Espanyol v Athletic
Sporting v Barcelona
Deportivo v Real Madrid
Tenerife v Zaragoza
Villarreal v Osasuna
Valladolid v Almeria
Getafe v Racing
Xerez v Mallorca
Atlético v Málaga
Sevilla v Valencia
Cristiano Ronaldo picked up a two-match ban for breaking Patrick Mtiglia's nose with his forearm last week. Naturally the Portuguese has copped his punishment like a man, grateful to only get two games as in the Premier League it would have been three, minimum. Err, no. Whining to Madrid's chief propagandists, AS, he claimed the ban to be "excessive". El Real duly appealed and lost. Ronaldo now misses this week's game against Depor and next week against Espanyol. Mtiglia, meanwhile, is set to miss the next six weeks.
Depor sit fifth, a little way back from the top three, but can succeed against narrow sides like Real. I'd stop short of tipping a win for them, but I fancy them to get a result. Barca, meanwhile, are in Gijon and if you can even get odds quoted for an away win, they won't be very long. It's surely a question of how many. Barca have dismantled many sides with much more pedigree than Sporting already this season and will do so again. Probably here.
Top game of the week is Valencia's trip to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in Seville. The home side need a win to peg Los Che back in the race for Champions League places. Indeed, since the end of this season's Champions League group stage, Sevilla have gone backwards. That's been in the absence of the injured Luis Fabiano and the internationally occupied Fredi Kanouté. The latter is back after the Africa Cup of Nations where, surprisingly, he was left on the bench for a make-or-break game for Mali. Bizarre. No wonder they didn't break any pots. Valencia are going supremely well, scoring goals from all over. When the likes of David Albelda and Carlos Marchena are in the goals, you have few worries.
Xerez look doomed and high-flying Mallorca can hammer in nail number 20 into that relegation coffin this week. The next six above them are all well and truly in the relegation battle. Zaragoza are stinking the league up with their current form and go to Tenerife this week who are one place and three points above them and there's another six-pointer between Almería and Valladolid. Espanyol are still right in the mire and have a home game against Athletic who can do anything on any given day. At home, Espanyol will fancy it. If nothing else this week, these games should at least give a slightly clearer picture of who lies where.
Finally, there are three mid-table scraps with Villareal and Atlético both at home as they continue to resurrect what looked to be forlorn seasons early on. They face Osasuna and Málaga respectively. Getafe look to keep up their pursuit of European football at home to Sergio Canales-inspired Racing.
The home of football sarcasm
Friday, 29 January 2010
Serie A round 22
Bari v Palermo
Napoli v Genoa
Cagliari v Fiorentina
Milan v Livorno
Chievo v Bologna
Roma v Siena
Sampdoria v Atalanta
Catania v Udinese
Parma v Internazionale
Juventus v Lazio
At time of writing, Ciro Ferrara remains boss of Juventus, but a Coppa Italia defeat to Inter in the week may prove his last game in that role. Mario Balotelli scored a last-minute winner for the league leaders prompting the board of The Old Lady to summon Ferrara to a meeting. Rafa Benitez is being linked strongly to the job and Alberto Zaccheroni has also been mentioned. Ferrara, if he does succumb to the pressure, will not be the first nor the last coach to suffer from being too close to the players. It's not that long since he was team-mates with half this squad and going from buddy to boss is a difficult move. Both Benitez and Zaccheroni offer a level of authoritarianism that Ferrara cannot, at this stage of his career, hope to offer. And lord knows those players need a firm hand. They've been rotten lately and if Champions League football is to be on next year's agenda, then it needs changing soon. Mind you, Lazio are a terrible football side so they probably won't have an issue this week.
The other big Serie A story this week concerns Firoentina striker Adrian Mutu. He's failed another drug test and is facing a ban of between one and four years, and given that he's already 31, that could well be that for the Romanian's career. Needless to say, he won't feature for La Viola at improving Cagliari this weekend. Elsewhere, Roma have been rocked by injuries to both Luca Toni and Francesco Totti and both are facing six weeks out of the game. Fortunately, they only have to face Siena this week.
The top two should both win through easily enough. Inter are at fast fading Parma while Milan are at home to Livorno. Palermo are fast on the rise, but go to Bari this week which is always a tough place to pick up points. Inter were held there a couple of weeks ago, but Bari will have their hands full to contain a Rosanero side that looks full of verve and brio. Napoli versus Genoa is a real battle of European contenders. This won't settle a place in the Champions League, but will go some way to determining the outcome. Sampdoria were looking good for the top four or five early in the season, but have suffered a massive blip. Dropping Antonio Cassano looked the counter-intuitive thing to do, but Samp won last week. They are at home to lowly Atalanta this week and look good for a second straight win.
Two important clashes down at the bottom this week. Catania host Udinese and Bologna go to Chievo and points are essential for all four of them. Catania start the round in the bottom three, a point behind Udinese. Chievo have a bit of a buffer back to the danger zone, but Bologna are only one place below and should they win then Chievo will be dragged right back in.
Napoli v Genoa
Cagliari v Fiorentina
Milan v Livorno
Chievo v Bologna
Roma v Siena
Sampdoria v Atalanta
Catania v Udinese
Parma v Internazionale
Juventus v Lazio
At time of writing, Ciro Ferrara remains boss of Juventus, but a Coppa Italia defeat to Inter in the week may prove his last game in that role. Mario Balotelli scored a last-minute winner for the league leaders prompting the board of The Old Lady to summon Ferrara to a meeting. Rafa Benitez is being linked strongly to the job and Alberto Zaccheroni has also been mentioned. Ferrara, if he does succumb to the pressure, will not be the first nor the last coach to suffer from being too close to the players. It's not that long since he was team-mates with half this squad and going from buddy to boss is a difficult move. Both Benitez and Zaccheroni offer a level of authoritarianism that Ferrara cannot, at this stage of his career, hope to offer. And lord knows those players need a firm hand. They've been rotten lately and if Champions League football is to be on next year's agenda, then it needs changing soon. Mind you, Lazio are a terrible football side so they probably won't have an issue this week.
The other big Serie A story this week concerns Firoentina striker Adrian Mutu. He's failed another drug test and is facing a ban of between one and four years, and given that he's already 31, that could well be that for the Romanian's career. Needless to say, he won't feature for La Viola at improving Cagliari this weekend. Elsewhere, Roma have been rocked by injuries to both Luca Toni and Francesco Totti and both are facing six weeks out of the game. Fortunately, they only have to face Siena this week.
