marica goal. They currently sit fourth on the table, trailing table-toppers Wolfsburg by two points. The away side have dropped to seventeenth spot on the table following their crucial 1-0 home loss against relegation rivals Borussia Moenchengladbach earlier this week.

Werder Bremen – Karlsruhe

The hosts don’t have too much left to play for in the Bundesliga. They sit tenth on the table after their impressive 5-0 away win against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday. However, head coach Thomas Schaaf will probably rest some of his key players with both the DFB Pokal final and the UEFA Cup final coming up. Karlsruhe are sitting last on the table at the moment and avoiding relegation will be quite impossible with only two more matches to go. They lost the match against Hannover 3-2 earlier this week.

Hamburger SV – 1. FC Koeln

HSV can theoretically still win the Bundesliga following a 3-1 home victory against Bochum on Wednesday. However, this appears to be highly unlikely as they trail Wolfsburg by five points with only two more matches to go. Koeln on the other hand have nothing left to play for. The Geissbocke have already secured Bundesliga football for next term as they sit twelfth on the table. Koeln lost their midweek match against Hertha 2-1.

Hannover – Wolfsburg

Hannover are sitting eleventh on the table following their 3-2 victory against Karlsruhe earlier this week. The away side on the other hand are top of the table with only two more matches to go and can’t afford to slip up. They beat Borussia Dortmund 3-0 on Tuesday, but Saturday’s opponents certainly won’t be pushovers. Not only have Wolfsburg been struggling away from home in recent matches, Hannover have been in quite good form, to make things even more precarious.

Hertha BSC – Schalke‘04

The home side are still in the race to win the Bundesliga as they sit third on the table. The Alte Dame won their midweek match against Koeln 2-1. Man to watch for Hertha will be Serbian forward Marko Pantelic, who has been impressive in the last couple of matches. Schalke were beaten 2-1 by Stuttgart on Wednesday and have dropped to eighth spot on the table. The Gelsenkirchen outfit will be starting to think about next term already, but won’t hesitate to upset Hertha if the opportunity arises.

Bayer Leverkusen – Borussia Moenchengladbach

Leverkusen were unable to trouble Bayern Munich on Tuesday and were sent home with a 3-0 defeat. The Werkself won’t be bothered about that too much though as they have more important matters coming up with the DFB Pokal final against Werder Bremen. The guests are battling against relegation and will be eager to record another victory after their two consecutive 1-0 wins. They currently sit fourteenth on the table with a three-point lead over the teams in the relegation zone.

Bochum – Eintracht Frankfurt

The hosts have been in disastrous form in their past few matches and now find themselves battling against relegation as a result. Bochum lost 3-1 against Hamburger SV last Wednesday and have dropped to fifteenth spot on the table. Frankfurt have nothing left to play for with only two more matches to go. However, they were heavily beaten 5-0 by Werder Bremen and will do their utmost to bounce back with a decent result on Saturday.

Hoffenheim – Bayern Munich

Hoffenheim recorded their second Bundesliga win in a row when they beat Arminia Bielefeld last Tuesday. As a result, they climbed to seventh spot on the table. Man to watch for the home side will be Bosnian midfielder Sejad Salihovic, who has been in superb form in Hoffe’s last couple of matches. The guests recorded an impressive 3-0 victory against Bayer Leverkusen and are the Bundesliga’s number two. They have exactly as many points as table toppers Wolfsburg, but the Wolfe lead the pack on goal difference (+30 vs +28). Man in form at Bayern is want-away Lukas Podolski. The Koln-bound attacker has found rediscovered his best form since the departure of Juergen Klinsmann and could be vital in Bayern’s title bid.