Bundesliga preview: Bayern fight for top spot

Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich play host to Cologne on Friday, while third-placed Schalke welcome Werder Bremen a day later.

Mario Gomez scored both goals in Bayern’s 2-1 win over Stuttgart on Sunday, as Jupp Heynckes’ side opened up a three-point lead over Borussia Dortmund at the top of the league.

Gomez, 26, will be looking to add to his tally of 15 league goals in 15 games against a Cologne outfit coming off a 4-0 home win over bottom side Freiburg.

Christian Clemens and Lukas Podolski each scored braces to help Cologne notch their sixth win of the season.

Podolski brought his league tally to 14 goals from 15 games with his double and will look to help Cologne improve on their 10th position when he confronts his former team at the Allianz Arena.

Level on points with second-placed Dortmund, Schalke host fifth-placed Werder Bremen, who are just two points behind, on Saturday.

After qualifying for the last 32 of the Europa League with a 2-1 win over Steaua Bucharest on Wednesday, Schalke will look to former Real Madrid striker Raul and Dutch ace Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to fire them to three-straight league wins.

Dutch goal machine Huntelaar has scored 14 league goals this season and will be a handful for Bremen’s Brazilian defender Naldo.

Bremen have struggled against the leading sides this season, losing 4-1 to Bayern on December 3 and 5-0 to fourth-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach in November.

Also on Saturday, champions Borussia Dortmund travel to Freiburg looking for a win, after dropping points with two consecutive 1-1 draws against Kaiserslautern and Moenchengladbach respectively.

Attacking midfielder Mario Goetze is sidelined until next year after picking up a thigh injury against Kaiserslautern, meaning Dortmund will be hoping Poland striker Robert Lewandowski can add to his total of 10 league goals.

Sixth-placed Bayer Leverkusen host relegation battlers Nuremberg, keen to take maximum points after last week’s scoreless draw against Hannover.

With a 2-0 home loss to Hoffenheim in their last match, Nuremberg have now lost five of their last six league games. A 1-0 win over Kaiserslautern on November 26 was their lone success.

Unbeaten in their last eight league games, Hamburg are at home against second-last Augsburg, who will try to build on their surprise 1-0 win over Moenchengladbach on Saturday.

In Saturday’s other games, Hoffenheim host Hertha Berlin in a mid-table battle, while seventh-placed Stuttgart travel to struggling Wolfsburg.

On Sunday, Hannover visit Kaiserslautern, who are just above the relegation zone, while Moenchengladbach are at home to Mainz.