The top two should both win through easily enough. Inter are at fast fading Parma while Milan are at home to Livorno. Palermo are fast on the rise, but go to Bari this week which is always a tough place to pick up points. Inter were held there a couple of weeks ago, but Bari will have their hands full to contain a Rosanero side that looks full of verve and brio. Napoli versus Genoa is a real battle of European contenders. This won't settle a place in the Champions League, but will go some way to determining the outcome. Sampdoria were looking good for the top four or five early in the season, but have suffered a massive blip. Dropping Antonio Cassano looked the counter-intuitive thing to do, but Samp won last week. They are at home to lowly Atalanta this week and look good for a second straight win.
Two important clashes down at the bottom this week. Catania host Udinese and Bologna go to Chievo and points are essential for all four of them. Catania start the round in the bottom three, a point behind Udinese. Chievo have a bit of a buffer back to the danger zone, but Bologna are only one place below and should they win then Chievo will be dragged right back in.
Thursday, 28 January 2010
Ligue 1 round 22
Nancy v Lorient
Monaco v Nice
Lille v Lens
Le Mans v Toulouse
Rennes v Grenoble
Bordeaux v Boulogne
Montpellier v Marseille
Auxerre v St Etienne
Valenciennes v Sochaux
Lyon v PSG
It's been a bad week for Lyon. And that's coming in the middle of what, for them, is a bad year. A week ago, they were dumped out of the Coupe de France in Monaco and that was followed by defeat to Lorient in the quarter-finals of the League Cup. Moreover, they're eleven points off the top of the league. By the standards set at Stade Gerland in the last decade, this is a crisis. And yet they're still only three points away from second place and an automatic Champions League place. And they can take a big step towards that with a win over similarly embattled PSG. The Parisians were already out of the League Cup, beaten by Ligue 2 Guingamp, but won through at home to Evian in the Coupe de France last week. A loss there and Antoine Kombouaré would probably have gone. He remains, albeit under growing pressure. A loss for either here and a managerial change cannot be far away.
Bordeaux roll serenely on in all three domestic competitions with Laurent Blanc stating the bleeding obvious by saying his side are in good shape to take all three. Only a bizarre loss of form by a good number of his squad can stop him. Nobody in this league can hold a candle to his runaway league leaders. Especially not Boulogne, probably the worst side in the major European leagues on current form. Montpellier have lasted longer at the top than pretty much everybody thought they would and remain the nearest challegers to Les Girondins. They have a real tough test for the this week, a home game against Marseille. Win it, and the south coast club can start having a look around the other leagues for potential Champions League opponents. Lose it and everything's back on. For their part, Marseille can't really afford to lose it for fear of being cut adrift. Lille's terrific run ended last week, but they'll have Gervinho back in the reckoning for a local derby against Lens. There's a derby of sorts at the other end of the country where Nice make the short trip to Monaco. The Monagasques are shedding a bunch of players with Frederic Nimani and Eidur Gudjohnsen both off on loan to the Premier League in England. Auxerre are still in with a shout and Ireneusz Jelen came back from his latest injury to bag a winner in the cup a week ago. They face St Etienne this week who gave themselves a bit of breathing space, opening up a four-point gap back to the bottom three.
Le Mans are that side four points behind and they face Toulouse at home this week. TFC are impossible to read. They don't look a great side, but they're way too good to be in any sort of trouble, but they're equally capable of losing to a side like Le Mans who won't give them any space. Grenoble's pitiful campaign continues up north at Rennes. Elsewhere, Lorient go to Nancy and Valenciennes have a visit from Sochaux in a couple of mid-table clashes.
Monaco v Nice
Lille v Lens
Le Mans v Toulouse
Rennes v Grenoble
Bordeaux v Boulogne
Montpellier v Marseille
Auxerre v St Etienne
Valenciennes v Sochaux
Lyon v PSG
It's been a bad week for Lyon. And that's coming in the middle of what, for them, is a bad year. A week ago, they were dumped out of the Coupe de France in Monaco and that was followed by defeat to Lorient in the quarter-finals of the League Cup. Moreover, they're eleven points off the top of the league. By the standards set at Stade Gerland in the last decade, this is a crisis. And yet they're still only three points away from second place and an automatic Champions League place. And they can take a big step towards that with a win over similarly embattled PSG. The Parisians were already out of the League Cup, beaten by Ligue 2 Guingamp, but won through at home to Evian in the Coupe de France last week. A loss there and Antoine Kombouaré would probably have gone. He remains, albeit under growing pressure. A loss for either here and a managerial change cannot be far away.
Bordeaux roll serenely on in all three domestic competitions with Laurent Blanc stating the bleeding obvious by saying his side are in good shape to take all three. Only a bizarre loss of form by a good number of his squad can stop him. Nobody in this league can hold a candle to his runaway league leaders. Especially not Boulogne, probably the worst side in the major European leagues on current form. Montpellier have lasted longer at the top than pretty much everybody thought they would and remain the nearest challegers to Les Girondins. They have a real tough test for the this week, a home game against Marseille. Win it, and the south coast club can start having a look around the other leagues for potential Champions League opponents. Lose it and everything's back on. For their part, Marseille can't really afford to lose it for fear of being cut adrift. Lille's terrific run ended last week, but they'll have Gervinho back in the reckoning for a local derby against Lens. There's a derby of sorts at the other end of the country where Nice make the short trip to Monaco. The Monagasques are shedding a bunch of players with Frederic Nimani and Eidur Gudjohnsen both off on loan to the Premier League in England. Auxerre are still in with a shout and Ireneusz Jelen came back from his latest injury to bag a winner in the cup a week ago. They face St Etienne this week who gave themselves a bit of breathing space, opening up a four-point gap back to the bottom three.
Le Mans are that side four points behind and they face Toulouse at home this week. TFC are impossible to read. They don't look a great side, but they're way too good to be in any sort of trouble, but they're equally capable of losing to a side like Le Mans who won't give them any space. Grenoble's pitiful campaign continues up north at Rennes. Elsewhere, Lorient go to Nancy and Valenciennes have a visit from Sochaux in a couple of mid-table clashes.
