Five things to look out for on Matchday 24
Tayfun Korkut prepares for his Bayer Leverkusen bow, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund round out a busy week, and Darmstadt pay tribute to Jonathan Heimes.
Get your Official Fantasy Bundesliga team in shape before Matchday 24!
As ever, bundesliga.com is on hand to give you an idea of the stories that will be making the headlines this weekend...
1) Can Korkut turn things around at Leverkusen?
Tayfun Korkut will take charge of his first game as Bayer Leverkusen coach as Die Werkself kick off the weekend at home to in-form Werder Bremen, who are currently enjoying a three-game winning streak. The Turkish coach enjoyed mixed fortunes with previous clubs Hannover and Kaiserslautern, but he has been charged with the task of getting Leverkusen back on track, after last week's chastening 6-2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund brought an end to Roger Schmidt's three-year reign. Having finished in the top four for the past four seasons, Leverkusen have become accustomed to European football, which is still a realistic target for Korkut. He inherits a side who are currently 10th, but only five points off sixth and a place in the UEFA Europa League.
Watch: Claudio Pizarro's superb hat-trick on Bremen's last visit to the BayArena:
Want more Bundesliga Action?
2) No rest for the wicked
Speaking of Europe, there is no respite for Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund this weekend, following their superb performances against Arsenal and Benfica in the UEFA Champions League. Leaders Bayern entertain sixth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, against whom they could only draw in the reverse fixture, while Dortmund travel to the capital for a meeting with fifth-placed Hertha Berlin. Admittedly, Bayern haven't lost a Bundesliga game immediately after playing in the Champions League since 2014/15 – and with Robert Lewandowski and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring goals like they're going out of fashion, it could be Frankfurt and Hertha who have the most to fear.
Watch: Aubameyang's double in the Bundesliga goal-fest on Matchday 23:
3) Leipzig looking to continue the charge
RB Leipzig were held to a 2-2 draw in Augsburg last time out, which means they go into the weekend seven points behind leaders Bayern and six ahead of third-placed Dortmund. Ralph Hasenhüttl's side will be determined to get back to winning ways at home to Wolfsburg, although they will have to be wary of the new manager effect – Andries Jonker is preparing to take charge of his second game as VfL coach after earning a point in Mainz last weekend, and will be keen to mark the start of his reign with a prestigious victory. Leipzig will need the likes of Timo Werner, Emil Forsberg and Naby Keita firing on all cylinders if they hope to tame the Wolves and keep pace with Bayern at the top.
Watch: Konstantinos Stafylidis gives Augsburg the lead against Leipzig with Matchday 23's Goal of the Week:
4) Weinzierl hoping for boost against former club
After draws with Cologne and Hoffenheim and a 4-2 loss to Borussia Mönchengladbach, Schalke could really do with a win, considering that they are only four points clear of the relegation play-off place. Coach Markus Weinzierl will have been happier with his side's UEFA Europa League performance against Gladbach, a 1-1 draw at the VELTINS Arena, but similarly aware of the urgent need to snap a six-game winless streak in all competitions. His former club Augsburg could prove a tough nut to crack, however – they are unbeaten in four games against Schalke, and come into this one on the back of that impressive draw against RB Leipzig.
5) Darmstadt pay tribute to Jonathan Heimes
Lifelong Darmstadt fan Jonathan Heimes died on 8 March last year at the age of just 26, after a long battle with cancer. To mark the one-year anniversary of his passing, the club will wear a special one-off commemorative strip as they host Mainz on Saturday, at the stadium that they renamed after Heimes last summer. The kit bears the name of his charity foundation, Du Musst Kämpfen! ("You Must Fight!"), and club president Rüdiger Fritsch announced that 1898 copies of it will be put on sale, with proceeds going to Du Musst Kämpfen! to help young cancer sufferers.
Watch: Darmstadt's moving tribute to Jonathan Heimes last year: