Schalke and Bayern in crunch tie as Hoffenheim seek six pack

Hamburg- Leaders Hoffenheim will be looking to continue their remarkable series when they travel to Hertha Berlin on Sunday, but the top game of the weekend takes place the same day in Gelsenkirchen where Schalke 04 take on champions Bayern Munich.

Hoffenheim extended their winning run to five game by thrashing Karlsruhe 4-1 last Saturday, with the Bosnia striker Vedad Ibisevic taking his goal tally to a spectacular 13 from 11 games.

The promoted side, who have scored 25 goals in their last seven league games, now face a tough proposition in seventh-place Hertha whose strong recent form was somewhat tarnished with a 5-1 defeat at Werder Bremen last weekend.

Ibisevic says he is as surprised as anyone with his goalscoring success this season as promoted Hoffenheim have confounded the experts by staying at or near the top with an attacking game which has brought 31 goals and seen them find the net in all but one match.

"If anyone had told me before the start of the season I would score 13 goals (for the whole season) I would have signed up to that right away," he told Kicker sports magazine.

"Now I already have 13 goals. But I won't be putting myself under any pressure by setting any targets. Of course, I want to increase the tally though."

Hoffenheim have 25 points from 11 games, one more than Bayer Leverkusen who could go top for 24 hours at least if they win at Karlsruhe on Saturday.

Meanwhile Schalke, in fourth place on 20 points, take on Bayern Munich, a point above them in third place, with confidence growing following successive convincing wins in the league.

Schalke have a day less to recover after a UEFA Cup match at Spain's Racing Santander on Thursday, while Bayern Munich were in a good frame of mind after a 1-1 Champions League draw Wednesday at Italy's Fiorentina which keeps them on course for a last-16 place.

Bayern, who are on a four-game winning run in the Bundesliga, can again call on Italy striker Luca Toni who has recovered from bruised ribs.

However Lukas Podolski - who played alongside Miroslav Klose against Fiorentina - may feel he deserves another chance after he impressed when coming off the bench in the second half in last Saturday's 3-1 win over Arminia Bielefeld.

Schalke general manager Andreas Mueller underlined the importance of the game for both sides, saying "the team that wins this game will stay near the top" until the winter break, while "the team that loses will find a gap opening up."

Defender Heiko Westermann said: "I can't see us losing at home to Bayern. We can go into this duel with confidence after the way we've been developing."

Fifth-placed SV Hamburg - level on 20 points with Schalke - will be hoping to bounce back from a 3-0 drubbing in Hanover when they face visiting sixth-placed Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

Hamburg's northern neighbours Werder Bremen meanwhile need a pick-up at lowly Bochum after a lame 3-0 defeat at home to Panathinaikos in the Champions League on Tuesday which has put the spotlight on coach Thomas Schaaf.

The defeat, coming after the 5-1 win over Hertha, has highlighted the team's inconsistency this season, with Bremen's leaky defence continuing to ship goals.

Club sports director Klaus Allofs said Schaaf was not to blame and there was "no cause" to consider his position, but "the time may have come to think about some making some personnel changes."

"If a player does not function then you have to part with him - or lower expectations, but that's something we certainly don't want to do," he added.

At the lower end of the table, Bielefeld face Borussia Moenchengladbach with both trying to escape the relegation zone, while bottom club Energie Cottbus travel to mid-table Wolfsburg.

The weekend programme begins on Friday evening when Cologne take on Hanover, while the third match on Sunday is between Eintracht Frankfurt and VfB Stuttgart. (dpa)

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