Hamburg - Leaders Bayer Leverkusen travel to second-placed SV Hamburg in a Bundesliga summit clash between the German league's only two unbeaten sides on Saturday. Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia comes up against the side he led last season and meets a coach in Jupp Heynckes he played under at Bayern Munich in the early 1990s.
Both sides have similar records of six wins and two draws for their 20 points, but Leverkusen enjoy a slightly better goal difference and a draw would keep them on top.
Heynckes said this week the match could be an attractive one as both sides liked to play attacking football.
The 64-year-old coach can probably again call on midfielder Renato Augusto following injury but may retain on-loan Toni Kroos following an impressive performance in a 4-0 win over Nuremberg.
Labbadia, 43, meanwhile, admitted this week he had concerns about the team's attacking ability after injuries to strikers Paolo Guerrero (cruciate ligament tear) and Mladen Petric (ankle ligament tear), who will both be sidelined for the rest of the year.
"Injury losses like this can cost many points, which will decide whether you end up third, fifth or seventh," he told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
Bayern Munich also have injury problems after Ivica Olic (calf muscle tear) joined Arjen Robben (knee surgery) on the long-term invalids' list as Louis van Gaal's team attempts to make up ground.
France midfielder Franck Ribery (knee) is also a doubt for the visit to Freiburg by a Bayern side who are lagging eight points behind in eighth place and have not scored in their last three matches in league and Champions League.
The good news for van Gaal is that captain Mark van Bommel completed a 60-minute comeback in a friendly on Tuesday after a nine-week lay-off with a broken big toe and torn tendon in his left foot.
Also feeling fully fit again after an Achilles injury is striker Luca Toni who played a full 90 minutes in the match and is ready to provide the strike power Bayern have been missing of late.
"I enjoyed the game, and I feel ready for the Bundesliga in Freiburg next Saturday. But the coach picks the team," said the Italian.
Third-place Schalke - four points behind Leverkusen and Hamburg - travel to VfB Stuttgart who are hoping to welcome back midfielder Alexander Hleb. Marcus Babbel's side have struggled since losing Hleb to a thigh muscle injury in mid-September and have slipped to 13th.
Werder Bremen in fourth place take on fifth-placed Hoffenheim in another of the day's attractive pairings. At the other end of the table, second-last Nuremberg entertain bottom club Hertha Berlin in a key match for both clubs.
Elsewhere on Saturday, struggling Cologne play fellow-promoted Mainz, in sixth place, while Eintracht Frankurt host Hanover. On Sunday champions Wolfsburg, lying seventh, play lowly Borussia Moenchengladbach while Borussia Dortmund take on neighbours Bochum.
