By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Urs Fischer will make his bow as head coach of 1. FSV Mainz 05 against the most formidable opponent of all, as the 05ers travel to the Allianz Arena to face unbeaten league leaders FC Bayern München on Sunday afternoon.
Bo Henriksen was relieved of his duties prior to last Friday’s 1-0 home defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach, which left Mainz bottom of the standings with just one win from 13 matches. Fischer, who previously led 1. FC Union Berlin to their maidenUEFA Champions League qualification, has signed a contract until 2028 at his new club.
He faces a difficult challenge against the Bavarians, who have won 12 of their opening 13 matches and are eight points clear at the summit. In Matchday 13’s 5-0 hammering of VfB Stuttgart, Harry Kane scored his 10th Bundesliga hat-trick, doing so off the bench to take his season tally to 17 strikes.
In Saturday’s standout game, Bayer 04 Leverkusen host 1. FC Köln in a Rhine derby. After an impressive run, the Werkself have lost their past two league fixtures, seeing them fall five points adrift of the top three. Köln are without a win in four themselves, meaning this intense local affair presents a fantastic opportunity for both teams to return to winning ways.
Borussia Dortmund, who occup place directly above Leverkusen, play before Bayern on Sunday. They face a challenging fixture at SC Freiburg, although the Breisgau club did suffer a shock 2-1 defeat away at 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 last time out.
Elsewhere, Bayern’s closest challengers RB Leipzig will travel to the capital to kick off the matchday proceedings on Friday against Union. Leipzig underlined their title credentials on Matchday 13 with a 6-0 win over Champions League participants Eintracht Frankfurt, while Union will hope to end their four-game run without a home victory.
In a bottom-of-the-table clash, FC St. Pauli host Heidenheim on Saturday. Back-toback wins courtesy of last-minute winners have moved the latter out of the automatic relegation zone, where St. Pauli currently sit after 10 Bundesliga games without a win.
Their form is in stark contrast to Borussia Mönchengladbach, who are unbeaten in their last six league games, winning five. They will attempt to extend that streak when they welcome VfL Wolfsburg to Borussia-Park on Saturday. The Wolves picked up a much-needed three points at Union last time out under interim coach Daniel Bauer, ending a six-match losing run.
Stuttgart will aim to bounce back from their heavy loss against Bayern when they make the trip to SV Werder Bremen and round up the weekend’s action on Sunday evening. Werder are currently in the midst of a solid first campaign under head coach Horst Steffen, although they are without a win in three after a late derby defeat to Hamburger SV.
On Saturday afternoon, Frankfurt host Augsburg at Deutsche Bank Park. One defeat in seven Bundesliga matches only tells half the story for the Eagles, who are currently seventh. Augsburg, meanwhile, picked up a crucial 2-0 win over Leverkusen last Saturday in Manuel Baum’s first game as interim head coach following Sandro Wagner’s dismissal.
Also on Saturday, TSG Hoffenheim play Hamburg at the PreZero Arena. Hoffenheim are up to fifth in the table, but were on the losing side last time out against Dortmund, while Hamburg battled to a 3-2 triumph over Bremen to put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone.