Matchday 27 - Bulletins
Cologne - VfL Wolfsburg, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Borussia Mönchengladbach all confirmed their status as UEFA Champions League candidates on Saturday, but the Matchday 27 headlines came from the Signal Iduna Park as FC Bayern München took der Klassiker spoils against Borussia Dortmund.
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As ever, bundesliga.com brought you the latest news and reaction to all of the weekend's drama, as well as build-up to the week's DFB Cup quarter-final ties...
MATCHDAY 27 RESULTS
Saturday 4 April
SC Freiburg 1-0 1. FC Köln
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 1-4 Borussia Mönchengladbach
SV Werder Bremen 0-0 1. FSV Mainz 05
Eintracht Frankfurt 2-2 Hannover 96
VfL Wolfsburg 3-1 VfB Stuttgart
Bayer 04 Leverkusen 4-0 Hamburger SV
Borussia Dortmund 0-1 FC Bayern München
Sunday 5 April
FC Augsburg 0-0 FC Schalke 04
Hertha Berlin 2-0 SC Paderborn 07
Monday 6 April
Good and bad news
Bayern have confirmed that Franck Ribery will definitely miss Wedneday's trip to Leverkusen in the DFB Cup quarter-finals due to a niggling ankle problem. Bastian Schweinsteiger is a doubt for that one after picking up a knock in Saturday's win over Dortmund, but defender Holger Badstuber is training again following injury.
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Goals of the week!
After an enthralling weekend of Bundesliga action, there were no shortage of high-class strikes as candidates to make the top five goals of the week. Alas, bundesliga.com had the tough job of whittling them down for your viewing pleasure... Once you've enjoyed the video below, don't forget to vote for your favourite over here!
Farfan back in form
Although Schalke were unable to keep up the pace in the top four chase in yesterday's
with Augsburg, Jefferson Farfan put in an impressive display as he stepped up his return from a long-term injury.
Müller expects Leverkusen to 'take risks'
Thomas Müller, meanwhile, is also anticipating a tough game against a Leverkusen side that have won five league matches in a row without conceding a goal.
Stranzl sidelined
Gladbach are also involved in the last eight of the Cup, but they won't be able to count on defensive rock Martin Stranzl against third-tier side Arminia Bielefeld. The Austrian has failed to recover from the knee problem that caused him to miss the weekend win over Hoffenheim.
Alonso targets Cup glory
His midfield partner Schweinsteiger may be injured but Xabi Alonso is determined to help bring Bayern another DFB Cup triumph this season.
Schweinsteiger blow
FC Bayern have just tweeted that vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger is a doubt for Wednesday's DFB Cup game against Bayer Leverkusen. Click
for more.
Happy Easter
Amid the drama of the weekend, some of you may have forgotten that it was Easter weekend. The Bundesliga's clubs and players didn't, however, so
of the most colorful easter messages on social media.
Sound familiar?
Bayern fans are walking up to their side still being ten points clear at the top...
Sunday 5 April
Stocker off the mark
The final game of the weekend threatened to be as turgid an affair as its predecessor, but Hertha managed to grind out three hugely valuable points in their battle to avoid the drop by eventually beating Paderborn 2-0, with Valentin Stocker and Nico Schulz scoring their first Bundesliga goals for the club. Here's our match report.
Good win #TeamWork #MakeTheDreamWork
Ein von Salomon Kalou (@salomonkalou) gepostetes Foto am 5. Apr 2015 um 11:58 Uhr
Stalemate in Bavaria
There was nothing to separate Schalke and Augsburg in Sunday's early game, as they played out a frustrating
. The Royal Blues are now eight points behind Leverkusen, who occupy the final Champions League spot. Can they claw the deficit back with seven games to play?
Line-ups:
And here are the teams going into battle for the first of today's two remaining Bundesliga matches of Matchday 27:
Countdown to kick-off
Schalke's players have arrived at the SGL Arena with kick-off fast approaching...
Stadium-bound
FC Schalke 04 are embarking on the final stage of their journey to Augsburg's SGL Arena:
Hunting season open
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored both of Schalke's goals the last time they played Augsburg away - a 2-1 win last March - and...
Smiling again
Despite last night's defeat to Bayern, Dortmund are feeling jovial enough to wish their fans across the world a happy Easter too.
Klassiker spoils
The big winners on Saturday were, of course, FC Bayern after their 1-0 win in
Der Klassiker
at Dortmund, and fans and players alike will no doubt be basking in that glory this morning.
Inspiration for Augsburg
Here's Schalke's Atsuto Uchida wishing Schalke fans across the globe a happy Easter ahead of today's game at FC Augsburg, which you can preview
.
Bremen back to work
Werder were back on the training field early this morning after their uninspiring 0-0 draw against Mainz on Saturday.
Borussia on fire
Kachunga and Co. are in action later on at Hertha, but Borussia Mönchengladbach have already done their bit this weekend. They won 4-1 at Hoffenheim on Saturday to continue their surge for the Champions League places.
Saturday 4 April
Goretzka boost
Schalke head coach Roberto Di Matteo has some positive news for fans of a Royal Blue persuasion...
SuperManu by name...
...SuperManu by nature...
Schweinsteiger under no illusions
FC Bayern's Bastian Schweinsteiger on what to expect from
der Klassiker
...
