By John Bagratuni, dpa
Berlin (dpa) – Leaders Bayern Munich face a tough test at Borussia Moenchengladbach, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund meet in a duel of contenders, and Schalke want to avoid tying a league record of shame in what promises an intriguing Bundesliga weekend.
Eight-time reigning champions Bayern hold a two-point lead over Leipzig but can take nothing for granted on Friday night at Gladbach where they lost last time out and three of their last five games overall.
Bayern’s principal rival over the past years have been Dortmund but that status has been challenged by Leipzig lately, with fourth-placed Dortmund out to prove a point with a third straight win at the ambitious eastern Germans on Saturday.
The same day bottom club Schalke have 90 minutes against inconsistent Hoffenheim to avoid a 31st straight Bundesliga match without victory which would tie the league worst record Tasmania Berlin went through in 1965-66.
Bayern and Gladbach dominated the league in the 1970s and Gladbach’s recent return to the upper tiers has added spice to their duels again.
They have had a stuttering start into the season, 12 points off the top and four points off a Champions League berth in seventh, but raring to threaten Bayern like in their last home game in December 2019 when they prevailed 2-1.
Ramy Bensebaini scored a brace then but is not likely to play the full game after a recent return from a coronavirus infection while Bayern are sweating on the fitness of Serge Gnabry.
“Matches against Bayern are always special. We want to get something out of the game, that is important in our situation,” Gladbach coach Marco Rose said.
Hansi Flick’s treble-winning Bayern want to avoid falling behind like in their past matches, including last weekend when they roared from 2-0 down to a 5-2 win over lowly Mainz.
“Our aim must be to get the lead, and then we’ll win games more easily. It always requires a lot of energy,” key player Joshua Kimmich said.
Champions League semi-finalists Leipzig are establishing themselves as Bayern’s biggest threat and that has only further boosted their ambitions.
“After knocking on the door over past years we can have the ambition to stay in striking distance,” Leipzig’s Germany defender Lukas Klostermann told Thursday’s edition of Kicker sports magazine.
Looking at Saturday’s game against Dortmund, he said: “Of course it is a very important game. Looking at the table it would be very good to win this game as well.”
Dortmund have lost touch to the top in recent weeks owing to patchy form but returned to winning ways last weekend 2-0 over Wolfsburg. A victory in Leipzig, however, is needed to keep in the mix.
Club official Sebastian Kehl has urged “a new performance culture” on the pitch in this “unusual situation” for the club, adding: “Leipzig will certainly be a yardstick for us.”
Schalke are meanwhile much worse off than their arch-rivals Dortmund and need victory not simply to avoid tying Tasmania’s record but in their fight for survival, having garnered a mere four points from 14 games and seven away from safety.
Their former defender Sead Kolasinac has returned on loan and vowed he wants “to help the team and shoulder responsibility,” insisting that “the team has the quality” to avoid relegation.
But Schalke started the year and the first game of their fourth season coach Christian Gross with a 3-0 defeat and Hertha Berlin, and Hoffenheim coach Sebastian Hoeness, himself under pressure over the team’s modest 13th place, has said that “Schalke’s situation is irrelevant for us.”
Elsewhere on Saturday, fifth-placed surprise side Union Berlin host number six Wolfsburg, former leaders Bayer Leverkusen want to rebound from their first two season defeats against Werder Bremen, Freiburg play Cologne and Mainz face Eintracht Frankfurt.
Sunday’s games are Augsburg v VfB Stuttgart and Arminia Bielefeld v Hertha Berlin.
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