Bayern Munich will be out to prove that the Champions League is not
a distraction to its domestic campaign when it travels to Bavarian
neighbor Nuremberg in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Bayern is riding a 13-game winning streak - nine of those
victories in the Bundesliga - and is only behind undefeated leader
Bayer Leverkusen on goal difference.
Leverkusen's coach Jupp Heynckes has said that his team might
have an advantage because it can focus exclusively on the
Bundesliga while Bayern is still involved in three competitions -
the Bundesliga, the Champions League and the German Cup.
Heynckes suggested that Bayern may neglect the Bundesliga
once the Champions League resumes.
Bayern's first-leg match in the Round of 16 against
Fiorentina ended in a fortunate 2-1 victory Wednesday, a game
decided by an offside goal from Miroslav Klose against a team
reduced to 10 men.
Louis van Gaal's side will now have to turn its attention to
the league as it prepares to face its traditional Bavarian rival.
Nuremberg is next to last after losing eight of its last nine
games and desperately needs points to avoid relegation.
But it has won only once in its last six games against
Bayern, which will be without central defender Daniel van Buyten,
out with a calf injury.
Bayern will also face two of its players on-loan at Nuremberg
in central defender Breno and defensive midfielder Andreas Ottl.
"Bayern is a world-class team but on the field it's 11
against 11 and we can win," Breno said.
With van Buyten's absence, Bayern's sometimes wobbly defense
could be tested by Nuremberg's striker Albert Bunjaku, who has
scored 11 times this season.
"It's important that we go into the match with
self-confidence and that we believe in our chance," Bunjaku said.
Nuremberg goalkeeper Raphael Schaefer called Saturday's game
the "match of the season."
Nuremberg's biggest task will be to contain wingers Franck
Ribery and Arjen Robben, who has scored eight times in the
Bundesliga.
"It's hard to shut them down on the flanks, we'll have to
close our ranks in the midfield and be very alert in the defense,"
Ottl said.
Leverkusen and Bayern are both on 48 points. Leverkusen plays
Sunday at home against Werder Bremen, which has won its last two
matches after losing five straight.
Leverkusen will be without suspended Sami Hyypia, the
top-rated defender in the league.
Schalke, which is third on 45 points, also plays Sunday, at
struggling champion Wolfsburg. The match marks the return of Felix
Magath to his old club, which he led to its first Bundesliga title
and then quit to join Schalke.
Hoffenheim opens the 23rd round Friday against Borussia
Moenchengladbach. On Saturday, Cologne hosts Stuttgart, Borussia
Dortmund plays Hannover, fourth-place Hamburg meets Eintracht
Frankfurt, Mainz is at home to Bochum and bottom-place Hertha
Berlin travels to Freiburg.