Bundesliga round 20
Hamburg v Wolfsburg
Hertha v Bochum
Monchengladbach v Bremen
Hannover v Nurnberg
Eintracht v Cologne
Bayern v Mainz
Schalke v Hoffenheim
Stuttgart v Dortmund
Leverkusen v Freiburg
Two clubs dominated the headlines in Germany during the week and they kick off the weekend with a Friday night fixture at the Volksparkstadion. Hamburg made all the right noises, capturing the highly sought-after Ruud van Nistelrooy. He'll certainly improve their goal scoring record, especially as Paulo Guerrero is still stuck in Peru after recovering from a serious knee injury. His fear of flying, which meant he missed the chance to see a specialist in the United States, has kept him on terra firma. Three times he's boarded a plane bound for Germany, but he had to leave before take-off each time. For their part, Wolfsburg, HSV's opponents this week, were in the news for putting Armin Veh out of his misery. With the benefit of hindsight, it was always going to be tough for Veh, a very quietly spoken man, to take over the treble role that the autocratic Felix Magath left behind. Magath is a one-off. Not many people can act as head coach, sporting director and CEO, but somehow Magath made it work. Veh simply couldn't. Had he had two other people alongside him to fulfil the CEO and sporting director roles and left him to concentrate on coaching the players, then perhaps it could have been different. We shall never know. His side lost their seventh league game of the season last week, to struggling Cologne, and the board acted. Bernd Schuster and Guus Hiddink are the favourites to succeed Veh and both have the credentials to do the Magath job, but Lorenz-Guenther Koestner takes the job on as caretaker in the meantime.
Leverkusen remain top with everyone wondering when the 'Neverkusen' curse will kick in and ruin everything for them. Unlikely this week, you'd think, with a home game against lowly Freiburg. Bayern moved up to second, ominously, with a dominant performance over Bremen. They face Mainz this week, but they've already lost to the Frankfurt club this season. Mind, Bayern have got much better since then and Mainz will be doing very well to get something out of this one. Schalke remain right in there despite being held by Bochum last week. They face Hoffenheim this week with pressure mounting on Ralf Rangnick after a miserable 3-0 home defeat by Leverkusen last time out.
Stuttgart are improving under Christian Gross, but run up against the steam train that is Borussia Dortmund this week. Some solid results have seen Stuttgart move away from immediate danger, but they could easily get sucked in if things start going against them soon and Dortmund look in no mood to start dropping points after six straight wins. As the Stuttgart side of 2007, and Wolfsburg last year, would testify, that is championship form. The only thing is that maybe they've started their run a bit too early. Bremen have dropped off, but played much better - in patches at least - against Bayern last week. With the likes of Aaron Hunt, Marko Marin and Mesut Ozil, they're a very young side and maybe it's next year we should be looking at them as real contenders. They're certainly capable and should have too much for Gladbach, Marin's previous employers, this weekend.
Hertha are in a proverbial six-pointer against Bochum who come off the back of that draw with Schalke, and it's 16th v 17th in Hannover where Nurnberg are the visitors. Cologne have pulled away from the danger zone a bit and they go to a very much mid-table Eintracht.
Hertha v Bochum
Monchengladbach v Bremen
Hannover v Nurnberg
Eintracht v Cologne
Bayern v Mainz
Schalke v Hoffenheim
Stuttgart v Dortmund
Leverkusen v Freiburg
Two clubs dominated the headlines in Germany during the week and they kick off the weekend with a Friday night fixture at the Volksparkstadion. Hamburg made all the right noises, capturing the highly sought-after Ruud van Nistelrooy. He'll certainly improve their goal scoring record, especially as Paulo Guerrero is still stuck in Peru after recovering from a serious knee injury. His fear of flying, which meant he missed the chance to see a specialist in the United States, has kept him on terra firma. Three times he's boarded a plane bound for Germany, but he had to leave before take-off each time. For their part, Wolfsburg, HSV's opponents this week, were in the news for putting Armin Veh out of his misery. With the benefit of hindsight, it was always going to be tough for Veh, a very quietly spoken man, to take over the treble role that the autocratic Felix Magath left behind. Magath is a one-off. Not many people can act as head coach, sporting director and CEO, but somehow Magath made it work. Veh simply couldn't. Had he had two other people alongside him to fulfil the CEO and sporting director roles and left him to concentrate on coaching the players, then perhaps it could have been different. We shall never know. His side lost their seventh league game of the season last week, to struggling Cologne, and the board acted. Bernd Schuster and Guus Hiddink are the favourites to succeed Veh and both have the credentials to do the Magath job, but Lorenz-Guenther Koestner takes the job on as caretaker in the meantime.
Leverkusen remain top with everyone wondering when the 'Neverkusen' curse will kick in and ruin everything for them. Unlikely this week, you'd think, with a home game against lowly Freiburg. Bayern moved up to second, ominously, with a dominant performance over Bremen. They face Mainz this week, but they've already lost to the Frankfurt club this season. Mind, Bayern have got much better since then and Mainz will be doing very well to get something out of this one. Schalke remain right in there despite being held by Bochum last week. They face Hoffenheim this week with pressure mounting on Ralf Rangnick after a miserable 3-0 home defeat by Leverkusen last time out.
Stuttgart are improving under Christian Gross, but run up against the steam train that is Borussia Dortmund this week. Some solid results have seen Stuttgart move away from immediate danger, but they could easily get sucked in if things start going against them soon and Dortmund look in no mood to start dropping points after six straight wins. As the Stuttgart side of 2007, and Wolfsburg last year, would testify, that is championship form. The only thing is that maybe they've started their run a bit too early. Bremen have dropped off, but played much better - in patches at least - against Bayern last week. With the likes of Aaron Hunt, Marko Marin and Mesut Ozil, they're a very young side and maybe it's next year we should be looking at them as real contenders. They're certainly capable and should have too much for Gladbach, Marin's previous employers, this weekend.
Hertha are in a proverbial six-pointer against Bochum who come off the back of that draw with Schalke, and it's 16th v 17th in Hannover where Nurnberg are the visitors. Cologne have pulled away from the danger zone a bit and they go to a very much mid-table Eintracht.
Eredivisie round 20
NEC v Sparta
AZ v Groningen
NAC v VVV Venlo
Den Haag v Heerenveen
Feyenoord v Ajax
Utrecht v Heracles
Twente v Roda
Vitesse v PSV
All eyes on De Kuip on Sunday morning for another Classic. Ajax are in Rotterdam for the latest instalment of this long-running feud. Well, the Ajax players will be. As usual, their fans won't be travelling. And yet it's hard to get properly excited about this one with Ajax remote in third and Feyenoord even more remote in fourth. The Rotterdammers can close to within a point of their bitter rivals with a win and go into this as the first side to beat PSV in 39 straight matches after a 2-0 win in the KNVB Beker in midweek. For their part, Ajax have been less than their swashbuckling best of late. 50 goals in the first half the season set them up for a stunning total, but since hitting the half century, they've not hit the heights in the league. Luis Suarez has signed a contract extension which at least staves off transfer talk for now and while Dutch national keeper Maarten Stekelenburg missed the home win over AZ last week, they have another international in Kenneth Vermeer - stunning last week - to deputise.
