Another weekend of Germany’s top-flight football is here with huge fixtures including Bremen vs Dortmund and Wolfsburg vs Leverkusen. The week leading up to match day 11 has been action packed with the DFB Pokal second round taking place, while struggling Hoffenheim relieved Markus Gisdol of his managing duties after only one win in the opening ten games.
Bundesliga this week: Huub Stevens, Loris Karius and Daniel Caligiuri
Legendary Huub Stevens to save Hoffenheim’s blushes
It has been a very busy week in Sinsheim, where Hoffenheim have sacked manager Markus Gisdol after a poor start to the 2015-16 campaign. After a respectable 8th position last season, Gisdol was hoping to achieve one step better but has not been able to do so. Huub Stevens; the former Schalke, Hertha and Hamburg boss, has taken charge until the end of the season. Whereby, relatively unknown 28-year-old manager Julian Nagelsmann will take the helm, making him the youngest ever in Bundesliga history. The Dutchman Stevens has managed five other clubs in his long and impressive managerial career. Including a spell at Stuttgart last term with three straight wins in their last three games to escape relegation. In addition to this the 61-year-old was voted best coach in the Schalke team of the century by fans. The impressive CV will be comforting for the 1899 faithful who will be hoping to quickly move on from their abysmal start to this campaign. Hoffenheim face Koln at the RheinEnergieStadion who have lost their last three in league and cup, so Stevens will be hoping his experience and Koln’s poor form will favour a much needed win for the Village side.
Shotstopper Karius vital to aid in recovering Mainz form
Mainz have been in one of the poorest forms in the Bundesliga and go into match day 11 with a vital fixture against last-placed Augsburg at the WWK Arena. The Carnival Club lost to struggling 2.Bundesliga side 1860 Munich in the DFB Pokal midweek and have lost four of their last five in the Bundesliga, as they head into a tight-looking game against Markus Weinzierl’s Augsburg on Saturday. Goalkeeper Loris Karius has been in the midst of the action this campaign and has become a vital player for Martin Schmidt’s side. The 22-year-old has attracted attention from other clubs with his consistency and ability to get down low, this includes Liverpool and Aston Villa, the latter of whom are rumoured to want the young German to replace the ageing Brad Guzan.
Karius, who came through Mainz second team, made his break for the first team when veteran keeper Christian Wetklo had been sent off in a home win against Hannover in 2012. He will do very well to keep out the eager-to-impress Raul Bobadilla and Hamit Altintop after poor individual starts to the season.
Wolves’ winger Caligiuri to play key part in regaining consistency
The marquee fixture this weekend between Wolfsburg and Leverkusen will be a game in which the Wolves will look to gain ground on the top after an inconsistent start to the season. Last weekend they managed a late 1-0 victory at Darmstadt, as Daniel Caligiuri slotted the winner after 78 minutes to grab their first back-to-back wins this season. The Volkswagen-owned side would be looking to extend this run after a frustrating start in the first ten games. 27-year-old Caligiuri will be hoping to extend his own good form to propel his side towards the top; the German has prospered as a revelation since the departure of big-money Kevin De Bruyne at the end of August. Leverkusen is no easy task, however, and after their impressive signing Javier Hernandez grabbed his fifth goal in three games, the question of a third straight win will be ever harder to achieve for the Wolves. However, Wolfsburg are at playing at the Volkswagen Arena and they have gone unbeaten there since March 2014, so home advantage could prevail this weekend.
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