German Bundesliga Week 26 Tipping

German Bundesliga resumes after the international matches last week. There will be a crucial title challenge match this week as Bayern München will be away to play against VfL Wolfsburg. Now here's my tipping this week:

Arminia Bielefeld (15th) vs Schalke 04 (8th) - Friday: Both teams have the minimal impact of the international duties as there are not so many players were called up. Bielefeld last match lost to Wolfsburg led them could not get away from the relegation trouble. However, it can be said Bielefeld was outclassed. Artur Wichniarek is now having a cold streak so it is a big worry for Bielefeld. On the other side however, Schalke now are in chaos as Fred Rutten was sacked after the "emotional" meeting with upper management. It is doubtful for their morality can go through this match. Plus, Jefferson Farfan and Kevin Kuranyi are too inconsistent so their attack is questionable, even there is an interim coaching staff to take over. I believe it is very hard to seperate the winner and low scoring is predicted.
Last matchup: Match draw 0-0
My tip: Match draw 1-1

VfL Wolfsburg (3rd) vs Bayern München (2nd) - Saturday: This is the most important match in the title race. Both teams only are seperated by the head-to-head match. Wolfsburg is in the hot streak and they improved a lot in the away form, so this is why they are now one of the contenders. The Bosinan duo, Eden Dzeko, and Zvjezden Misimovic were on international duty so I believe it affected their fitness. It impacts the team quite much as they are the most important players in the team. Speaking to international duty, the players from Bayern München were everywhere in the world last week. It seriously hurt the team as they surely are not fit enough. Plus they have to face FC Barcelona next week so they cannot give it all in the match. The only good news is Luca Toni is very likely to return and I believe it can bring threats to the opposition. Considering both teams are tired after the international duty, I believe this is a low scoring draw.
Last matchup: Bayern München win 4-2
My tip: Match draw 1-1

Hertha Berlin (1st) vs Borussia Dortmund (9th) - Saturday: Hertha Berlin just barely maintain the lead after the lost to VfB Stuttgart. Andrei Voronin is the most important factor as when he could not score, the whole Hertha Berlin attack is in trouble. He was just back from international duty so I believe it is quite troublesome to Hertha Berlin. Marko Pantelic also is back from international duty but he is not the regular starter now. On the other hand, Borussia Dortmund had won against Werder Bremen last match. However, I do not believe they are back in top form as they still have a trouble of finishing. I believe this match they will be impacted by Hertha Berlin tough defense. Alexander Frei and the company will have a hard time to find a clear chance for finishing. This match will favor Hertha Berlin and they can maintain the lead in the table.
Last matchup: Match draw 1-1
My tip: Hertha Berlin win 1-0

Eintract Frankfurt (12th) vs Energie Cottbus (17th) - Saturday: Frankfurt did very well against Bayer Leverkusen last match and they nearly won it. This week they also are affected by the international duty as there are Greek players in the team. At the same time, they are quite inconsistent in match form so it is very hard to say they can continue the streak in 2 weeks time. On the other hand, Cottbus cannot go back to the top form a month ago and they drop back to 17th in the table. They must pick up the form now as they will be relegated. The attack has the problem for creating and it seems they cannot get anything to solve it. I believe this game is quite hard to seperate but Frankfurt will win the match according to the home court advantage.
Last matchup: Frankfurt win 3-2
My tip: Frankfurt win 2-0

Hamburger SV (4th) vs 1899 Hoffenheim (5th) - Saturday: This is another the important match in the title race, especially for Hoffenheim, as this is the last chance for them to catch up. Hamburger is deeply affected by the international week as many of them were out of the team for their nations. Piotr Trochowski is doubtful this match as he did not play a single minute in the international duty. So I believe he is not fit enough to play. Paolo Guerrero and Ivica Olic will be very important in the team as they are the core of scoring. This is a great chance for them as Hoffenheim do not have a strong defense. Hoffenheim at the same time, is one of the few teams that is not affected by the international match much. Andreas Beck is the main player who is away from internationals. However, after the injury of Vedad Ibisevic, the other players start to follow his footstep. Only Demba Ba is fit to play and the others are not fit enough. I believe Hoffenheim will have a hard time to score goal and win the match as the whole team is not fit enough. Plus Hamburger has the home court advantage, so I believe they can win this one.
Last matchup: Hoffenheim win 3-0
My tip: Hamburger win 2-0

VfL Bochum (14th) vs VfB Stuttgart (6th) - Saturday: Last match Bochum had won a very important game against Borussia Mönchengladbach and claimed the important 3 points. The whole team is in good moral and one more good news is, the players are not affected by international duty very much. Christoph Dabrowski is very important midfielder in the team and he controls the game flow very much. His performance is the key factor of this match. I believe Stuttgart needs to watch out this player. On the other side, Stuttgart is affected by the international duty much as most of them are called up to Germany international. They will be affected by the fitness and I believe the game play will be slowing down. Thomas Hitzlsperger is very important as he is capable to stop Dabrowski. This match I believe will be a low scoring game but Stuttgart will win the match by better player quality.
Last matchup: Stuttgart win 2-0
My tip: Stuttgart win 2-0

1. FC Köln (11th) vs Bayer Leverkusen (7th) - Sunday: Köln remain inconsistent after the victory over Bayern. This is a mystery as they somehow lost the top form and keep struggling. The last victory against Energie Cottbus can lead them catch a breath and reform. Still, Milivoje Novakovic is the only player who can guarantee to score goals and this match he needs to do it again. On the other hand, Bayer Leverkusen is sinking without a trace as they slipped to 7th and will lose the European qualification anytime. Rene Adler is doubtful as he is injured during an international call up. The good news is Partick Helmes and Stefan Kießling are not affected by the international match much as they are the substitute in Germany national team. So, they are the important players to lead the team to reform and boost up the match form. I believe this match is very hard to seperate and a draw is very likely to happen.
Last matchup: Leverkusen win 2-0
My tip: Match draw 1-1

Werder Bremen (10th) vs Hannover 96 (13th) - Sunday: Werder Bremen last match have lost to Borussia Dortmund 1-0. It seems there are lots of problems that Werder Bremen need to solve, such as Claudio Pizarro is very inconsistent in scoring, the defense is not consistent enough to guarantee the fans that they can stop goals. Diego is very important to the team now and his creativeness can lead them win. Luckily, they are facing Hannover, who only had 2 draw games in 11 away games. They are affected by international call up in certain extent as Mikael Forrsell played for Finland last week. At the same time, the whole team does not have the core player in attack so that they cannot create goals. I believe this match Werder Bremen will win this match, maybe in easiest way.
Last matchup: Match draw 1-1
My tip: Werder Bremen win 3-0

Karlsruher SC (18th) vs Borussia Mönchengladbach (16th) - Sunday: The rank says it all, this is absolutely an important and crucial relegation match. Karlsruher is having a 5-game non-scoring streak and yet to be broken. They were very unlucky that were unable to equalize the game against Bayern 2 weeks ago. Besides luck, they lack of finishing and creativeness lead them to stay at the bottom of the table. None of the player is in good form and it is hard to see if they can change it around in such a short period of time. On the other hand, Gladbach drops back to the bottom as their match form could not find any consistency. Marko Marin is not affected by the international duty much as he is the substitute of Germany international. Alexander Baumjohann is in the full gear as he has enough rest and his performance will affect the result this match. I believe this match will be decided by the morality and the match performance. I give the vote to Gladbach.
Last matchup: Mönchengladbach win 1-0
My tip: Mönchengladbach win 2-0

Please be noted that daylight saving is effective starting from this week in Germany. That's it and have a good week!