Twente need to get back to winning ways before PSV are over the hill and far away. The Eindhoveners have to do something they haven't done for almost a year this week and that's bounce back from a loss, but even given that they're away from home and Vitesse are improving, it's difficult to see them slipping up. The Tukkers have seen a four-point swing to PSV since the resumption and now lie two behind the leaders following successive goalless draws. The cup has been kinder though and they took out their frustrations on Sparta, battering them 4-0 with Kenneth Perez getting two. Roda aren't pushovers, but this is one you'd expect Twente to win. If not, then maybe the rot has set in.
Rock bottom Waalwijk get the round started on Friday night away at second-bottom Willem II. Should RKC win, then they'll be off the bottom for the first time all season, leapfrogging their opponents. It's difficult to see that happening, even given the Tilburger's lack of form. Den Haag also start the weekend in the bottom three and they have a tough game against improving Heerenveen. NEC and Sparta are both struggling for form and face off in Nijmegen while there's a clash of European hopefuls in Utrecht with Heracles the visitors. Utrecht should have Jacob Mulenga back from Africa Cup of Nations duty, which will help, while Heracles suffered a setback a week ago and need to get back to winning ways. Both these sides will be looking to capitalise on any slip by Feyenoord above them. NAC are also in the European frame and lie five points clear of their nearest challenger, VVV Venlo, who they coincidentally face this week. If VVV are to cap their return to the Eredivisie with a shot at the Europa Cup, then this is a must-win. Expect a draw.
AZ v Groningen
NAC v VVV Venlo
Den Haag v Heerenveen
Feyenoord v Ajax
Utrecht v Heracles
Twente v Roda
Vitesse v PSV
All eyes on De Kuip on Sunday morning for another Classic. Ajax are in Rotterdam for the latest instalment of this long-running feud. Well, the Ajax players will be. As usual, their fans won't be travelling. And yet it's hard to get properly excited about this one with Ajax remote in third and Feyenoord even more remote in fourth. The Rotterdammers can close to within a point of their bitter rivals with a win and go into this as the first side to beat PSV in 39 straight matches after a 2-0 win in the KNVB Beker in midweek. For their part, Ajax have been less than their swashbuckling best of late. 50 goals in the first half the season set them up for a stunning total, but since hitting the half century, they've not hit the heights in the league. Luis Suarez has signed a contract extension which at least staves off transfer talk for now and while Dutch national keeper Maarten Stekelenburg missed the home win over AZ last week, they have another international in Kenneth Vermeer - stunning last week - to deputise.
Twente need to get back to winning ways before PSV are over the hill and far away. The Eindhoveners have to do something they haven't done for almost a year this week and that's bounce back from a loss, but even given that they're away from home and Vitesse are improving, it's difficult to see them slipping up. The Tukkers have seen a four-point swing to PSV since the resumption and now lie two behind the leaders following successive goalless draws. The cup has been kinder though and they took out their frustrations on Sparta, battering them 4-0 with Kenneth Perez getting two. Roda aren't pushovers, but this is one you'd expect Twente to win. If not, then maybe the rot has set in.
Rock bottom Waalwijk get the round started on Friday night away at second-bottom Willem II. Should RKC win, then they'll be off the bottom for the first time all season, leapfrogging their opponents. It's difficult to see that happening, even given the Tilburger's lack of form. Den Haag also start the weekend in the bottom three and they have a tough game against improving Heerenveen. NEC and Sparta are both struggling for form and face off in Nijmegen while there's a clash of European hopefuls in Utrecht with Heracles the visitors. Utrecht should have Jacob Mulenga back from Africa Cup of Nations duty, which will help, while Heracles suffered a setback a week ago and need to get back to winning ways. Both these sides will be looking to capitalise on any slip by Feyenoord above them. NAC are also in the European frame and lie five points clear of their nearest challenger, VVV Venlo, who they coincidentally face this week. If VVV are to cap their return to the Eredivisie with a shot at the Europa Cup, then this is a must-win. Expect a draw.
Monday, 25 January 2010
Ronaldo's goals break Malaga, but his arm breaks Mtiglia's nose: La Liga reviews
Sevilla 1-0 Almeria
Valladolid 0-3 Barcelona
Deportivo 3-1 Athletic
Tenerife 0-0 Valencia
Villarreal 4-2 Zaragoza
Sporting 0-1 Racing
Xerez 1-2 Osasuna
Espanyol 1-1 Mallorca
Getafe 1-0 Atlético
Real Madrid 2-0 Málaga
After Barcelona's routine thumping of Valladolid on Saturday, El Real had to respond against Málaga in the late game on Sunday. The visitors rattled Los Merengues early on as they had several good chances including one off the bar as Sergio Duda's cross was turned towards goal by Xabi Alonso. They survived the early onslaught though and Cristiano Ronaldo finished off a lovely move, slotting in Kaka's cross. Four minutes later he added a second, a fierce dipping shot from range. He wouldn't finish the game though, as a flailing arm from the Portuguese caught Patrick Mtiglia in the face, breaking the Danish defender's nose. A straight red card was the result, a decision which Ronaldo described as "a disgrace". Moreover, it's sporting manager Jorge Valdano's considered opinion that Ronaldo deserves leniency because he is "an entertainer". Tommyrot. It was a wild and careless action which will see the victim out for a month or more. While El Real's cheerleaders in the Madrid press will no doubt agree with Valdano, no other person with even a passing interest in football does.
Barcelona were unstoppable against Valladolid and picked off their opponents in clinical fashion. Dani Alves set one up for Xavi and scored the second himself within the space of two first half minutes. Lionel Messi added a third after the break before the cue went in the rack. Valencia were held to a goalless draw at Tenerife, leaving them ten points adrift of the leaders and five behind El Real. This is a two-horse race now, such as it was ever anything but. Mallorca and Depor are tucked behind Los Che, the former held to a draw by Espanyol with only a late Borja Valero penalty to thank for rescuing a point. Depor won well over Athletic, emerging 3-1 winners after a goalless first half. Filipe Kasmirski put them ahead four minutes after the break and Juca doubled the advantage ten minutes later. With Atheltic not making much of a game of it, Depor defender Diego Colotto got Athletic back into it with an own goal, but Pablo Alvarez added a third in the last minute to seal a comfortable win.
Sevilla ended their horror run thanks to Alvaro Negredo who got the only goal of the game at home to Almería and Getafe also needed just the one goal to beat Atlético. That came from Manu late in the first half and Atléti finished with ten men when Paulo Assuncao was sent off twenty minutes from time. Villareal withstood a fightback from Zaragoza before emerging with a 4-2 win. The Yellow Submarine ran into a 3-0 lead early on thanks to Joan Capdevila, Nilmar and Giuseppe Rossi. As the clock ticked down, two in seven minutes - Eliseu and Lafita - threatened to set up a grandstand finish, but Abriel Ibagaza calmed home side nerves with a fourth, three minutes from time.
