Matchday 19 bulletins
Cologne - After 40 days of top-flight fasting over the winter break we've now had the second instalment of Bundesliga plenty within five days.
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Matchday 19 did not produce quite as many goals or headlines as Matchday 18, but after the second round of matches in 2015, there are still talking points aplenty, not least the continuing struggles of Borussia Dortmund. bundesliga.com brings you the best of the reaction to the midweek action...
MATCHDAY 19 RESULTS
Borussia Dortmund 0-1 FC Augsburg
Hertha Berlin 0-1 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
1. FC Köln 0-0 VfB Stuttgart
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 1-2 SV Werder Bremen
SC Paderborn 0-3 Hamburger SV
FC Bayern München 1-1 FC Schalke 04
VfL Wolfsburg 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
Hannover 96 1-1 1. FSV Mainz 05
Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-0 SC Freiburg
Thursday 5 February
And with the news of Ibrahima Traore's return to training for Gladbach, we bring an end to our minute-by-minute coverage of Matchday 19 and turn our attention towards Matchday 20, starting with Gladbach's trip to Schalke. Join us tomorrow on bundesliga.com for the build-up to the next round of exciting Bundesliga action. Bis dann!
Returning Foal
From the heart
Henrikh Mkhitaryan has taken to Twitter to promise he and his team-mates are doing their utmost to get Dortmund out of a rut:
Comeback trail
Not an option for Friday night, but soon to be back in contention...
Quintet rested
Wolfsburg are training for the visit of Hoffenheim on Saturday with five players not taking part on Thursday:
Next appointment
There really is no let up in the Bundesliga action with the ball rolling again tomorrow night. Yes, tomorrow night.
First training
And there they are, Hertha's players being put through their paces for the first time by new coach Pal Dardai:
New Dortmund blow
There was more bad news for Borussia Dortmund today: the struggling five-time champions confirmed that 2014 World Cup winner Kevin Großkreutz will be out of action for six weeks with a hip injury.
+++ BREAKING +++
Hertha Berlin have confirmed that head coach Jos Luhukay as well as assistant coaches Markus Gellhaus and Rob Reekers have been relieved of their duties, with Pal Dardai and Rainer Widmayer stepping in as caretakers. The Berliners are currently in 17th in the table following yesterday's 1-0 defeat at home to Bayer Leverkusen.
Wolfsburg blow
The second-placed Wolves will have to do without China international midfielder Xizhe Zhang and centre-back Timm Klose on Saturday at home to 1899 Hoffenheim, while Croatian Footballer of the Year Ivan Perisic is doubtful for the Volkswagen Arena encounter, the club have just confirmed:
Birthday boy
A very happy birthday to Bayer 04 Leverkusen right-back Giulio Donati! The Italian former FC Internazionale Milano player turns 25 today, and he will surely have reason to celebrate after the
Werkself
's 1-0 win away to Hertha Berlin last night.
Bayern stars taking it easy
Arjen Robben and Co. have been given a day off today. The Bundesliga leaders will be travelling to VfB Stuttgart on Saturday, hoping to notch their first victory of 2015 in the Baden-Württemberg capital.
Wednesday 4 February
Man of the moment
The clouds are gathering in Dortmund and Berlin, so we'll be back in the morning for more of the fallout from Matchday 19's action. We'll leave the final word to Bremen's Franco Di Santo, who scored his third goal in 2014 and ninth of the season overall in Werder's
at Hoffenheim. Keep it up Franco!
TEAM NEWS:
Klopp confident of survival
Borussia Dortmund head coach Jürgen Klopp doesn't think BVB will fall prey to the relegation trapdoor, despite going into tonight's game against FC Augsburg in 18th place…
History books favour Dortmund
Bayern taking to the field
Some great images from the record champions' training compound, with one group of players practicing their basketball skills, while Mario Götze (bottom l.) and the rest took to the pitch at Säbener Straße.
Schürrle presented as a Wolf
VfL Wolfsburg's marquee winter signing Andre Schürrle said his new team-mates have already made him feel at home at his official unveiling in Lower Saxony. "A lot of players have contacted, they've all offered to show me around," revealed the 2014 FIFA World Cup hero, who joined from English side Chelsea FC during the recent transfer window. "I'm delighted to be here," he added. [...] I really wanted to make the move to Wolfsburg. [It] was my express wish [to return to the Bundesliga] - I had offers from Spain and France too, but I was keen on returning to Germany. [National team coach Joachim Löw too] believed that, also considering the tactics and playing style of VfL, the switch to Wolfsburg would be the right decision."
Centurion Uchida
Congratulations also to Schalke's Japanese right-back Atsuto Uchida, who made his 100th Bundesliga appearance at Bayern yesterday since joining the Gelsenkirchen club from Kashima Antlers in the summer of 2010.
Green-Whites' celebrations
A very happy birthday to one of Germany's biggest clubs, four-time Bundesliga champions SV Werder Bremen celebrating their 116th anniversary today!
Happy debutant
Timon Wellenreuther was a happy man indeed after enjoying a successful first taste of competitive professional football for Schalke on Tuesday. "It doesn't come much bigger than playing Bayern in your first game," said the Royal Blues' reserve keeper following the 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena, where the 19-year-old came on for the injured Fabian Giefer at half-time.
