Bundesliga Week 33 Preview

Borussia Dortmund are Champions and with two games to go have sent out an emphatic statement to German football and beyond. There is a new major power at the top table of German football that has laid the foundations for future success. Bayern beware! Jurgen Klopp’s side have had an incredible season breaking several records on their way to securing back to back titles. The last time a team other than Bayern Munich achieved this was in 1994-94 and 1995-96 and that was the dominant Dortmund of the 90′s that went on to win the Champions League under Ottmar Hitzfeld. The mood is good in German football with Bayern Munich reaching the Champions’ League final after an epic encounter with Real Madrid. The power balance in Europe seems to have shifted to Germany after years of dominance from La Liga and the Premier League. With Dortmund superior to Bayern on the domestic front it will be fascinating to see what they can achieve next season.

Borussia Dortmund travel to relegated Kaiserslautern this weekend with both sides having nothing to play for but pride. BVB can still break more records. The best ever Bundesliga finish for a 34 game season was by Munich in 1998/99 when they finished on 78 points. Dortmund need four more points and five more goals to break that record. Jurgen Klopp can still improve on his record breaking average of 1.99 points per game and the speculation now is on how closely his side can emulate the great side of the 90′s. Klopp is understandably hot property but he is tied to another four years and is building another golden era for BVB. The condemned Red Devils may be the ideal team to visit to extend their 26 game unbeaten run and celebrate their title. Mario Gotze may return for the Champions which would be great news for Germany. A win for Borussia would see them equal the points tally record from away games by a Champion outfit.

Despite losing out on the title, Bayern Munich will be in celebratory mood themselves as they host Stuttgart at the Allianz Arena. The Bavarians upset the odds as they bundled Real Madrid out of the Champions League to secure a spot in the final at their home ground. All their focus will now be on preparations for the visit of Chelsea in May. Jupp Heynckes will surely rest the star players who put in an intense shift on Wednesday night and we are likely to see another weakened eleven. While Ivica Olic will still be dreaming of a chance to play in the final this may be his last chance to say goodbye to the fans after the announcement that he will be moving to Wolfsburg in the summer. The likes of Thomas Muller, Pranjic, Contento and Rafinha should be given another chance to impress. Stuttgart have been in scintillating form and have surged up the table to now sit fifth. If the season went on for another couple of weeks they would be contesting for Champions League places after their magnificent run. They are unbeaten in 10 now and have been banging the goals in. Bayern will really need to perform well regardless of squad rotation because this would be one of their hardest home games of the season

In third place Schalke’s season has ground to a halt since they were dumped out of the Europa League by Athletic Bilbao. The Ruhr side are winless in three in the Bundesliga and their lead over fourth place Monchengladbach is just 2 points. They need to improve if they are going to seal that automatic Champions League qualification spot. They host Hertha Berlin who are fighting for their lives at the foot of the table. Two points behind 18th place Cologne and with two games to go they can still give themselves a chance by qualifying for that relegation play-off spot.

Fourth placed Borussia Monchengladbach have an ideal opportunity to leapfrog their rivals as they host Augsburg who earned a vital point against Schalke last week to give themselves a four point cushion above the drop zone but they still need more to be safe. Augsburg have lost only 4 Bundesliga games since the winter break compared to 8 beforehand. The Foals need the win after some shaky results and they should get it as Augsburg will not be quite as intense as in recent weeks. Cologne have a tough away game at Freiburg who are looking to extend a 9 game unbeaten run which has seen them steer clear of the drop-zone and secure their top flight status for another season. Cologne and Hertha fans will anxiously be looking out for each others results as they are equally in peril.

Hamburg are still not safe and host Mainz. This is a good opportunity for Hamburg. In the mid table obscurity clashes, Hoffenheim play Nuremburg and Wolfsburg play Werder Bremen. The head to head record suggests Hoffenheim can win. While Wolfsburg and Werder is anyone’s guess as they are both in terrible form. Hannover are pushing Bayer Leverkusen all the way for the final Europa League spot and the two will meet with just three points separating the sides. Ex-Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia has done a great job since taking over in April and his side are unbeaten in 4. Strikers Andre Schurrle and Stefan Kiesling have been in excellent shape in recent weeks as they both push to cement their places in Germany’s squad for Euro 2012. Hypia has steadied the ship since the Barcelona debacle and though the game may be tense we just fancy The Aspirins by a whisker.

April 27, 2012 at 8:00 pm | Bundesliga