Five teams are representing Germany in European Competition. This Sunday, four out of those five teams will be playing in what could be two brilliant games.
The Bundesliga is a close league if you avoid looking at the top spot at the moment. Bayern obviously leads the way with 22 points. Bayern is also well worth the lead considering just how well they have played. Barring one match against Hoffenheim, they have largely dominated every side in the Bundesliga. Even on match-day one, when they lost to ‘Gladbach, they dominated.
In the Champions League, both Bayern and Leverkusen are flying Germany’s flag. Bayern tops their group on six points and came away with a point from Italy against Napoli- in truth, they should have come away with three and their wastefulness cost them two more points.
Leverkusen, after being dominated completely for forty minutes, decided to offer their opponents Valencia less respect and turned the game on its head with two great goals through Andre Schürrle and Sidney Sam. They won 2-1 and sit second in their group, a point behind leaders Chelsea. Schalke thrashed Larnaca in the Europa League, 0-5 while Hanover drew 2-2 against FC Copenhagen.
The last time that Hanover and Bayern played each other, the affair wasn’t pretty at all. For Hanover, the match was memorable; for Bayern the match was an absolute nightmare and almost made them miss out on the Champions League. They went to Hanover and got toppled over, 3-1. Hanover deserved the victory. Once at 2-0, Bayern scored but that was it. Breno saw a red card in that match.
Today, the environment is different. Hanover is in seventh, a full seven points behind pace setters Bayern. Hanover hasn’t lost a match at home though. However, they have scored only 11 times but conceded 12 times in nine league games. Against Copenhagen, they showed their abilities when it came to passing accurately and finding holes in defence. The game however also displayed Hanover’s weakness at the back at times.
As far the injury news for Bayern is concerned, everyone is available for selection with the exception of Arjen Robben and Breno. The fact that Hanover played a match on Thursday night shouldn’t be a problem according to Christian Schulz of Hanover who also believes that this fixture is the easiest of their home fixtures. This is what he had to say:
“(Sunday’s fixture at home against Bayern is) the easiest of the lot. The whole city is up for it when Bayern come here. We'll be fresh enough."
If Bayern keep up their form, they will be hard to beat. Let’s not forget that they haven’t conceded a goal in the Bundesliga following the opening day. Jan Schlaudraff returns to the ground where he spent an entire season of his career.
Consider this: Schalke is sixth with 15 points whereas Leverkusen is eighth with 14 points. Both teams are only two points behind second placed Gladbach on 17. A win could see one of these two sides second at the end of the weekend.
Both the teams have an abundance of attacking talent at their helm. However, Schalke is coached by a person who prefers to not concede than to score in Huub Stevens. Leverkusen is coached by a modern figure in Robin Dutt. Dutt’s experience at Leverkusen has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride so far, considering he already has three loses in the league to his name. That would have been four had Schürrle not scored his first goal for the club to rescue a point against ‘Gladbach last week.
The last time these two teams met was a relatively dull affair. Schalke had just sacked Felix Magath and produced a pathetic performance as they went down by two goals and failed to register. Considering they scored five at Larnaca, scoring against a Leverkusen defence that has already conceded 13 goals shouldn’t be too difficult.
Leverkusen is nonetheless at home. This match seems to have a high-scoring draw or a low scoring Leverkusen win written all over it. It will depend on how Stevens sets his team out.
Whatever happens, expect this match to be an entertaining affair that will leave you craving for more.
In the Champions League, both Bayern and Leverkusen are flying Germany’s flag. Bayern tops their group on six points and came away with a point from Italy against Napoli- in truth, they should have come away with three and their wastefulness cost them two more points.
Leverkusen, after being dominated completely for forty minutes, decided to offer their opponents Valencia less respect and turned the game on its head with two great goals through Andre Schürrle and Sidney Sam. They won 2-1 and sit second in their group, a point behind leaders Chelsea. Schalke thrashed Larnaca in the Europa League, 0-5 while Hanover drew 2-2 against FC Copenhagen.
The last time that Hanover and Bayern played each other, the affair wasn’t pretty at all. For Hanover, the match was memorable; for Bayern the match was an absolute nightmare and almost made them miss out on the Champions League. They went to Hanover and got toppled over, 3-1. Hanover deserved the victory. Once at 2-0, Bayern scored but that was it. Breno saw a red card in that match.
Today, the environment is different. Hanover is in seventh, a full seven points behind pace setters Bayern. Hanover hasn’t lost a match at home though. However, they have scored only 11 times but conceded 12 times in nine league games. Against Copenhagen, they showed their abilities when it came to passing accurately and finding holes in defence. The game however also displayed Hanover’s weakness at the back at times.
As far the injury news for Bayern is concerned, everyone is available for selection with the exception of Arjen Robben and Breno. The fact that Hanover played a match on Thursday night shouldn’t be a problem according to Christian Schulz of Hanover who also believes that this fixture is the easiest of their home fixtures. This is what he had to say:
“(Sunday’s fixture at home against Bayern is) the easiest of the lot. The whole city is up for it when Bayern come here. We'll be fresh enough."
If Bayern keep up their form, they will be hard to beat. Let’s not forget that they haven’t conceded a goal in the Bundesliga following the opening day. Jan Schlaudraff returns to the ground where he spent an entire season of his career.
Consider this: Schalke is sixth with 15 points whereas Leverkusen is eighth with 14 points. Both teams are only two points behind second placed Gladbach on 17. A win could see one of these two sides second at the end of the weekend.
Both the teams have an abundance of attacking talent at their helm. However, Schalke is coached by a person who prefers to not concede than to score in Huub Stevens. Leverkusen is coached by a modern figure in Robin Dutt. Dutt’s experience at Leverkusen has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride so far, considering he already has three loses in the league to his name. That would have been four had Schürrle not scored his first goal for the club to rescue a point against ‘Gladbach last week.
The last time these two teams met was a relatively dull affair. Schalke had just sacked Felix Magath and produced a pathetic performance as they went down by two goals and failed to register. Considering they scored five at Larnaca, scoring against a Leverkusen defence that has already conceded 13 goals shouldn’t be too difficult.
Leverkusen is nonetheless at home. This match seems to have a high-scoring draw or a low scoring Leverkusen win written all over it. It will depend on how Stevens sets his team out.
Whatever happens, expect this match to be an entertaining affair that will leave you craving for more.