Racing won away at Sporting despite the late sending off of Oriol. Alexandre Geijo had earlier given Racing the lead. Xerez remain rooted to the bottom after defeat to Osasuna who were ahead inside ten minutes through Nacho Monreal. Mario Bermejo equalised halfway through the first half, but Osasuna won it seven minutes from the end through Javier Camuñas.
Valladolid 0-3 Barcelona
Deportivo 3-1 Athletic
Tenerife 0-0 Valencia
Villarreal 4-2 Zaragoza
Sporting 0-1 Racing
Xerez 1-2 Osasuna
Espanyol 1-1 Mallorca
Getafe 1-0 Atlético
Real Madrid 2-0 Málaga
After Barcelona's routine thumping of Valladolid on Saturday, El Real had to respond against Málaga in the late game on Sunday. The visitors rattled Los Merengues early on as they had several good chances including one off the bar as Sergio Duda's cross was turned towards goal by Xabi Alonso. They survived the early onslaught though and Cristiano Ronaldo finished off a lovely move, slotting in Kaka's cross. Four minutes later he added a second, a fierce dipping shot from range. He wouldn't finish the game though, as a flailing arm from the Portuguese caught Patrick Mtiglia in the face, breaking the Danish defender's nose. A straight red card was the result, a decision which Ronaldo described as "a disgrace". Moreover, it's sporting manager Jorge Valdano's considered opinion that Ronaldo deserves leniency because he is "an entertainer". Tommyrot. It was a wild and careless action which will see the victim out for a month or more. While El Real's cheerleaders in the Madrid press will no doubt agree with Valdano, no other person with even a passing interest in football does.
Barcelona were unstoppable against Valladolid and picked off their opponents in clinical fashion. Dani Alves set one up for Xavi and scored the second himself within the space of two first half minutes. Lionel Messi added a third after the break before the cue went in the rack. Valencia were held to a goalless draw at Tenerife, leaving them ten points adrift of the leaders and five behind El Real. This is a two-horse race now, such as it was ever anything but. Mallorca and Depor are tucked behind Los Che, the former held to a draw by Espanyol with only a late Borja Valero penalty to thank for rescuing a point. Depor won well over Athletic, emerging 3-1 winners after a goalless first half. Filipe Kasmirski put them ahead four minutes after the break and Juca doubled the advantage ten minutes later. With Atheltic not making much of a game of it, Depor defender Diego Colotto got Athletic back into it with an own goal, but Pablo Alvarez added a third in the last minute to seal a comfortable win.
Sevilla ended their horror run thanks to Alvaro Negredo who got the only goal of the game at home to Almería and Getafe also needed just the one goal to beat Atlético. That came from Manu late in the first half and Atléti finished with ten men when Paulo Assuncao was sent off twenty minutes from time. Villareal withstood a fightback from Zaragoza before emerging with a 4-2 win. The Yellow Submarine ran into a 3-0 lead early on thanks to Joan Capdevila, Nilmar and Giuseppe Rossi. As the clock ticked down, two in seven minutes - Eliseu and Lafita - threatened to set up a grandstand finish, but Abriel Ibagaza calmed home side nerves with a fourth, three minutes from time.
Racing won away at Sporting despite the late sending off of Oriol. Alexandre Geijo had earlier given Racing the lead. Xerez remain rooted to the bottom after defeat to Osasuna who were ahead inside ten minutes through Nacho Monreal. Mario Bermejo equalised halfway through the first half, but Osasuna won it seven minutes from the end through Javier Camuñas.
Two off, but Inter take derby spoils: Serie A reviews
Bologna 2-2 Atalanta
Genoa 1-1 Bari
Catania 3-0 Parma
Juventus 1-2 Roma
Lazio 1-1 Chievo
Siena 1-1 Cagliari
Bologna 2-1 Bari
Udinese 2-3 Sampdoria
Palermo 3-0 Fiorentina
Livorno 0-2 Napoli
Genoa 2-0 Atalanta
Internazionale 2-0 Milan
The derby started well for Inter when Diego Milito put them in front with a fine, angled finish after just ten minutes. Wesley Sneijder was running the show from midfield, as he does so often, but managed to get himself sent off for dissent before the half hour mark. Sarcastically applauding the referee drew a straight red for the Dutchman. Far from heads dropping for the Nerazzurri, it galvanised them. Yes, Milan had the majority of possession, but they were as wasteful as the Inter midfield was tigerish and the defence stoic. Goran Pandev increased the lead on 65 minutes with a superb free-kick as Milan huffed and puffed to little real effect. Lucio was sent off in stoppage time, picking up a second yellow for handling the ball, but Julio Cesar saved the resultant penalty from Ronaldinho sending half the San Siro crowd crazy. It had an effect on the Inter bench too where Marco Materazzi donned a Silvio Berlusconi mask before celebrating in the middle of the pitch to hoots of laughter.
Defeat for the Rossoneri allowed Roma to close to within two points after coming from behind to beat troubled Juventus. The ageless Alessandro del Piero gave the Bianconeri a deserved lead early in the second half, but they went to pieces after that. Fabio Grosso felled Rodrigo Taddei in the box and Francesco Totti - an early replacement for the injured Luca Toni - fired in the free-kick, his 188th Serie A goal and, remarkably, his first against Juve in Turin. Gianluigi Buffon was sent off for taking down John-Arne Riise and the Norwegian grabbed a stoppage time winner with a superb header. Napoli and Palermo both took advantage of Juve's slip to move up. Napoli saw off Livorno who finished with ten men and missed a penalty, so determined were they not to win the game. Cristian Maggio opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time and Luca Cigarini finished it on the stroke of full-time after Cristiano Lucarelli had missed from 12 yards and Alfonso de Lucia was sent off. Palermo destroyed a woeful Fiorentina with a wonderful attacking display. 20-year old Uruguayan Abel Hernandez scored twice for the Rosanero, linking up well with Fabrizio Micolli who was sublime throughout. Hernandez started in place of Igor Budan, but the Croatian came off the bench to add a third as the Sicilians move into fifth.
Sampdoria arrested a horror run that saw them slip into the bottom half of the table after a stellar start as they came from behind twice away against Udinese. Antonio de Natale and Giampaolo Pazzini exchanged penalties in the first half, but Udinese led at the break through Mauricio Isla. Nicola Pozzi and Franco Semioli struck in the second period to take a much-needed three points for the Genoese. Their city rivals Genoa also won, 2-0 at home to lowly Atalanta, Rodrigo Palacio and Hernan Crespo on target. Cagliari are in seventh after an eventful game at Siena where both sides finished with ten men. Joaquin Larrivey was first to go for Cagliari and Emanuele Calaio put the home side in front. It was going swimmingly for them until Emilson also saw red ten minutes from time and Alessandro Matri scored the penalty.
