Bundesliga round 28

Bochum v Eintracht
Bayern v Stuttgart
Hannover v Cologne
Bremen v Nurnberg
Mainz v Wolfsburg
Hertha v Dortmund
Leverkusen v Schalke
Hoffenheim v Freiburg
Monchengladbach v Hamburg

Big game of the week in Germany sees second placed Schalke take on third placed Leverkusen. Needless to say, this is a huge game in the context of the championship. Schalke were beaten in the cup by leaders Bayern in midweek and have been fighting against off-field adversity all season long, but they could quite easily take charge of this by the end of Sunday night. Leverkusen have picked the very worst time to suffer a blip in form and if they blow this one now, then they will probably never win the title. They will not have a better run at it, especially as Toni Kroos has been bogarded by Bayern, whose player he is. Bayern welcome Stuttgart to the Allianz and there's every chance they'll not take the points from this. Under Christian Gross, Stuttgart have been completely turned around and it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see stuttering Bayern beaten. What the Bavarians do have is the mercurial ability of Arjen Robben. What a player.

Life in the Hertha Locker (see what I did there?) doesn't get much easier. Their massive win last week against a jaded Wolfsburg is perhaps the biggest tease in world football. This week, they face rampant Dortmund who are suddenly looking like genuine Champions League contenders should any of the top three stumble. Hamburg are away at Gladbach and desperate for points, especially as Bremen moved ahead of them a week back and Werder are at home to Nurnberg who hit the headlines for the wrong reasons this week. They've been hit with travel restrictions for their fans after trouble at recent games.

Big game at the bottom sees Hannover take on Cologne. Cologne are just outside the danger zone, but could easily get sucked back down. Freiburg remain mired and face Hoffenheim, so lord alone knows what happens there and after a recent good run, Bochum are back in the firing line. They're in action on Friday at home to Eintracht. Finally, Mainz have a home game against Wolfsburg. A good run came to a shuddering halt for the champions last week, and going to Mainz is never easy. Score draw.