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Germany: Weekend Bundesliga Preview [Sat Sep 17th, 2005]
Bayern Munich go in search of a Bundesliga record and Rudi Völler returns as Leverkusen fireman in the fifth round of German league matches this weekend.
Spieltag. 5 Preview
Champions Bayern look to put a poor UEFA Champions League performance in Vienna behind them as they square up to history and Hannover 96. Victory for the Bavarians in the Allianz Arena would set a new domestic record for successive wins.
Having won their last 13 league games, the absence of Michael Ballack was keenly felt in Austria and the Rekordmeister were fortunate to hold on to victory.
A lucky win in the Bavarian derby in Nürnberg last weekend suggests that Wednesday was more than a blip. Still, the best Hannover can really hope for is a draw but I'd doubt they've got the mental self-assurance to achieve even that.
Bayer Leverkusen sacked coach Klaus Augenthaler on Friday after just over two years in charge at the BayArena. The writing was on the wall at the start of this season for the former Nürnberg coach, but his treatment is somewhat harsh.
However, a club that has competed at the very top of the German game for the best part of two decades obviously felt a new man was needed to revive fortunes that have flagged of late. Matthias Sammer is the likely successor, but Rudi Völler, the club's sport director, takes the helm for Sunday's trip to Duisburg.
The home side have been bright so far this season, but still seek that elusive first win. Völler may be good enough to keep them waiting at least a few more days.
Werder Bremen outplayed Barcelona for long periods on Wednesday night and have only themselves to blame for an opening Champions League defeat. Borussia Dortmund visit the Weserstadion in good heart, having secured the services of a number of players during the week and beaten Köln on Sunday. A European hangover awaits the Weser.
Köln have now lost their last two fixtures and need a boost for the visit of Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday. Lukas Podolski has yet to catch fire domestically, but should find plenty of space against a side fortunate to beat Arminia Bielefeld last week. Brazilian Kahe looks a find, however, and Gladbach may be good enough to take a point on their visit.
Hamburg SV had their first blip of the season in the UEFA Cup on Thursday night, but have been in excellent form at home. A continental comedown is all that really stands in the way of a win over flagging Eintracht Frankfurt this weekend.
Two teams without a win meet in Mainz on Saturday. Jürgen Klopp must see the visit of Stuttgart as a serious opportunity to get off the mark, though the Swabians did have a UEFA Cup boost on Thursday. Jon Dahl Tomasson is now scoring, and should help Giovanni Trapattoni to a maiden league success.
In Saturday's other games, Kaiserslautern will hope to return to form in Bielefeld after last week's hammering by Bremen. Arminia are playing rather better than might have been expected, however, and will fancy their chances of at least a point.
Meanwhile, Wolfsburg, fresh from a 3-0 defeat in Berlin on Sunday, clash with Nürnberg in the Autostadt. Wolfgang Wolf's men had little luck in the Bavarian derby, but he'll be well primed for victory over his former club.
Sunday's second game sees Schalke 04, beaten in Holland on Tuesday, under pressure to take all three points from dangerous Hertha. Anything could happen here, but there's less pressure on the visitors and that might secure a return for Falko Götz.
Brian O'Driscoll
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