Parma slip into the bottom half after slumping to heavy defeat at Catania. Giuseppe Mascara put Catania in front and then missed a penalty, but Jorge Martinez and Takayuki Morimoto made sure that miss didn't matter too much. Bari blew a lead at Bologna, Henry Gimenez on target twice after Paulo Barretto had put Bari in front and Lazio drew with Chievo, Sergio Pellissier equalising for the Flying Donkeys after Gugliermo Stendardo had put Lazio in front early on.
Genoa 1-1 Bari
Catania 3-0 Parma
Juventus 1-2 Roma
Lazio 1-1 Chievo
Siena 1-1 Cagliari
Bologna 2-1 Bari
Udinese 2-3 Sampdoria
Palermo 3-0 Fiorentina
Livorno 0-2 Napoli
Genoa 2-0 Atalanta
Internazionale 2-0 Milan
The derby started well for Inter when Diego Milito put them in front with a fine, angled finish after just ten minutes. Wesley Sneijder was running the show from midfield, as he does so often, but managed to get himself sent off for dissent before the half hour mark. Sarcastically applauding the referee drew a straight red for the Dutchman. Far from heads dropping for the Nerazzurri, it galvanised them. Yes, Milan had the majority of possession, but they were as wasteful as the Inter midfield was tigerish and the defence stoic. Goran Pandev increased the lead on 65 minutes with a superb free-kick as Milan huffed and puffed to little real effect. Lucio was sent off in stoppage time, picking up a second yellow for handling the ball, but Julio Cesar saved the resultant penalty from Ronaldinho sending half the San Siro crowd crazy. It had an effect on the Inter bench too where Marco Materazzi donned a Silvio Berlusconi mask before celebrating in the middle of the pitch to hoots of laughter.
Defeat for the Rossoneri allowed Roma to close to within two points after coming from behind to beat troubled Juventus. The ageless Alessandro del Piero gave the Bianconeri a deserved lead early in the second half, but they went to pieces after that. Fabio Grosso felled Rodrigo Taddei in the box and Francesco Totti - an early replacement for the injured Luca Toni - fired in the free-kick, his 188th Serie A goal and, remarkably, his first against Juve in Turin. Gianluigi Buffon was sent off for taking down John-Arne Riise and the Norwegian grabbed a stoppage time winner with a superb header. Napoli and Palermo both took advantage of Juve's slip to move up. Napoli saw off Livorno who finished with ten men and missed a penalty, so determined were they not to win the game. Cristian Maggio opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time and Luca Cigarini finished it on the stroke of full-time after Cristiano Lucarelli had missed from 12 yards and Alfonso de Lucia was sent off. Palermo destroyed a woeful Fiorentina with a wonderful attacking display. 20-year old Uruguayan Abel Hernandez scored twice for the Rosanero, linking up well with Fabrizio Micolli who was sublime throughout. Hernandez started in place of Igor Budan, but the Croatian came off the bench to add a third as the Sicilians move into fifth.
Sampdoria arrested a horror run that saw them slip into the bottom half of the table after a stellar start as they came from behind twice away against Udinese. Antonio de Natale and Giampaolo Pazzini exchanged penalties in the first half, but Udinese led at the break through Mauricio Isla. Nicola Pozzi and Franco Semioli struck in the second period to take a much-needed three points for the Genoese. Their city rivals Genoa also won, 2-0 at home to lowly Atalanta, Rodrigo Palacio and Hernan Crespo on target. Cagliari are in seventh after an eventful game at Siena where both sides finished with ten men. Joaquin Larrivey was first to go for Cagliari and Emanuele Calaio put the home side in front. It was going swimmingly for them until Emilson also saw red ten minutes from time and Alessandro Matri scored the penalty.
Parma slip into the bottom half after slumping to heavy defeat at Catania. Giuseppe Mascara put Catania in front and then missed a penalty, but Jorge Martinez and Takayuki Morimoto made sure that miss didn't matter too much. Bari blew a lead at Bologna, Henry Gimenez on target twice after Paulo Barretto had put Bari in front and Lazio drew with Chievo, Sergio Pellissier equalising for the Flying Donkeys after Gugliermo Stendardo had put Lazio in front early on.
Dortmund the form horse: Bundesliga reviews
Freiburg 0-1 Stuttgart
Nurnberg 1-1 Eintracht
Hertha 0-0 Monchengladbach
Bochum 2-2 Schalke
Bremen 2-3 Bayern
Mainz 1-0 Hannover
Dortmund 1-0 Hamburg
Wolfsburg 2-3 Cologne
Hoffenheim 0-3 Leverkusen
BvB won their sixth straight game at the weekend and are unbeaten since the derby defeat to Schalke back in September. Hamburg were the victims this time, though it came around too early for new HSV signing Ruud van Nistelrooy to figure, Nelson Valdez punishing Hamburg for not clearing their lines. Without regular keeper Roman Weidenfeller, Marc Ziegler had a rare start for BvB and kept his side in front with a string of saves. The one time he was beaten, Mladen Petric headed over the top.
Bayern went top, briefly, after beating Bremen at the Weserstadion. Aaron Hunt gave Bremen an early lead, but Bayern went into half-time in front thanks to Thomas Muller and Ivica Olic. Hugo Almeida brought it back level quarter of an hour from time, but Arjen Robben fired in a free-kick from wide out off the underside of the crossbar. Bremen should still have secured a point, Marko Marin wrongly ruled offside in the dying moments. They were top for little more than 24 hours, before Leverkusen went to Hoffenheim and put a disappointing TSG side away. Sami Hyypia has been a terrific acquisition for Leverkusen, an imposing figure at the back, completely rejuvenated after looking jaded in his final days at Liverpool. This time, he popped up at the other end to grab his first Leverkusen goal ten minutes into the contest. Second half goals followed from the outstanding midfield duo Toni Kroos and Tranquillo Barnetta as Hoffenheim once again fail to start the second half of the season in any kind of form. Schalke lost ground in the title race as they blew a two-goal lead over neighbours Bochum. Vicente Sanchez and the in-form Kevin Kuranyi gave Schalke a 2-0 half-time lead and they were looking good to hold onto that as time ticked down. Even when Vahid Hashemian pulled one back eight minutes from time, there looked little to worry about. But Stanislav Sestak popped up two minutes into stoppage time to head Hashemian's cross past Manuel Neuer for a late equaliser.
