German Bundesliga Week 17 Tipping

German Bundesliga this week will hold the last match week before the 6-week winter break. Winter champion will be given to Hoffenheim, Bayern München, or Bayer Leverkusen. Last week I have 4 correct tips and 1 correct score within them. Before having my tip of this week, here is the combination of winter champion:

Hoffenheim to be winter champion:
Win, with Bayern win and any results of Leverkusen (depending on goal difference)
Win, with Bayern draw or loss and any results of Leverkusen
Draw, with Bayern draw or loss and any results of Leverkusen
Loss, with Bayern loss and draw or loss of Leverkusen

Bayern München to be winter champion:
Win, with Hoffenheim win and any result of Leverkusen (depending on goal difference)
Win, with Hoffenheim draw or loss and any result of Leverkusen
Draw, with Hoffenheim loss or any result of Leverkusen
Loss, with Hoffenheim greater loss and draw or loss of Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen to be winter champion:
Win, with both Hoffenheim and Bayern loss (depending on goal difference)

Now, here's the tip of the week:

Borussia Dortmund (8th) vs Borussia Mönchengladbach (18th) - Friday: This match week starts with Borussia derby. Dortmund recently did not perform really well. Alexander Frei and the other attacking company did not perform well so that even the defense looks solid, they also failed to win the game. Last week they only had a bored draw at Arminia Bielefeld can show that their attacks is in the cold streak. This match is a grat chance for them to gain back the attacking form before the winter break. Alexander Frei and his company must perform well in order to win. On the other side, Gladbach keeps disappointing to their fans. They have no match against Leverkusen last week and there are so many holes in defense, like a Swiss cheese. Marko Marin is the only good player in the team and the strikers like Rob Friend did not perform well at all. I do not believe Gladbach this match will snatch a sraw even as the team is in poor form and they are at the away turf. My tip: Dortmund win 3-0.

Werder Bremen (10th) vs VfL Wolfsburg (6th) - Saturday: Werder Bremen even though they won against Inter Milan in Champions League in Tuesday, they are still struggling for regaining back the form in the league. It was very surprising that they were beaten by Karlsruher without scoring goal. This match Claudio Pizarro and Diego are suspended, which is a huge impact for them as they are the major attacking force. So it is more difficult for them to score goals and even win the match. Wolfsburg on the other hand, they are keeping the solid form so far. Besides the solid defense, their attacking players such as Grafite and Dzeko are in the great form. When facing the fragile Werder Bremen defense, it is very likely to score goal. So even Werder Bremen is playing at home, I do not believe they have any advantage. My tip: Match draw 1-1.

Hamburger SV (5th) vs Eintract Frankfurt (11th) - Saturday: Hamburger last week had gained back some away win form with 2-1 victory. Ivica Olic and Mlaten Petric are the main factor for Hamburger to gain back the winning form as they can relief the pressue of Piotr Trochowski. This week they have the clear advantage because they are at the home ground and they usually perform well at home. Frankfurt on the other side are very unstable so far. The performance is so different between home and away games. This match I do not believe they can carry on the 4-0 victory form last week and they will be beaten badly. My tip: Hamburger win 4-0.

VfL Bochum (17th) vs 1. FC Köln (12th) - Saturday: Bochum so far are seemed hopeless as they lost to Frankfurt 4-0. They seemed they had nothing to strike back as the attacks are simply tragic. So they are now standing at 17th, just better than Gladbach a bit. Köln on the other hand, they are in crisis. They are now in the cold streak and they desperately need a win to gain back their confidence. This match is a wonderful chance for them to do so. Novakovic in Köln is in the good form so I believe he can bring back the team to the winning track. With their solid midfield to support him, I believe even Bochum has the home court advantage, they do not stand for a chance. My tip: Köln win 3-0.

VfB Stuttgart (9th) vs Bayern München (2nd) - Saturday: As the introduction mentioned, this is very important for Bayern to win the winter champion. Stuttgart's new caretaking coach Markus Babbel does not have any new tactics to the team, he seems he tends to follow Armin Veh, the former coach tactics. However, Babbel can encourage the players to gain back their confidence so they won against Schalke 04 at two weeks ago. Together with the win against Cottbus, they now are in 2-game winning streak. This is the real test for Babbel and his lads as they need to push beyond the limit. Bayern on the other hand, their form is in red hot. They won against Hoffenheim last Friday definitely boosted their morale and they are now won 8 in last 10 matches. Franck Ribery and Miroslav Klose is in the great form so Stuttgart defense are really tested. One thing they need to concern is Ze Roberto and Lucio may not fit enough even they can start the match, as well as the players may not so fit after the Champion League match. My tip: Bayern win 2-0.

Bayer Leverkusen (3rd) vs Energie Cottbus (16th) - Saturday: Leverkusen no doubt are keen on win this match as they still have slim chance to be the winter champion. Stefan Kießling and Patrick Helmes are in the great form so they will be the key of this match. The win against Gladbach last week definitely boosted their morale after the 2-game losing streak. Even the defense is not really solid as they only rely on Rene Adler to perform, Cottbus attacks is really poor that Leverkusen is easy to handle. It was quite disappointing for me that they cannot carry on the winning form fortnight ago to last week and lost to Stuttgart comprehensively. So this match I believe Cottbus doesn't stand for a chance as their form is pretty poor. My tip: Leverkusen win 3-0.

Hannover 96 (13th) vs Arminia Bielefeld (14th) - Saturday: It is another close match this week. Hannover last week not only lost a match, but the goalkeeper Florian Fromlowitz, who will be suspended this week. Together with injured Robert Enke, they are forced to start a third choice goalkeeper. So their defenders this match will be very important as they have to do extra job to relief the goalkeeper. Bielefeld on the other hand, they failed to win matches again last week. This week for them should be a great chance for them even at the away ground as Hannover does not have good goalkeeper. However, I do not believe their attacks can contribute anything to this match so it may end up a bored draw again. My tip: Match draw 0-0.

Hertha Berlin (4th) vs Karlsruher SC (15th) - Saturday: Hertha Berlin last match showed their ineffectiveness in attacks that they had nothing to strike back and lost 1-0 against Schalke 04. Andrei Voronin and Marko Pantelic did not contribute anything when they faced the tight defense, so this was the reason why they lost the game last week. Karlsruher last week had created the biggest upset to the fans as they played very well in defense to beat Werder Bremen 1-0. This is a morale boosting match as they saw hope to get out of the relegation zone. However, Hertha Berlin had the home court advantage as well as better class, they should win this match, even though a slim victory. My tip: Hertha Berlin win 1-0.

Hoffenheim (1st) vs Schalke 04 (7th) - Sunday: This is the last game before the winter break and will decide the winter champion. Hoffenheim showed their inexperience made them failed to win the big match against te big teams such as Bayern München. But, as a German and Bayern fans, they gained a lot of respect and showed they are the one of the real title contenders in the league. Vedad Ibisevic no doubt is the most important player in the game, his great form can bring him keep scoring and seems there is nobody to stop him. This is the real test for Ibisevic this match as Schalke defense is very good from the midfield to goalkeeper. The biggest concern for Schalke is their attacks is very poor in form. Only Gerald Asamoah is a bit fit and the others simply lose their confidence. So Schalke attack is the key of the match. My tip: Match draw 1-1.

So that's it of my tip this week! Have a great weekend!