David Yelldell and Koblenz will try to work their way out of the league's bottom three while Michael Bradley looks to help Gladbach continue their hot streak.
Borussia Mönchengladbach - FC Schalke 04
Michael Bradley and Borussia Mönchengladbach look for their fifth straight game without a loss when they host Schalke 04 on Saturday.
The Foals are looking to end Schalke's own nine-game unbeaten streak, capped with last week's 2-0 victory over Hannover, while keeping their own four-game run intact.
With striker Raul Bobadilla expected to be back on the bench, Mönchengladbach coach Michael Frontzeck has almost his entire starting lineup, missing only defender Filip Daems to a foot injury.
Schalke, meanwhile, is still waiting for potential American international Jermaine Jones to recover fully and rejoin the midfield. In addition, coach Felix Magath will also be without midfielders Levan Kenia and Vasilios Pliatsikas.
Hannover 96 - Bayern Munich
Steve Cherundolo and Hannover 96 host a reeling Bayern Munich on Sunday.
While Hannover continues to struggle with the suicide of Robert Enke, they will face a Bayern Munich side increasingly desperate to improve their standings in the Bundesliga.
Hannover is, as expected, in the middle of the Bundesliga standings, but Munich is in a surprising seventh place, four points out of the final Champions League place.
Cherundolo hopes to be fully recovered from the minor knee injury he sustained during the USA loss to Slovakia. He was held out of Hannover's loss to Schalke last weekend but is expected to be back in the starting lineup on Sunday.
Bayern is again missing star midfielder Franck Ribery to a patella injury, while Hannover continues to struggle with injuries.
Coach Andreas Bergmann is missing defender Leon Balogun, while triker Mikael Forssell will also sit out as he recovers from a foot operation, and American Sal Zizzo joins him in recovery from knee injury.
Karlsruher SC - TuS Koblenz
TuS Koblenz and David Yeldell will travel to Karlsruhe on Friday as they try to get back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
After scraping for a 1-0 win against Alemannia Aachen last week, Koblenz will be looking for another three points – this time on the road. A win would put the team from head coach Uwe Rapolder level on points with Karlsruhe and potentially out of the relegation zone.
Koblenz still isn't firing on all cylinders offensively, having mustered just 11 goals this season. Rapolder will be looking for the two Finnish brothers, Shefki and Njazi Kuqi to put some of the team's limited chances in the back of the net.
Karlsruhe is coming off of a hard-fought loss to Hansa Rostock last weekend that would have put them in a safer position in the standings. Head coach Markus Schupp will most likely stay with the same starting line-up as the last two weeks and look for his experienced group to feed off the energy from the home crowd.
Koblenz is still without defender Martin Hudec who is recovering from a broken ankle, Dominique Ndjeng and midfielder Lars Bender who are both sidelined with thigh problems.
Karlsruhe will be without forward Macauley Chrisantus, who is serving a four-match ban for unsportsmanlike conduct. They will also be missing forward Christian Timm and midfielder Massimilian Porcello who are both recovering from knee surgery and defender Matthias Langkamp.
Notes
Bryan Arguez is not expected to take part for Hertha Berlin as they host Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
FSV Frankfurt forward Matthew Taylor will be looking to get some playing time after warming the bench last week against Oberhausen. Frankfurt is playing at home on Friday against Rostock.
Kenny Cooper is still out of commission and will be watching from the stands as 1860 Munich host Fortuna Düsseldorf on Sunday. Cooper suffered a knee injury during practice two weeks ago.
Luis Robles is expected to be on bench on Monday as first-place Kaiserslautern take on second-place Bielefeld in the battle of the promotion contenders.
Ian Joy is still expected to be sidelined with a slight injury as Ingolstadt try to push up into the 3. Liga's top three when they host SV Wehen Wiesbaden on Saturday. |
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