Friends reunited
It's Marco vs. Mario today, but who are you rooting for and who will come out on top? Get involved on Twitter using the hashtags #DerKlassiker and #BVBFCB.
All in the eyes
Jürgen Klopp has his game face on for this one:
Stato!
How's about that then:
Foals double?
Can Borussia make it two wins from two against Hoffenheim this season by winning in Sinsheim for the first time? Here's our
.
Full house in Dortmund
Are you one of the lucky ones?
When Saturday comes...
The week has dragged on, with the wait made even more intolerable thanks to the absence of any football on Friday, but we're finally there! Saturday has arrived, and you know what that means: it's Matchday!
Friday 3 April
Until tomorrow
That concludes our pre-Matchday coverage for today. Make sure to check back tomorrow for all the team news and reaction as the weekend action gets underway and, with
Der Klassiker
set to dominate the Matchday 27 stage, don't forget to check out all the content on
bundesliga.com
by clicking
.
Schürrle set for action
Things haven't quite gone according to plan for Andre Schürrle since joining VfL Wolfsburg, but that could be about to change as the Wolves get set to take on bottom-of-the-table VfB Stuttgart on Saturday afternoon.
I'm on a plane!
Junior Diaz and Co. are putting on a united front on board their flight to Bremen as they look to maintain their recent resurgence against a Werder side, who are hoping to get back to winning ways on home soil...
Falling on Franco's shoulders
...key to doing just that will be the goalscoring prowess on Argentinian frontman Franco Di Santo, who already has 12 goals to his name this season and appears to be well aware of how pivotal Saturday's clash could be.
Get involved!
The number of world-class stars to have featured for Borussia Dortmund and/or FC Bayern München throughout the years is virtually limitless, but
bundesliga.com
wants you to challenge yourself and come up with the best combined starting line-up made of past and present players that have represented the two German footballing powerhouses.
Rallying cry
One win from their last five represents a dip in form not seen in Bremen since Robin Dutt was in charge, but it should also be noted that Schalke, Wolfsburg and FC Bayern provided the opposition during that time. On home soil this weekend against 1. FSV Mainz 05, head coach Viktor Skripnik will be hoping his side can get back to winning ways.
Pep says 'Robbery' absence 'can't be compensated for'
Pep Guardiola began his press conference with a typically blunt admission this afternoon. When asked whether the squad is good enough to cope with the absences of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, as well as David Alaba, he simply said: "No. They are three very important players for us. Without Robben and Ribery we have no players for one-on-one situations." However, he did confirm that captain Philipp Lahm is fit enough to start.
Wolves in preparation
Wolfsburg are in action against Stuttgart this weekend, with the hosts'
goalless since January 17, when he scored for former club Chelsea against Swansea City. Furthermore, he's notched just once in seven games against VfB - on 5 May 2010 when playing for Mainz. Will his wait for a goal go on?
Pep to speak at midday
Don't forget that we'll have quotes from Pep Guardiola when he delivers his press conference at 12:00 CEST before Saturday's game at Dortmund. Where and for how long will Philipp Lahm play? What formation will the team use? Will Mario Götze start against his former club? Find out later!
Thursday 2 April
Klassiker countdown
So that brings our coverage for today to a close. If we've already whet your appetite for the
Klassiker
with two days to go, make sure you check in with us again regularly as we've got more build-up to this weekend's headline act tomorrow, as well as all the rest of the Matchday 27 action. Don't pass up on your chance to get involved and potentially feature on
bundesliga.com
's official twitter account either!
Get well soon David
Despite suffering a potentially season-ending injury, FC Bayern München full back David Alaba appears to be in good spirits. There are few Bundesiga fans that would bet against him coming back stronger than ever when he does return though!
The stage is set
The anticipation surrounding Matchday 27's
Klassiker
continues to build and this is where it's all going to go down on Saturday evening. Don't forget to VOTE for how you think the encounter will end by heading over to the
.
Crazy weather
Germany has been gripped by a storm fondly known as 'Niklas' this week, disrupting training sessions up and down the country with its' high speed winds, hail and now...snow!
Best buddies
FC Bayern München's Brazilian right back Rafihna obviously gets changed quicker than most after an afternoon training session. Maybe he's just rubbing it in with this picture!
Royal Blue boost
FC Schalke 04 are delighting in having midfield talent Julian Draxler back on the training pitch. Hopefully it won't be long until the German international is back in competitive action doing what he does best: firing the Royal Blues to greater heights.
Bremen boost
Better news from Thursday's training session in Bremen with Zlatko Junuzovic back from international duty and putting in an extra shift to be ready to face Mainz on Saturday.
Dortmund press conference
Borussia Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp has given his views ahead of the
Klassiker
at a press conference in Dortmund. While acknowledging his side are not currently on a par with Bayern, he has promised to give them a game anyway.
At the end of the day, you've got to win the game - what that then means in terms of the league table is secondary
You've got to be pretty good at defending against Bayern, but we've done that pretty well before in the past.
We're not talking much, but are rather focusing on trying to play a decent game.
We were too passive in the reverse fixture and deserved to lose
Lahm looking forward
Lahm, for his part, may find himself back in the starting line-up this week. "I've trained for four weeks and I feel fit, and I've played a few minutes in the last few games. We'll have to wait and see if I can manage 90 minutes, though."
Thursday 2 April