Bayern Munich hopes to shake off Schalke and extend its lead in the
Bundesliga when it travels to Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
Bayern has 56 points going into the 27th round and tail of
the season, with Schalke two behind and Bayer Leverkusen three
adrift.
While Bayern's trip to mid-table Eintracht is relatively
routine, Schalke and Leverkusen have tough away matches against
clubs which need to cement their places to qualify for the Europa
League next season.
Schalke travels to fifth-place Hamburger SV on Sunday and
Leverkusen is at Dortmund, in fourth place, the previous day,
"We have to win in Frankfurt and hope that the other two lose
some points in their more difficult games," Bayern's chairman
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told Thursday's edition of Kicker magazine.
"Then we have to have a more stable stage, without losing
important points," Rummenigge said.
Schalke's coach Felix Magath, who won the title with
Wolfsburg last season, has downplayed his new team's chances of
capturing its first championship in 52 years.
Magath said the strength of Schalke's challenge would be
clearer once the next three rounds were over. After Hamburg,
Schalke plays Leverkusen and then hosts Bayern in what could be the
decisive match of the season.
Although Schalke has based its success on a strong defense,
which is the stingiest in the league with 20 goals conceded, it
also features one of the Bundesliga's top scorers in Kevin Kuranyi,
who has notched 14 goals.
Magath tried to offload Kuranyi during the winter break to
get some badly needed cash for Schalke but now says the striker
could stay. With Schalke likely to qualify for the Champions League
and in the German Cup semifinals (against Bayern), the club will
have extra money to retain the striker.
Kuranyi has indicated he would like to stay in Schalke. He
has consistently scored more than 10 goals a season since his
arrival from Stuttgart in 2005.
"My heart beats for Schalke," Kuranyi said.
Magath thinks his team has a good chance in Hamburg.
"They are under pressure, they have to win. Then we can rely
on our strength in defense," Magath said.
His midfielder Joel Matip was also confident. "If we are
solid in the back, we can win in Hamburg," he said.
Leverkusen had an impressive 4-2 win over Hamburg last
weekend to bounce back from its first loss of the season and
Saturday's match in Dortmund could be a spirited affair.
Dortmund and Hamburg have Werder Bremen, which hosts Bochum,
breathing down their necks and also hoping for a slot in the Europa
League. Dortmund has 45 points, Hamburg 43 and Bremen 42.
U.S. national team midfielder Ricardo Clark could make his
debut for Eintracht against Bayern. Clark joined the Frankfurt club
in January but then tore a muscle in his right calf.
"It's a good opportunity for him to present himself,"
Eintracht coach Michael Skibbe said of Saturday's match. Eintracht
is missing several players because of suspensions and injuries.
Cologne kicks off the 27th round Friday at home against
Borussia Moenchengladbach. On Saturday, it's Nuremberg vs.
Hoffenheim, Stuttgart vs. Hannover and Freiburg vs. Mainz.
Wolfsburg plays Hertha Berlin on Sunday.