Hertha picked up another point in a lacklustre game with Gladbach who saw Juan Arango's penalty saved late in the first half. They remain three adrift of Nurnberg who also drew, 1-1 with Eintracht. Christian Eigler put Nurnberg ahead twenty minutes in, but it was all square by half-time, Benjamin Kohler on target for Eintracht, and so it remained. Hannover lost, but remain seven clear of Hertha. Andre Schuerrle's fourth minute goal, picking off a loose pass in defence, was enough for Mainz to end a six-game winless streak. Freiburg are just a point above Hannover after defeat to Stuttgart who climb to eleventh thanks to Ciprian Marica's goal late in the first half. Freiburg had a goal chalked off due to a much-debated offside call and Marica had a second ruled out harshly for high feet as he stabbed a corner into the net.
Nurnberg 1-1 Eintracht
Hertha 0-0 Monchengladbach
Bochum 2-2 Schalke
Bremen 2-3 Bayern
Mainz 1-0 Hannover
Dortmund 1-0 Hamburg
Wolfsburg 2-3 Cologne
Hoffenheim 0-3 Leverkusen
BvB won their sixth straight game at the weekend and are unbeaten since the derby defeat to Schalke back in September. Hamburg were the victims this time, though it came around too early for new HSV signing Ruud van Nistelrooy to figure, Nelson Valdez punishing Hamburg for not clearing their lines. Without regular keeper Roman Weidenfeller, Marc Ziegler had a rare start for BvB and kept his side in front with a string of saves. The one time he was beaten, Mladen Petric headed over the top.
Bayern went top, briefly, after beating Bremen at the Weserstadion. Aaron Hunt gave Bremen an early lead, but Bayern went into half-time in front thanks to Thomas Muller and Ivica Olic. Hugo Almeida brought it back level quarter of an hour from time, but Arjen Robben fired in a free-kick from wide out off the underside of the crossbar. Bremen should still have secured a point, Marko Marin wrongly ruled offside in the dying moments. They were top for little more than 24 hours, before Leverkusen went to Hoffenheim and put a disappointing TSG side away. Sami Hyypia has been a terrific acquisition for Leverkusen, an imposing figure at the back, completely rejuvenated after looking jaded in his final days at Liverpool. This time, he popped up at the other end to grab his first Leverkusen goal ten minutes into the contest. Second half goals followed from the outstanding midfield duo Toni Kroos and Tranquillo Barnetta as Hoffenheim once again fail to start the second half of the season in any kind of form. Schalke lost ground in the title race as they blew a two-goal lead over neighbours Bochum. Vicente Sanchez and the in-form Kevin Kuranyi gave Schalke a 2-0 half-time lead and they were looking good to hold onto that as time ticked down. Even when Vahid Hashemian pulled one back eight minutes from time, there looked little to worry about. But Stanislav Sestak popped up two minutes into stoppage time to head Hashemian's cross past Manuel Neuer for a late equaliser.
Hertha picked up another point in a lacklustre game with Gladbach who saw Juan Arango's penalty saved late in the first half. They remain three adrift of Nurnberg who also drew, 1-1 with Eintracht. Christian Eigler put Nurnberg ahead twenty minutes in, but it was all square by half-time, Benjamin Kohler on target for Eintracht, and so it remained. Hannover lost, but remain seven clear of Hertha. Andre Schuerrle's fourth minute goal, picking off a loose pass in defence, was enough for Mainz to end a six-game winless streak. Freiburg are just a point above Hannover after defeat to Stuttgart who climb to eleventh thanks to Ciprian Marica's goal late in the first half. Freiburg had a goal chalked off due to a much-debated offside call and Marica had a second ruled out harshly for high feet as he stabbed a corner into the net.
PSV steal a march over misfiring Twente: Eredivisie reviews
PSV 3-0 NEC
Heracles 1-2 Vitesse
Heerenveen 4-2 Willem II
Roda 2-0 Utrecht
Waalwijk 0-1 NAC
Ajax 1-0 AZ
Groningen 0-0 Twente
Sparta 0-0 Den Haag
VVV Venlo 1-1 Feyenoord
What on earth has happened to Twente? Cruising serenely onwards in the lead up to the winter break, since the league resumed they've played out two really poor goalless draws. Yes, they remain unbeaten, but with PSV in similar form they hadn't built any sort of lead. Knocked off the top on goal difference last week, this latest stalemate saw the Eindhoven giants open up a gap. Yes, it's only two points, but with barely a chance worthy of the name created in two games, it's a worrying time. For their part, PSV were comfortable winners over NEC on Friday night. With Jonathan Reis sacked by the club after testing positive for recreational drugs, Ola Toivonen came back into the starting line-up and immediately made an impact with goals in each half, heading home halfway through the first half and lashing home from just inside the box quarter of an hour into the second. Nordin Amrabat came off the bench to stab a late third in as PSV take control of the league.
Ajax emerged with a win in a wide open game against AZ. Chances were created in huge number at either end, but Kenneth Vermeer - in for late withdrawal Maarten Stekelenburg - and Sergio Romero were both in terrific form. Gregory van der Wiel eventually broke the deadlock after exchanging passes with Luis Suarez. Dick Advocaat was sent to the stands as his side picked up seven bookings, but his complaints looked a little silly as his charges kicked lumps out of the Amsterdammers. Indeed, Stijn Schaars was lucky to stay on the field after a studs-up challenge on Ismail Aissati. Feyenoord were held in Venlo despite one of their former players, Patrick Paauwe, turning Jon Dahl Tomasson's cross past his own keeper. Ferry de Regt rescued a point late on with a neat header.
Heracles' European push took a hit as Onur Kaya scored twice for Vitesse. Sebastian Steur got one back, too little too late. Utrecht were also beaten, 2-0 in Kerkrade. Willem Janssen got the first five minutes before the break and Jan-Paul Saeijs the second five minutes after it as Roda ran out comfortable winners. Heerenveen are on the march and won well at home to Willem II who finished with ten men. Paulo Henriques scored twice for the Friesians, the second coming after Marlon Pereira was sent off. The Tilburgers had taken a lead with eighteen minutes remaining, but they collapsed in spectacular fashion, Pereira's dismissal for a professional foul capping a miserable finish to the game. NAC kept up their hopes of European football with a 1-0 win over hapless Waalwijk who pick up where they left off. Leonardo got the goal and was later sent off on an eventful afternoon for the Brazilian. Finally, Sparta and Den Haag ground out a lifeless 0-0 draw in Rotterdam.
