Friday 2nd May (all times local)
20:30 Borussia Dortmund – Nürnberg
Saturday 3rd May
15:30 Hansa Rostock – Hamburg
15:30 Arminia Bielefeld – Bochum
15:30 Schalke – Hannover
15:30 Werder Bremen – Energie Cottbus
15:30 Stuttgart – Eintracht Frankfurt
15:30 Hertha Berlin – Karlsruhe
Sunday 4th May
17:00 Wolfsburg – Bayern Munich
17:00 Duisburg – Bayer Leverkusen
Borussia Dortmund – Nürnberg
Dortmund took a little of the pressure off of trainer Doll last weekend with their 1-1 draw with Frankfurt, and will be looking to go one better against relegation threatened Nürnberg at the Signal Iduna Park on Friday.
A win is also important for BVB to banish any worries that they could get sucked down into a relegation fight. They’re 13th at the moment and find themselves eight points clear of the drop but until it’s a mathematical certainty that they are safe, the niggling worry will be in the back of their minds.
Relegation for Nürnberg however is more than a niggling worry; it is a real and major concern. At one stage last weekend against Bielefeld they led 2-0 and were out of the bottom three, but they allowed the ‘Arminen’ back into the game and had to settle for a point and they remain two points clear of safety.
Hansa Rostock – Hamburg
Hamburg’s season is unravelling in front of their eyes and what started out as a few bad games has turned into a real crisis as the Hanseaten with no wins in their last six games with no goals either in the previous four.
HSV are hanging on to a European place courtesy of goal difference from Stuttgart and look in real danger of finishing out of the top six if this run of form doesn’t end soon. A trip to relegation threatened Hansa Rostock will not be an easy task for Huub Stevens’ men.
Hansa lost last weekend’s relegation six-pointer against Cottbus thanks to an injury time winner from Dimitar Rangelov, which was cruel on the Ostseestädter. Against Hamburg, Frank Pagelsdorf’s team will be fighting tooth and nail for a win that could get them out of the bottom three.
Arminia Bielefeld – Bochum
Bielefeld will be looking to carry on where they left off in the second half against Nürnberg where they back from two goals down to rescue a point. The Arminen have their destiny in their own hands right now as they sit two points clear of the drop zone.
Michael Frontzeck’s side have a tough run in with games against Bayern, Dortmund and Stuttgart, so three points against Bochum at home on Saturday are an absolute must.
Bochum continue to hover around the mid-table taking points from teams that need them, as they did last weekend when a late goal from Stanislav Sestak secured them a point against bottom side Duisburg. Bielefeld will be hoping that Bochum don’t make a nuisance of themselves and that they can secure a potentially life-saving three points.
Schalke – Hannover
It is two wins from two games for caretaker trainers Mike Büskens and Youri Mulder, and they will be srtiving to make it a third against Hannover in order to cement their Champions League place for next season.
Last weekend’s 1-0 away win over Hamburg gave them a valuable three points against a direct competitior for Europe and set up a six point gap between themselves and fourth place Bayer Leverkusen. With so much money and prestige riding on Champions League qualification, a home win on Saturday would prove to be a massive boost for the Königsblauen.
Hannover on the other hand don’t have much to play for except pride and a higher final league placing. They currently sit ninth, and although not mathemativally out of the race for European places, for them to qualify would take a whole series of extremely surprising results from other teams.
Werder Bremen – Energie Cottbus
With the title going to Bayern, Werder just have the little challenge of fending off Schalke to secure the runners up spot in the Bundesliga. For so long it seemed as if Thomas Schaaf’s side would give the Bavarians a run for their money till the end of the season, but a poor start to the second half of the season has put paid to their title challenge.
Their 3-3 draw with Karlsruhe last weekend brought to an end a run of three successive victories, and they now hold second place courtesy of a better goal difference than Schalke. If they are to avoid having to enter the Champions League at an earlier qualifying round, then victory over a struggling Cottbus is a must.
Energie took a huge step towards securing their Bundesliga survival last weekend with a last gasp winner in their relegation six-pointer against Hansa Rostock. How important Dimitar Rangelov’s goal will prove to be may only become clear at the end of the season, but it could well have saved them from the drop.
Going to the the Weser Stadion and taking points from Werder will be no easy task but stranger things have happened.
Stuttgart – Eintracht Frankfurt
The Swabians were rather unfortunate to finish on the end of a 4-1 loss to Bayern Munich last weekend as they played better than the result suggests. Armin Veh’s side will be looking to bounce back immediately against Frankfurt in order to apply more pressure on fifth placed Hamburg.
After the disappointing season Stuttgart have had, qualification for Europe would be seen as a real success.
Frankfurt are just off the pace in the race for European qualification with Friedhelm Funkel probably looking to next season already with a view to making a more concerted, whole season charge on the top six. Last weekend, they were held at home by Dortmund in a very entertaining game.
Hertha Berlin – Karlsruhe
Tenth plays twelfth in a real mid-table clash at he Olympistadion in Berlin as Hertha entertain Karlsruhe. KSC have had a successful season even though they have dropped down the table since Christmas.
Hertha under Lucien Favre have had another disappointing season and are without a win in their last eight league games.
Wolfsburg – Bayern Munich
Bayern require just a single point from their remaining four games to secure their 21st Bundesliga title, but it remains to be seen whether that point arrives at the Volkswagen Arena on Sunday.
With Bayern crashing out of the Uefa Cup on Thursday to Zenit St Petersburg, it will be interesting to see how Bayern play. The disappointment of missing out on the European trophy will be huge and may impinge slightly on their celebrations of winning the Bundesliga.
Wolfsburg trainer Felix Magath will not really want to see his ex-club celebrate winning the league title against his current side so will be looking to spring a surprise.
The ‘Wölfe’ however are on a run of three games without a win, but will be looking to gain revenge for their German Cup elimination at the hands of Bayern back in March.
Duisburg – Bayer Leverkusen
Bottom club Duisburg entertain fourth placed Bayer Leverkusen looking for the vital win that could kick start their bid for Bundesliga survival. The Zebras have beaten both Werder Bremen and Hamburg in recent weeks so they know how to raise their game to beat teams in the top six. For them three points against Leverkusen would be a god send.
Leverkusen look to have their Uefa Cup place secured, but with a six point gap between them and third place Schalke, nothing less than a win will do if they still harbour dreams of a top three finish and Champions League football next season.
source: goal.com
