Bundesliga Round 16 Preview: Bayern Munich stars face race for fitness ahead of Sunday clash with Stuttgart

Goal.com previews all the action in store this weekend in the German top flight.

Dec 9, 2011 9:00:00 AM

By Clark Whitney

More On :  Bayern, Borussia Dortmund, FC Augsburg, FC Kaiserslautern , FC Köln, Freiburg, Hamburger, Hannover 96, Hertha BSC, Leverkusen, Mainz , Mönchengladbach, Nürnberg, Schalke 04, Stuttgart, TSG Hoffenheim, Werder Bremen, Wolfsburg
Bundesliga: Bayern Munich - VfB Stuttgart
Sandra Montanez


Bundesliga: Round 16 Preview

Table/Fixtures
Friday SEPTEMBER 16
 KO
 Saturday SEPTEMBER 17
 KO
 Hertha Berlin - Schalke
 2:30
 Augsburg - Monchengladbach
 9:30


Koln - Freiburg
 9:30


Mainz - Hamburg
 9:30
    Nurnberg - Hoffenheim
 9:30
    Werder Bremen - Wolfsburg
 9:30
    Hannover - Bayer Leverkusen
 12:30
    Sunday SEPTEMBER 18
  KO

  Dortmund - Kaiserslautern
 9:30
              all kickoff in ET
Stuttgart - Bayern Munich
 11:30

Hertha Berlin
 vs Schalke
PROBABLE LINEUPS

 Catania
Kraft
Lell, Hubnik, Mijatovic, Kobiashvili
Ottl, Niemeyer
Ebert, Raffael, Ramos
Lasogga

  


Unnerstall
Howedes, Matip, Papadopoulos, Fuchs
Jones, Holtby
Draxler, Raul, Pukki
Huntelaar
TEAM NEWS
  • Hertha Berlin has drawn seven games this season, a league high.
  • BSC has won just one of its last seven matches.
  • The capitol club has dropped 12 points from winning position this season, second only to Mainz.

 

  
  • Veteran striker Raul will make his 50th Bundesliga appearance since arriving in Germany in 2010.
  • Schalke has lost just one of its last six games, the Ruhr derby against Dortmund.
  • Benedikt Howedes is expected to make his return, having shaken off a knee injury sustained in November.

Augsburg
 vs Monchengladbach

PROBABLE LINEUPS

 Catania
Amsif
Reinhardt, C'sen-Bracker, Sankoh, Verhaegh
Hosogai, Davids
Brinkmann, Baier, Werner
Molders

  

Roma
ter Stegen
Jantschke, Stranzl, Dante, Daems
Nordtveit, Neustadter
Herrmann, Bobadilla, Arango
Hanke
TEAM NEWS
  • Simon Jentzsch's finger injury has not healed as expected, and the goalkeeper will miss Saturday's match.
  • Augsburg's Marcel Ndjeng, Nando Rafael and Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker have previously played for Gladbach.
  • FCA has scored all of its last eight goals after halftime.

 

  
  • Marco Reus is set to miss a second consecutive game with a toe fracture.
  • Havard Nordtveit and Matthias Zimmerman have ankle knocks and are questionable as well.
  • Juan Arango leads the Bundesliga with seven assisted goals and 46 shots set up.

 

 

Koln
 vs Freiburg

PROBABLE LINEUPS

 Bari
Rensing
Brecko, Geromel, Sereno, Jemal
Lanig, Riether
Clemens, Jajalo, Peszko
Podolski

  

   Roma
Baumann
Hinkel, Krmas, Butscher, Bastians
Flum, Schuster
Rosenthal, Makiadi, Putsila
Cisse
TEAM NEWS
  • Koln has won just one of its last nine games against Freiburg in all competitions.
  • The club has not won any of its last three matches, the team's longest such streak of the season thus far.
  • Each of the three times the team has gone ahead at home, Stale Solbakken's side has kept a clean sheet.
  
  • In the Bundesliga, Freiburg has won just one of its last nine matches in Koln.
  • SCF has gone behind in its last four matches but fought back to avoid defeat in each case.
  • Both Koln and Freiburg have conceded 31 goals this season, a league worst record.

 

Mainz vs Hamburg

PROBABLE LINEUPS

Roma
Wetklo
Pospech, Bungert, Svensson, Fathi
Baumgartlinger, Kirchhoff, Soto
Ivanschitz
Allagui, Choupo-Moting

  


Drobny
Diekmeier, Westermann, Bruma, Aogo
Kacar, Rincon
Tore, Ilicevic, Jansen
Guerrero
TEAM NEWS
  • Mainz has lost five home games this season, a league high.
  • Thomas Tuchel's side is undefeated in three matches, with two wins.
  • In 2004, the club's first season in the German top flight, FSV won its first-ever Bundesliga match against HSV, a 2-1 home victory.
  
  • Gokhan Tore has six assists, the second-best tally in the Bundesliga.
  • Hamburg has not lost under Thorsten Fink, having played six games during his spell as coach.
  • Marcell Jansen has found the net in three out of his last four games.

 

Nurnberg
 vs Hoffenheim
PROBABLE LINEUPS

 Roma
Schafer
Chandler, Wollscheid, Maroh, Plattenhardt
Hegeler, Simons
Eigler, Didavi, Esswein
Pekhart

  

Brescia
Starke
Beck, Vorsah, Compper, Braafheid
Rudy, Williams
Johnson, Firmino, Salihovic
Babel
TEAM NEWS
  • Historically, Nurnberg is winless against Hoffenheim, having been defeated twice in four meetings.
  • 1.FCN has not won by more than one goal this season.
  • The Bavarians' last eight goals have been scored by as many different players.

 

  
  • Forward Chinedu Obasi suffered an ankle injury in midweek and has been ruled out of action until January.
  • Hoffenheim has lost five consecutive away matches.
  • The Sinsheim outfit has not scored from a header, and has only conceded one such goal.

 

Werder Bremen
 vs Wolfsburg

PROBABLE LINEUPS

 Cesena
Wiese
Sokratis, Wolf, Naldo, Ignjovski
Fritz, Bargfrede, Wesley
Trinks
Arnautovic, Pizarro

  

 Roma
Benaglio
Trasch, Chris, Madlung, Schafer
Ochs, Josue, Salihamidzic
Koo, Mandzukic, Dejagah
TEAM NEWS
  • Playmakers Marko Marin (hip) and Mehmet Ekici (abdominal strain) have been ruled out.
  • Aaron Hunt is suspended following his sending off last week.
  • Bremen has had four players sent off this season, a league high.

 

 

  
  • Wolfsburg has played 14 times in Bremen, winning and losing six games apiece.
  • VfL has scored 42 times against Bremen, more than any other team in the Bundesliga bar Hamburg (48) and Gladbach (also 42).
  • Felix Magath's side has lost six of its last seven Bundesliga away matches, drawing once.

Hannover
 vs Bayer Leverkusen
                                                                 Roma
Leverkusen heads to Lower Saxony on Saturday hoping to rebound from its midweek draw with Genk, and has a chance to close the gap to a top four spot.

A full preview of this fixture can be found here

Dortmund
 vs Kaiserslautern
                                                                 Fiorentina
The injury-hit title holder will have a chance to reclaim first place, if only briefly, as it plays host to relegation-battling 'Lautern.

A full preview of this fixture can be found here

Stuttgart
 vs Bayern Munich
Juventus                                                                 Catania
The Bavarians look to hold onto their spot atop the table, but will have it all to do as they visit Swabia with a squad decimated by illness.

A full preview of this fixture can be found here


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