By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
International football makes way for Matchday 12 of the Bundesliga season this weekend, with all eyes bound to be fixed upon the capital as 1. FC Union and Hertha face off in the first Berlin Derby of the campaign.
That game on Saturday night (kick–off: 6.30pm CET) at the An der Alten Försterei will pit Taiwo Awoniyi and Krzysztof Piatek against each other, with the former in red–hot form for the hosts and the latter looking to unearth his best form.
There will be no better time to do it than the derby, at a venue that Hertha are yet to taste victory since Die Eisernen were promoted in 2019.
Before then, week 12 of 2021/22 gets underway on Friday evening (kick–off: 8.30pm CET) as FC Augsburg host reigning record champions FC Bayern München in a Bavarian derby.
The Bavarians may be split by just over an hour by car, but there are 15 places and 19 points between them in the league.
Augsburg will be hoping to climb out of the relegation playoff places against their rivals, but have a tough task ahead against a Bayern side that sits top of the league and is being powered by the incredible form of Robert Lewandowski.
Lewandowski’s brilliance should come as no surprise by now but, even by his standards, the Poland captain’s 13 goals in 11 Bundesliga appearances is a frighteningly good record.
Prior to Union and Hertha slugging it out later in the evening, Saturday has five mouth–watering fixtures to pore over from 3.30pm CET.
Borussia Dortmund vs. VfB Stuttgart will again see how the hosts cope without talisman Erling Haaland, while the visitors similarly look to replace the goals of their top–scorer last term, Sasa Kalajdzic.
A win for Dortmund could move them to within a point of league leaders Bayern Munich and they still have plenty of firepower in the form of Julian Brandt, Donyell Malen, Thorgan Hazard and Marco Reus to keep the likes of Konstantinos Mavropanos busy in the Stuttgart defence.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Bayer 04 Leverkusen host VfL Bochum 1848, Borussia Mönchengladbach take on bottom side SpVgg Greuther Fürth,TSG Hoffenheim play RB Leipzig and Arminia Bielefeld face VfL Wolfsburg.
The Matchday rounds off on Sunday night, with SC Freiburg vs. Eintracht Frankfurt at the Europa–Park Stadion (kick–off: 3.30pm CET) before Carnival clubs 1. FSV Mainz 05 and 1. FC Köln bring things to the close in style at the MEWA ARENA (kick–off: 5.30pm).
Meanwhile, Bundesliga 2 heads into its 14th week and Saturday (kick–off: 8.30pm CET) promises a fascinating meeting between two of German football’s biggest sleeping giants.
Four–time German champions SV Werder Bremen meet seven–time champions of Germany FC Schalke 04 in what was a Bundesliga fixture just one year ago.
The home side hope to have Ömer Toprak back to lead their side out at the wohninvest WESERSTADION against a Schalke team led in attack by Simon Terodde, who is one goal away from becoming the league’s highest scorer in history.
The rest of the weekend in the second division starts with Hannover 96 vs. SC Paderborn 07 and SV Sandhausen vs. 1. FC Nürnberg in Friday night’s double header (kick–off: 6.30pm CET), before Hamburger SV vs. SSV Jahn Regensburg, SV Darmstadt 98 vs. FC St. Pauli, and F.C. Hansa Rostock vs. FC Erzgebirge Aue on Saturday afternoon (kick–off: 1.30pm CET).
Sunday then wraps up Matchday 14 of the Bundesliga 2 campaign with 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 vs. Holstein Kiel, SG Dynamo Dresden vs. Fortuna Düsseldorf, and FC Ingolstadt 04 vs. Karlsruher SC (kick–off: 1.30pm CET).