Wednesday morning workout
Getting an early morning training session in seems to be the theme of this morning, with FC Augsburg the latest side to tweet out a picture of their squad gearing up for the mid-week melee in Germany's wintry conditions.
Rallying cry
"Full commitment tonight" reads this tweet from SC Paderborn 07 captain Uwe Hünemeier, who will be hoping to help the newly-promoted side bounce back from their biggest ever Bundesliga defeat - a 5-0 loss to Mainz - tonight.
Causing a nuisance
FC Augsburg got off to a winning start in 2015 and tonight travel to the Signal Iduna Park hoping to cause an upset against bottom-of-the-table Borussia Dortmund. "Today we're going to annoy Borussia Dortmund right?" reads the club's tweet.
Capital punishment
The snow has been falling all throughout Germany, as Bayer 04 Leverkusen can attest to with Roger Schmidt's charges "sweating in the snow in Berliner AK 07's Poststadion". Trudging through the white stuff is hard enough in the morning, but trying to run and play football on it is another difficulty level up.
Frosty reception
Viktor Skripnik is getting one last training session in with his side ahead of tonight's clash with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. Could this be the secret to success as they go in search of a second straight win?
After Schalke is before Stuttgart
FC Bayern and Manuel Neuer (l.) have their sights set firmly on Saturday's Matchday 20 clash against the Swabians following their 1-1 draw at home to Schalke. Meanwhile, there will be a public training session at the club's training compound at Säbener Straße today starting at 10 CET/11 GMT, so make sure you pop by if you're in the vicinity!
Exciting days in Wolfsburg
The Bundesliga's biggest winter signing Andre Schürrle will take part in first-team training for the first time today at new club VfL Wolfsburg, who remained ensconced in second place behind leaders FC Bayern München depute dropping points in a 1-1 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday. World Cup winner Schürrle will also be officially presented as a Wolves player at 12 GMT/13 CET, so make sure you stay with us for all the latest from the Volkswagen Arena.
Tuesday 3 February
Twitter reaction to Tuesday night's games
TEAM NEWS:
Here are the line-ups for tonight's four matches...
Up for the challenge
Ein von Branimir Hrgota (@branimirhrgota) gepostetes Foto am 3. Feb 2015 um 9:16 Uhr
First day in Wolfsburg. I can't wait to play in the team!! Come on the Wolves!
Berlin-bound Werkself
Leverkusen travel to Hertha Berlin on Wednesday evening. Both sides are still looking for their first
Rückrunde
goal...
Meier the marksman
What were we saying before about players having a favorite opponent?
Alaba to shine?
David Alaba will be optimistic of making an impact for Bayern this evening after his two brilliant performances against Schalke last season. He scored and assisted in a 5-1 win in Munich and set up two more goals in a 4-0 success for Bayern in Gelsenkirchen. It's said that players have their favourite opponents, so we'll have to wait and see what the Austrian can deliver.
Neuer's happy reunion
Bayern's Manuel Neuer has famously never lost against his old club and will be a formidable man to beat for the Royal Blues later...
Eintracht's No 1
Frankfurt have received a boost this morning after first-choice keeper Kevin Trapp agreed a new deal with the club until June 2019. "It was a decision from the heart and I can still develop here," said the 24-year-old.
Sibling rivalry
One plays for Bayern and Germany, one for Schalke and Ghana: Jerome and Kevin-Prince Boateng go head-to-head this evening:
Happy 55th
Joachim Löw can celebrate his birthday on Tuesday after a hugely successful 12 months...
Andre in action
Wolfsburg's newest addition, Germany World Cup winner Andre Schürrle, trained with his team-mates for the first time on Tuesday after switching from Chelsea the day before. The Wolves face Frankfurt this evening, although Schürrle is unlikely to be involved.
Foals on a roll?
Gladbach had won just five of their previous 40 league encounters against Stuttgart before Matchday 18, but they ground out a solid
win nonetheless through Patrick Herrmann's goal. They have an equally indifferent record against Freiburg - only two wins in their last 12 league meetings - but will be hopeful of continuíng their push for a Champions League finish with another victory this evening.
Bayern heavy favourites
Fans of the Bavarians should be confident welcoming Schalke this evening...
Götze focused
Mario Götze was left on the bench for the defeat at Wolfsburg but will be hoping to return to the starting line-up tonight.
Lasogga blow
Hamburg began 2015 with a disappointing
but the news doesn't get any better after the club confirmed this morning that striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga will miss this week's double-header with a thigh injury.
"@Lasogga10 suffered an injury to his right thigh in training and is definitely out of this week's two matches."
Bayern backlash?
Schalke could be in the path of the tornado this evening when they take on a Bayern side looking for the right response to that crushing defeat to Wolfsburg.
Ninth time lucky?
The Royal Blues have not beaten Bayern in their last eight league meetings, conceding 14 and scoring just twice in their last four matches. A win against the Reds to go with their hard-fought draw back in August is therefore long overdue.