Bayern Munich will be hoping to extend its lead at the top of the
Bundesliga when the German powerhouse travels to Cologne on
Saturday.
It took Bayern 24 games under coach Louis van Gaal to claim
the lead and there are 10 games remaining to defend it and win the
title.
Bayern's last championship was in 2008 and the team never sat
atop the Bundesliga last season.
With last week's 1-0 win over Hamburger SV, Bayern opened up
a two-point lead over Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayern defender Martin Demichelis suffered a broken cheekbone
in Argentina's 1-0 win over Germany on Wednesday, but his
central-defensive partner Daniel van Buyten should be back after
missing two weeks with a left calf injury.
"I need a couple more practices but by Saturday I should be
ready to play," Van Buyten said.
Bayern has won its last seven games in Cologne.
Germany striker Lukas Podolski, who left Cologne for Bayern
in 2006 only to return at the start of this season, has scored only
one goal so far.
"Unlike Bayern, we play more defensively in Cologne. It
doesn't matter if I score against Bayern or not - what we need are
two or three more wins to secure our place in the top division,"
Podolski said.
Leverkusen broke Bayern's record for the best Bundesliga
start by maintaining its unbeaten record with a goalless draw at
home to Cologne last weekend, but only one point against a team
battling against relegation dropped it behind Bayern.
Leverkusen has a tough trip on Sunday to Nuremberg, another
relegation-threatened team. Nuremberg ended Bayern's 13-game
winning streak two rounds ago.
Bayern has 52 points, Leverkusen 50 and Schalke 48.
Schalke has not given up hope of winning its first
championship in half a century and will be hoping to bounce back
from a 2-1 loss at Wolfsburg in its last away game.
Felix Magath's team is on the road on Saturday, at Eintracht
Frankfurt, which is a surprising seventh with hopes of clinching a
place in the Europa League next season.
Schalke meets its former striker Halil Altintop, who moved to
Frankfurt after getting little playing time under Magath.
Fourth-place Hamburg hopes to rebound from its loss in Munich
when it hosts bottom-place Hertha Berlin.
Borussia Dortmund, in fifth place and the last spot that
guarantees a slot in Europa League, hosts Moenchengladbach, which
is on target to secure its place in the top division.
Werder Bremen, which is one point and one place behind
Dortmund, hosts resurgent Stuttgart.
In other games Saturday, Wolfsburg hosts Bochum and
next-to-last Hannover visits Freiburg, while on Sunday Hoffenheim
hosts Mainz.
