End of season run-in begins with 'Der Klassiker'

The last international break of the current season is over and now the final run-in in the Bundesliga begins. Can Bayern hold on to their position at the top? Who’ll finish in the Europa and Champions League spots? Which teams will be relegated?

The highlight of the weekend’s fixtures is the clash on Saturday (18:30 CEST) between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich at Signal-Iduna-Park. Numerous Germany internationals will be in action and the game gives BVB the chance to show just how far they’ve come from the disastrous first half of the season.

Seven games without defeat for BVB

Mats Hummels and co need to take all three points against the current league leaders to keep their hopes of finishing in a Europa League qualifying spot alive. BVB, who are unbeaten in seven games, are five points behind sixth placed FC Augsburg and eight points clear of the relegation zone.

Bayern are currently ten points clear at the top of the table and are closing in on their 25th Bundesliga title. They suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach before the international break and will be hoping to get back on track on Saturday and secure their 21st league victory of the season. FCB triumphed 2-1 when the teams met back in November.

Pep Guardiola faces a real selection headache and it’ll be interesting to see who he chooses to start in midfield now Philipp Lahm is back from injury. Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger and Spaniard Xabi Alonso played there previously, but Guardiola could opt to include all three.

Gladbach on a good run going into Hoffenheim game

Saturday afternoon sees an encounter between two teams in the hunt for European competition places as Hoffenheim host third placed Borussia Mönchengladbach. TSG have a Europa League place in their sights and are only one point behind Augsburg. Markus Gisdol’s team can take courage from their recent head-to-head record – Hoffenheim are unbeaten in their past eight home matches against Gladbach (six wins, two draws).

Favre’s team are currently on a great run. Since their Europa League exit, Borussia have won three games, including the sensational 2-0 victory in Munich, and drawn once. The Fohlenelf impressed with how clinical they were in front of goal, having few chances but scoring two goals. Raffael (four goals in the past two games) and Patrick Herrmann (three goals, one assist in the past four games) are both in particularly good form at the moment. Lucien Favre has successfully rotated his team on numerous occasions over the past few weeks and it remains to be seen who’ll start in Hoffenheim.

Resurgent Stuttgart travel to Wolfsburg

Second-placed VfL Wolfsburg welcome bottom of the table VfB Stuttgart on Saturday (15:30 CEST). Wolfsburg (54 points) are the best team of 2015 (20 points, 24 goals) and, with eight matchdays remaining, have a seven-point cushion over chasers Gladbach. VfL would have to suffer a severe drop in form to relinquish their hold on second place. In-form Kevin De Bruyne even has his eyes on the top spot. "I’ve not given up on winning the Bundesliga," said De Bruyne. "I always want to win, otherwise I wouldn’t play football."

Opponents Stuttgart can only dream of being in a battle to win the title. Huub Stevens’ team beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 and celebrated their first victory of 2015 before the international break. They currently have 23 points and are two points behind SC Freiburg, who sit in 15th. Hopes lie with Daniel Ginczek, who bagged a brace against Frankfurt, and has struck up a good partnership with Alexandru Maxim (one goal, one assist against Eintracht).

Champions League ambitions against relegation fear in Leverkusen

It’s another case of "international aspirations against relegation fear" on Saturday (15:30 CEST) in Leverkusen. Hamburger SV and their new manager Peter Knäbel will be the visitors to the BayArena. Following only six wins and sixteen goals, HSV are in serious danger of being relegated from the top flight for the first time in the club’s history and the board of directors chose to fire Joe Zinnbauer.

Now Knäbel, together with the former assistant of Jupp Heynckes, Peter Hermann, must attempt to deal with the team’s poor attacking form and secure their position in the Bundesliga. Following six games without a victory, taking all three points on Saturday is now essential. Captain Rafael van der Vaart and former Germany international Marcell Jansen are both set to leave at the end of the season.

Leverkusen are currently brimming with confidence. Roger Schmidt’s team have recorded four consecutive victories and are now only two points behind third-placed Gladbach. Germany U21 goalkeeper Bernd Leno would even bet on his team. "I reckon we’re going to finish in the top three. We’re on a good run," said Leno after beating Schalke 1-0.

Skripnik against Schmidt in Bremen

It’s the battle of two mid-table teams on Saturday (15:30 CEST) as Werder Bremen take on 1. FSV Mainz 05. Under the guidance of manager Viktor Skripnik, Werder have moved out of the danger zone and could even secretly dream of securing a Europa League place. Bremen are four points behind sixth-placed Augsburg and the game against Mainz should be a good omen for Skripnik. The Ukrainian celebrated his managerial debut in the Bundesliga and secured a 2-1 win in the game between the two sides before the winter break. It was also the Green-Whites’ first victory of the season.

A change in manager has also had a positive effect in Mainz. FSV have only lost one of their last five games under Martin Schmidt and have picked up eight points, which is the same amount collected in the last thirteen games under Kasper Hjulmand. Germany U21 player Johannes Geis is blossoming in 2015. The 21-year-old has been involved in five of Mainz’s goals, scoring three himself and setting up the other two.

Hannover target first victory of 2015 in Frankfurt

Eintracht Frankfurt, who are in touching distance of a Europa League spot, meet Hannover 96 on Saturday (15:30 CEST). Frankfurt, like Bremen, have 34 points and are unbeaten in their last seven home games. Schaaf’s team haven’t picked up enough points on their travels though to break into one of the European competition places. They’ve failed to win any of their last seven away games; however, they’re still the third best attacking team in the league. Alexander Meier has already scored 19 goals this season so the 96, who are currently embroiled in the relegation battle, will have to keep a particularly close eye on him on Saturday.

Under these circumstances, it might be even harder for manager Tayfun Korkut and his team to secure their first victory of 2015. 96 haven’t won any of their last seven away games and will have to cope without the suspended Germany U21 player Leonardo Bittencourt. All hopes rest on captain Lars Stindl, who grabbed a brace in the 3-2 defeat to BVB on the last matchday; however, the 26-year-old is set to leave at the end of the season after signing a contract until 2020 with Gladbach.

Köln out for revenge in Freiburg

When 1. FC Köln travel to SC Freiburg on Saturday (15:30 CEST), they’ll be out for revenge having already lost twice, once in the league and in the DFB Cup last 16, to their hosts this season. Following two draws in a row (0-0 in Dortmund, 1-1 with Bremen), Köln need to secure their eighth victory of the campaign because, even though they have 30 points, they still aren’t out of the woods.

Their opponents moved out of the relegation places on the last matchday, after beating Augsburg 2-0, and now hope to put more space between themselves and the danger zone. The head-to-head record is in Freiburg’s favour. SCF haven’t lost any of their past 10 home games against Köln (six wins, four draws).