Heracles 1-2 Vitesse
Heerenveen 4-2 Willem II
Roda 2-0 Utrecht
Waalwijk 0-1 NAC
Ajax 1-0 AZ
Groningen 0-0 Twente
Sparta 0-0 Den Haag
VVV Venlo 1-1 Feyenoord
What on earth has happened to Twente? Cruising serenely onwards in the lead up to the winter break, since the league resumed they've played out two really poor goalless draws. Yes, they remain unbeaten, but with PSV in similar form they hadn't built any sort of lead. Knocked off the top on goal difference last week, this latest stalemate saw the Eindhoven giants open up a gap. Yes, it's only two points, but with barely a chance worthy of the name created in two games, it's a worrying time. For their part, PSV were comfortable winners over NEC on Friday night. With Jonathan Reis sacked by the club after testing positive for recreational drugs, Ola Toivonen came back into the starting line-up and immediately made an impact with goals in each half, heading home halfway through the first half and lashing home from just inside the box quarter of an hour into the second. Nordin Amrabat came off the bench to stab a late third in as PSV take control of the league.
Ajax emerged with a win in a wide open game against AZ. Chances were created in huge number at either end, but Kenneth Vermeer - in for late withdrawal Maarten Stekelenburg - and Sergio Romero were both in terrific form. Gregory van der Wiel eventually broke the deadlock after exchanging passes with Luis Suarez. Dick Advocaat was sent to the stands as his side picked up seven bookings, but his complaints looked a little silly as his charges kicked lumps out of the Amsterdammers. Indeed, Stijn Schaars was lucky to stay on the field after a studs-up challenge on Ismail Aissati. Feyenoord were held in Venlo despite one of their former players, Patrick Paauwe, turning Jon Dahl Tomasson's cross past his own keeper. Ferry de Regt rescued a point late on with a neat header.
Heracles' European push took a hit as Onur Kaya scored twice for Vitesse. Sebastian Steur got one back, too little too late. Utrecht were also beaten, 2-0 in Kerkrade. Willem Janssen got the first five minutes before the break and Jan-Paul Saeijs the second five minutes after it as Roda ran out comfortable winners. Heerenveen are on the march and won well at home to Willem II who finished with ten men. Paulo Henriques scored twice for the Friesians, the second coming after Marlon Pereira was sent off. The Tilburgers had taken a lead with eighteen minutes remaining, but they collapsed in spectacular fashion, Pereira's dismissal for a professional foul capping a miserable finish to the game. NAC kept up their hopes of European football with a 1-0 win over hapless Waalwijk who pick up where they left off. Leonardo got the goal and was later sent off on an eventful afternoon for the Brazilian. Finally, Sparta and Den Haag ground out a lifeless 0-0 draw in Rotterdam.
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Bundesliga round 19
Freiburg v Stuttgart
Nurnberg v Eintracht
Hertha v Monchengladbach
Bochum v Schalke
Bremen v Bayern
Mainz v Hannover
Dortmund v Hamburg
Wolfsburg v Cologne
Hoffenheim v Leverkusen
Top game in the Bundesliga this week sees resurgent Hamburg the latest side to try to break Dortmund's impressive winning streak. With Mladen Petric back from injury, Hamburg have a potency up front they missed badly in the months before the winter break. Prior to that, they were lost without Eljero Elia through whom all the attack was going. Now, at least they have options. Dortmund looked good enough without Mohamed Zidan - away with Egypt and looking good for a third straight Africa Cup of Nations - although they almost threw a handy lead away last week against lowly Cologne.
In any other season, the trip to Bremen by Bayern would attract most eyes, but Bremen's woes of late coupled with Bayern's superb run make this look a one-sided affair in prospect. Schalke are also up at the sharp end and have a derby with Bochum to negotiate this week. They should be pretty comfortable with this one though and maintain their pursuit of Leverkusen who have a tricky one away at Hoffenheim. Dietmar Hopp demanded European football this season as recompense for his backing, but The Villagers are some way off the pace at the moment. They're capable of beating anyone in this league and probably many others, but consistency has eluded them and Leverkusen are very organised. Moreover, Simon Rolfes came back last week and Patrick Helmes got a bit more game time under his belt as he comes back from knee trouble.
At the bottom, Hertha scored a morale-boosting win last week, but still remain some way adrift. They take on another struggling side this week in the shape of Gladbach and if there was ever a time to string some wins together, it's now. Hannover got rid of Andreas Bergmann following the defeat to Hertha and former Schalke supremo Mirko Slomka takes over in time for the trip to Mainz. Nurnberg are at home to Eintracht who continue to grind out results. Stuttgart aren't still completely out of trouble, but take on Freiburg who are hovering above the bottom three and the other side in trouble, Cologne, go to Wolfsburg. That looks a hopeless task, even if the champions aren't in great form themselves. Despite his club's form, Edin Dzeko's agent has told anyone who will listen that €40m will be enough to persuade his client to move. Frankly, that sounds like a bargain.
Nurnberg v Eintracht
Hertha v Monchengladbach
Bochum v Schalke
Bremen v Bayern
Mainz v Hannover
Dortmund v Hamburg
Wolfsburg v Cologne
Hoffenheim v Leverkusen
Top game in the Bundesliga this week sees resurgent Hamburg the latest side to try to break Dortmund's impressive winning streak. With Mladen Petric back from injury, Hamburg have a potency up front they missed badly in the months before the winter break. Prior to that, they were lost without Eljero Elia through whom all the attack was going. Now, at least they have options. Dortmund looked good enough without Mohamed Zidan - away with Egypt and looking good for a third straight Africa Cup of Nations - although they almost threw a handy lead away last week against lowly Cologne.
In any other season, the trip to Bremen by Bayern would attract most eyes, but Bremen's woes of late coupled with Bayern's superb run make this look a one-sided affair in prospect. Schalke are also up at the sharp end and have a derby with Bochum to negotiate this week. They should be pretty comfortable with this one though and maintain their pursuit of Leverkusen who have a tricky one away at Hoffenheim. Dietmar Hopp demanded European football this season as recompense for his backing, but The Villagers are some way off the pace at the moment. They're capable of beating anyone in this league and probably many others, but consistency has eluded them and Leverkusen are very organised. Moreover, Simon Rolfes came back last week and Patrick Helmes got a bit more game time under his belt as he comes back from knee trouble.
At the bottom, Hertha scored a morale-boosting win last week, but still remain some way adrift. They take on another struggling side this week in the shape of Gladbach and if there was ever a time to string some wins together, it's now. Hannover got rid of Andreas Bergmann following the defeat to Hertha and former Schalke supremo Mirko Slomka takes over in time for the trip to Mainz. Nurnberg are at home to Eintracht who continue to grind out results. Stuttgart aren't still completely out of trouble, but take on Freiburg who are hovering above the bottom three and the other side in trouble, Cologne, go to Wolfsburg. That looks a hopeless task, even if the champions aren't in great form themselves. Despite his club's form, Edin Dzeko's agent has told anyone who will listen that €40m will be enough to persuade his client to move. Frankly, that sounds like a bargain.
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