The team most likely to win the title will take on the defending champions: Bayern versus Stuttgart. bundesliga.de about the top clash.
The first time these two teams met this season, Stuttgart beat Bayern 3-1, dealing the Bavarians their first defeat of the campaign. Scoring sensation Mario Gomez bagged a brace in that victory.
“We’ve only lost one game out of the last ten or eleven. We’re really on a roll. We’re a team you have to respect again. That’s important. We worked hard to get back to where we are. And I don’t think it’s going to be easy for Bayern. Just like it wasn’t for the last team we played”, Gomez remarks.
“Losses always bug you”
Bayern defender Philipp Lahm played for Stuttgart for two years, and he’s happy about their new-found success. But he doesn’t plan to be giving his old team any cheap points.
“Losses always bug you. We were in the same situation last season. We lost in Stuttgart, and beat them at home. And this year we want to win at home again”, Lahm says.
“I think we can win”
Mario Gomez, the league’s second highest scorer, is injured, but wants to help get Stuttgart back into the Champions League.
“We want to come away with something; at least one point. But I also think we can win. We were the first team to beat Bayern this season. I don’t know if they’ve lost at home yet. But that’s something you can strive for.”
Possible treble
But Bayern have other ideas. They’ve already won the DFB Cup. They’re most likely going to win the Bundesliga. And they’ve got the UEFA Cup in their sights.
And who can stop Luca Toni? The Italian superstar seems to score at will - he leads the league with 20 goals.
Schäfer back in goal
Mario Gomez will have to fight through his torn muscle and back into the line-up. Meanwhile, Rafael Schäfer has managed to get back in goal after poor performances in the winter.
“We’re not going there to get clobbered. They have to respect us”, Schäfer insists.
“All teams can be beaten. And we’ve beaten this one. So why not do it again? We’ll see what happens”, Matthieu Delpierre adds.
“Besides Bayern, several teams can still make the Champions League. As we saw with Stuttgart last season, anything can happen when you”re on a roll”, Lahm says.
Player of the month
Last weekend, Stuttgart played host to Nuremberg. While his team-mates were warming up, Mario Gomez garnered himself another award. He already was Bundesliga Player of the Year for 2007. And now he’s Player of the Month for March. With 15 goals scored so far this season, he’s five behind Luca Toni.
“It was nice. I didn’t say no to the title “Footballer of the Year, and I was also happy with “Footballer of the Month. It’s a commendation, and of course I’m happy about it. But you can’t make a big deal about it”, Gomez comments.
Stuttgart travel to Munich with high hopes; and they are gunning to grab a Champions League spot for next year. It may all come down to which striker has a better day out: Luca Toni or Mario Gomez.
Against England with three debutants
Luca Toni declared fit
FCB entertain VfB