Live updates: Matchday 15
Rarely has the fixture list been so generous to fans as it has been with the Matchday 15 line-up, which pits all top six clubs into intriguing head-to-heads.
As always, bundesliga.com will keep you apace with all of the developments ahead of what promises to be a blockbuster weekend.
Matchday 15 fixtures (kick-offs 15:30CET/14:30GMT unless stated)
Friday 4 December
FC Schalke 04 vs Hannover 96 (20:30CET/19:30GMT)
Saturday 5 December
Borussia Mönchengladbach vs FC Bayern München
Hertha Berlin vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
FC Ingolstadt 04 vs TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
1. FC Köln vs FC Augsburg
Hamburger SV vs 1. FSV Mainz 05
VfL Wolfsburg vs Borussia Dortmund (18:30CET/17:30GMT)
Sunday 6 December
VfB Stuttgart vs SV Werder Bremen
Eintracht Frankfurt vs SV Darmstadt 98
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Friday 4 December
Schalke back on track
The Royal Blues recorded their first win in six on Friday, beating Hannover 96 3-1 at the VELTINS Arena to move temporarily up to fourth in the Bundesliga. Johannes Geis, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Franco Di Santo got the goals for Schalke, but their best player - arguably - was Leroy Sane.
That’s all for today, but we’ll be back on Saturday for the small matter of Gladbach vs Bayern and Wolfsburg vs Dortmund. You don’t want to miss it.
See you soon!
The clash between Schalke and Hannover is about to start. We will be back with all the reaction at full time.
Line-ups
The teams are in for our first game this weekend:
Not long to go now...
Home sweet home
The VELTINS Arena cutting quite the sight...
Click here to find out more
Best of enemies
Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Wolfsburg's Josuha Guilavogui go back a long time.
Dortmund travelling by train
Ilkay and Co off to Wolfsburg
Bayern en route...
...and there's Franck!
Safe hands
Köln are putting their faith in goalkeeper Timo Horn for tomorrow's clash with Augsburg.
Ribery returns
After his recent return to training, Bayern have announced that Franck Ribery will be part of the squad travelling to Mönchengladbach. It is the first time the Frenchman has been part of a Bundesliga squad since March.
Bayern preparation
Will the champions still be smiling come 17:30 tomorrow?
Chilling with Costa and Bernat
Guardiola on Gladbach
"They always play on the front foot, always look to go forward. I like these teams!"
Stuttgart training camp
VfB will be in Belek, Turkey from 5 until 14 January, the tweet below confirms.
Aubameyang press conference
"Wolfsburg are a very good team. I'm not sure if there is a favourite."
Aubameyang press conference
"He [Josuha Guilavogui] wrote to me, saying that they will win. I was a bit angry after that, but we'll see tomorrow. He's a good friend of mine, but tomorrow is my enemy…I won't speak to him tomorrow, only after the game. It'll be revenge |for the DFB Cup final]. It's an important game for us. I hope to win this game."
Aubameyang press conference
"For me, it's about revenge," in reference to the DFB Cup final in May, which Dortmund lost 3-1.
Aubameyang press conference
Tuchel press conference
"I'm not thinking about revenge. You can't repeat games"
Tuchel press conference
"If we play like we did in Hamburg than we may as well not make the journey."
"We have confidence in the players who are available to us."
"Sokratis, Mats Hummels and Julian Weigl are still ill and are unlikely to make the trip to Wolfsburg."
Guardiola press conference
Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media ahead of the champions' trip to Gladbach.
On Franck Ribery: "He's a special player and it's good he's participating in light training."
On his Coach of the Year nomination: "I'm happy to be there, but what Sampaoli has done with Chile is incredible. I'm looking forward to seeing him and Luis Enrique at the gala."
Trio crocked
Douglas Costa, David Alaba and Arjen Robben will miss Bayern's clash at Borussia Mönchengladbach this weekend.
Markus Weinzierl press conference
The FC Augsburg head coach has been talking to the media ahead of his side's clash with Köln.
"We always try to play on the front foot and confidently!"
"With their great fans behind them, Köln are a tough side. We'll have to watch out!"
"I expect Köln to play to win. It'll be the little things which decide this one and it'll be a really tense game."
Click here for a full match preview
Good numbers!
Malli, Muto and Co are in Hamburg this weekend.
Leverkusen press conference
"We're very well prepared," said Bayer coach Roger Schmidt before his side's clash with Hertha tomorrow. "A whole week of training has done us good."
Bayern schedule
Busy day for Pep's boys...
Click here for the guide to Wolfsburg vs Dortmund
Popular BVB
Dortmund welcomed over 2,000 fans to their public training session last night.
Ujah enjoying life in Bremen
Leverkusen's Friday plans...
...in emoji form. Click here for a full preview of Die Werkself's trip to Berlin tomorrow.
Click here for a full match preview
Matchday
Schalke take on Hannover tonight at the VELTINS Arena.
Morning, Holger!
Morning, Mario!
The Bayern star is on the road to recovery.
Thursday 3 December
Bis morgen!
That's it from us for today, but we'll back back tomorrow to continue our build up to Super Saturday. It's going to be huge!
