Bayer Leverkusen will be looking to hold off Schalke and Bayern
Munich in the final round of 2009 and spend the three-week winter
break at the top of the Bundesliga.
The symbolic title of "Fall Champions" is up for grabs
between the trio, with Leverkusen playing at Borussia
Moenchengladbach, while Schalke hosts Mainz and Bayern plays at
home against last-place Hertha Berlin.
Leverkusen, the last of the undefeated teams, leads the
league with 32 points from 16 matches and face a Moenchengladbach
side which has lost just once in their last seven games.
"We have to mobilize our forces one more time," Leverkusen
coach Jupp Heynckes said. "This game is like a final, a real
highlight. And whoever has watched 'Gladbach closely the last
couple games knows exactly what kind of performance is needed to
win all three points."
And the coach knows his team cannot ease up on their
opponents, who have beaten Hamburg and Schalke in their recent
stretch as well as played well in a 2-1 loss at Bayern Munich.
"We want to put a crown on this excellent first half," added
Heynckes, who will have center back Manuel Friedrich in the team.
If Leverkusen keeps a hold of first place, it would be only
the second time since 1963 that the team earned the title of "Fall
Champions." Schalke has twice led the Bundesliga at the break while
Bayern has been on top 16 times.
Schalke is second in the league with 31 points, and Bayern is
next with 30. But Munich goalkeeper Joerg Butt does not think his
team has much of a chance to move up to first place.
"That would mean that two teams have to lose," Butt said.
Bayern coach Louis van Gaal is expected to play France
playmaker Franck Ribery, at least briefly. Ribery has missed 11
weeks with a knee problem.
Also, fifth-place Hamburg hosts fourth-place Werder Bremen in
a battle of local rivals, defending champion Wolfsburg will head to
Eintracht Frankfurt, and there are reports that Wolfsburg coach
Armin Veh's job could be in jeopardy with a loss.
Also this weekend, it's: FC Cologne vs. FC Nuremberg;
Borussia Dortmund vs. Freiburg; Stuttgart vs. Hoffenheim; and
Hannover vs. Bochum.
