The Olympiastadion will provide the backdrop for a
Bundesliga title party on Tuesday if Bayern Munich beat Hertha Berlin.
Bayern stand on the brink of securing their 24th German
top-flight crown, and victory in Berlin will ensure that the runaway leaders
cannot be caught by nearest rivals Borussia Dortmund, who are 23 points adrift.
A win would also clinch coach Pep Guardiola's third piece
of silverware in his first season in charge at the Allianz Arena, having
already added the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup to Bayern's bulging
trophy cabinet.
The defending champions are searching for a 19th straight
league win - a run that began in October and included a 3-2 victory over
Hertha, who sprang an upset in taking an early lead in Munich.
Hertha are winless in their last four games and have
failed to score in their previous two outings - hardly the ideal preparation
for a date with all-conquering Bayern.
Jurgen Klopp's second-placed Dortmund, meanwhile, side
welcome local rivals Schalke, who are third, to Signal Iduna Park, with only a
point separating the two teams.
Dortmund's inconsistent season is highlighted by the fact
that they have only won twice in their last seven home Bundesliga matches.
Schalke, high on confidence after three successive league
wins, head into the derby clash with coach Jens Keller insisting reaching the
UEFA Champions League again is more important than a top-two finish.
"The goal is as before, to qualify for the Champions
League," said Keller. "In this regard Schalke are in a very good way.
"However, we must keep a cool head.
"We're playing a very, very good second half (of the
season) and know our strengths."
Schalke have opened up a six-point gap on Bayer
Leverkusen, with Sami Hyypia's men hoping to end a run of six games without a
win when they face Augsburg on Wednesday.
Borussia Monchengladbach are poised to capitalise on
Leverkusen's form slump and could leapfrog them in the table if they beat
Eintracht Frankfurt.
Wolfsburg and Mainz can also move level with Leverkusen
with victories over Werder Bremen and Eintracht Braunschweig respectively.
At the opposite end of the table, four teams are
separated by just two points in the bottom five ahead of a crucial round of
midweek fixtures.
Freiburg and fellow strugglers Hamburg clash, while
Stuttgart - currently outside of the bottom three by a point - visit
second-bottom Nuremberg.
Meanwhile, in mid-table, Hoffenheim entertain Hannover
with both sides hoping to edge ahead of the other in the battle for a top-half
finish.
Culled from Soccerway
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