Bayern feeling chipper
Bayern can be crowned Herbstmeister this weekend - a fancy word for the team that tops the table at the halfway stage of the season. Gladbach stand in the way on Matchday 15, but Pep Guardiola's men look confident enough.
Wolfburg's mid-season test
As well as preparing for Saturday's visit of Dortmund, Wolfsburg have also finalised a couple of friendlies for the upcoming winter break.
Thiago sets comeback date
Stranzl setback
Borussia Mönchegladbach defender Martin Stranzl only made his return to training earlier this week following surgery on a fractured eye socket, but it looks like he might be set for another spell on the sidelines...
Leverkusen stars spread festive cheer
Bayer 04 Leverkusen trio Stefan Kießling, Ömer Toprak and Sebastian Boenisch paid a visit to the local children's hospital earlier today.
Yoshinori boost
1. FSV Mainz striker Yoshinori Muto should be fit to face Hamburger SV this weekend, after sitting out yesterday's team training session with a muscular problem. The Japan international has seven goals and four assists to show for his debut Bundesliga campaign so far.
Flag-kick king
Xabi Alonso-esque precision from FC Bayern's Robert Lewandowski. Gladbach, watch out!
Pre-Christmas treat
Borussia Dortmund fans are getting to see their heroes in action this afternoon in an open training session. Defensive duo Mats Hummels and Sokratis Papastathopoulos are not taking part due to illness, but both players are expected to return to training on Friday.
Werder's turning point?
Sunday's clash with fellow strugglers VfB Stuttgart is a must-win game for Viktor Skripnik and his SV Werder Bremen side. The squad are currently being put through their paces at the Weser Stadium...
Gladbach press conference
Andre Schubert is now talking to the media...
Dieter Hecking meets the media
Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking has spoken at a press conference ahead of his side's clash with Borussia Dortmund...
Schalke press conference
Andre Breitenreiter has met with the media ahead of his side's clash with Hannover on Friday night. Here is some of what he said:
Huub under the spotlight
Huub Stevens has had a few words to say at his pre-match press conference ahead of the trip to Ingolstadt.
Here he is what he said about…
…the 800 fans following his team to Bavaria:
"It's great that the fans are going to be there behind us. We can get through this situation together and we're delighted by their support."
…team news:
"[Tarik] Elyounoussi has suffered a bit of a muscular setback and we are just hoping he will make it for Saturday. [Eduardo] Vargas took a knock to his hip in training, and it looks like he is going to miss out. Every player has a chance to recommend themselves for a place in the squad – there is nobody who can be sure of their place."
…his side's recent progress:
"It's not an easy situation that we are in, but I can see the development in the team and I'm pleased by this. Saturday's game is going to be completely different. Ingolstadt are very compact, but they can also put you under a lot of pressure going forwards."
…opponents Ingolstadt:
"I don't know what's happening in Ingolstadt – all I am interested in is that we have trained well and that we have taken a step forwards. We go into this game with a positive feeling, but what we have shown so far was only an improvement – it was not perfection. We are still where we don't want to be."
…Hoffenheim's future:
"I am not here because I think this club can't go anywhere, I am here because I believe the team has quality to achieve what we want to achieve."
Ingolstadt press conference
Ralph Hasenhüttl completes the picture for Hoffenheim's clash with his Ingolstadt. This is what he had to say about…
…his side's team news:
"Unfortunately we're not going to have Moritz Hartmann with us this weekend – he's pulled a muscle. I have faith in all of my players to be able to make a contribution and help us out. I've not yet decided which 11 players I will be sending onto the field. [Stephan] Lex is not feeling any pain now and it's important that he is available again and I have another option."
…opponents Hoffenheim:
"They have a lot of quality and are certainly stronger than their league positions suggests. We want to keep Hoffenheim at a safe distance below us and we've shown a good reaction this week, and we want the same this Saturday."
Pal Dardai press conference
Hertha Berlin coach Pal Dardai has been talking in the capital. Here is a summary of the things the Hungarian had to say...
...on his team's recent performances:
"We need to show a bit more composure on the ball, no matter how our opponents press us. We've got to become cleverer."
...on opponents Bayer 04 Leverkusen:
"Leverkusen are an internationally experienced club. We're hugely motivated to play them. If I could lose ten kilos, then I would be out there on the field too. But since I can’t, I'll just have to watch from the bench and the team will have to do it without me. I don't need any praise of myself, I think all of the praise should go to the team."
...on his team selection this Saturday:
"We have a very important block of players in the middle and [Fabian] Lustenberger's decisive for us in this respect. Playing Vedad [Ibisevic] together with [Salomon] Kalou is an option, but it depends on Mitch [Weiser] and other factors. Mitch has trained with us all week and we will decide tomorrow whether he can play, but we're not going to take any risks."
Peter Stöger press conference
Köln coach Peter Stöger is in the hotseat right now, answering reporters' questions ahead of his side's clash with FC Augsburg...
Derby nostalgia
This weekend also marks the return of the Hesse derby between Eintracht Frankfurt and Darmstadt, for the first time in 33 years. Here's a nice tweet from the Eagles showing a ticket from that last meeting back in 1982:
Kicking off the weekend
First up are Schalke and Hannover on Friday night, with the Royal Blues craving a repeat of one of their recent meetings: