Dortmund are unbeaten in their last seven games and have hauled themselves up to 10th in the table.

DPA/Berlin


Borussia Dortmund have been used to challenging at the top of the Bundesliga in recent years but when they host league leaders Bayern Munich tomorrow they do so as a midtable outfit.
While Bayern have enjoyed a near flawless domestic campaign with only two defeats in 26 games, Dortmund spent the first half of the season floundering in the relegation battle.
But unbeaten in the last seven they have hauled themselves up to 10th in the table and a place in the Europa League may yet be within reach.
“We are in good shape and have the feeling we can win games again,” defender Neven Subotic told Kicker in an interview yesterday. “We can cause problems for Bayern. Every team is beatable, Bayern too.”
Dortmund have been boosted by star attacking midfielder Marco Reus being able to play and score consistently after previous injury problems but Nuri Sahin remains absent.
An 80,000-capacity crowd at the Signal Iduna Park will roar on Borussia in Saturday’s late game and Subotic hopes that can prove advantageous.
“It will simmer and seethe,” he said. “And Bayern must stand up to this heat. It will not be a walk in the park for them.”
Bayern are chasing a treble of Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League titles but do have injury problems of their own. The influential Philipp Lahm could, however, make his return for 90 minutes for the first time since breaking his ankle in 2014.
“At the end of the international break, I’ll have trained with the team for three or four weeks. That should be enough,” he told the Bayerischer Rundfunk broadcaster. “We will see if the coach (Pep Guardiola) agrees.”
Before Bayern face Dortmund, second-placed Wolfsburg will hope to close the gap at the top of the table with a home win over bottom club VfB Stuttgart.
But Stuttgart will be buoyed by ending a nine-game winless run in their last outing as they look to kick-start their fight for survival. “In spite of being in 18th place, we have proven that we have quality,” coach Huub Stevens said. “That should provide us with some belief.”
Third-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach, fresh from a win at Bayern last time, travel to Europa League hopefuls Hoffenheim while fourth-placed
Bayer Leverkusen take on struggling SV Hamburg.
The northern giants are 16th and will be led for the first time by sporting director Peter Knaebel, who has taken over the coaching duties from Joe Zinnbauer.
Hanover coach Tayfun Korkut could well be on his last chance when his side travel to Eintracht Frankfurt. Korkut has overseen a 10-game winless run to see his charges fall to within two points of the relegation play-off place.
Tomorrow’s other games are Werder Bremen v Mainz and Freiburg v Cologne while on Sunday there is action affecting both ends of the table. Fifth-placed Schalke need a win to boost their Champions League hopes but are only one point ahead of hosts Augsburg in sixth.
The weekend concludes with second bottom Paderborn travelling to Hertha Berlin with the capital club looking to maintain their revival under coach Pal Dardai.
Playing Tomorrow
Bayer Leverkusen vs Hamburger SV
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Hannover 96
Freiburg vs FC Cologne
Hoffenheim vs Borussia Moenchengladbach
Werder Bremen vs Mainz 05
Wolfsburg vs VfB Stuttgart
Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich

Ribery out of Bayern’s Dortmund trip
Bayern Munich will be without Franck Ribery for tomorrow’s visit to Borussia Dortmund, captain Philipp Lahm confirmed yesterday. Bayern have already lost Arjen Robben and David Alaba to injuries and there is also a question mark over defender Holger Badstuber who has a thigh muscle strain.
French midfielder Ribery has failed to recover from an ankle injury suffered in a Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk three weeks ago.
“It’s not nice. He is very important for us,” Lahm told reporters. “It’s no use moaning though, we have to look ahead. We have a deep squad and have to compensate for these losses.”
Lahm could make his return for 90 minutes for the first time since breaking his ankle in training in mid-November, and veteran striker Claudio Pizarro returned to training yesterday following a muscle problem.
Midfielder Javi Martinez is not yet ready to return after nearing full recovery from a serious knee injury seven months ago, but fellow Thiago Alcantara is again a candidate for coach Pep Guardiola.
Thiago, who has not played for a year after three knee injuries, is back in full training. “He has been making a very good impression,” Lahm said.

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