Bundesliga preview: Bayern, Ribery still after title

The French wizard believes that Bayern are still in the title hunt, after Sunday’s 3-0 thumping of Nuremberg lifted the German giants into sixth on the league table.

Despite being 12 points behind table-toppers Borussia Dortmund, Ribery still rates the chances of his side.??

The?enormity of the task?is clear to the midfielder, who said his side will have to win every game until Christmas to catch Dortmund -?starting with their away trip to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.

“I admit that our situation isn’t easy but we have a lot of time left,” Ribery told Sport Bild on Wednesday.

“We can achieve a lot now that all (injured players) are returning. But we all know that that we have to win every match until Christmas.”

Bayern legend Franz Beckenbauer believes Dortmund will be too hard to catch, but Ribery is confident that the likes of in-form striker Mario Gomez -?who struck a double against Nuremberg – can help them win their seventh title in ten seasons.

National team skipper Philipp Lahm, Thomas Muller and Miroslav Klose were?rested from Germany’s friendly with Sweden on Wednesday, giving the Bayern trio extra time to prepare for Saturday’s clash at the BayArena.

Muller and Klose will attempt to put the ball past Leverkusen shot-stopper Rene Adler, who has impressed in the early stages of the season after missing the 2010 FIFA World Cup due to injury.

Despite sitting second on the table, Leverkusen have won just twice at home this season and need to improve their home form if they are to seriously challenge Dortmund for the title.

One of the strengths of Jupp Heynckes’ side has been the ability to score goals from all over the park with Sidney Sam, Arturo Vidal, Patrick Helmes and Eren Derdiyok all finding the back of the net regularly.

Leverkusen have a fierce rivalry with Bayern Munich, amplified by the poaching of Michael Ballack, Ze Roberto and Lucio.??The trio were the heart of the?Leverkusen side that made the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League final befoer?all moving to Bayern.

In the?1999/2000 Bundesliga season Leverkusen -?leading the league -?were beaten 2-0 by Munich side Unterhaching on the final day, allowing Bayern to win the title thanks to a 3-1 win over Werder Bremen.

The final-day drama saw Leverkusen miss their chance to win their first-ever title – they still have not won one – and the recent history should make for a buzzing atmosphere when the two sides meet.

While the weekend’s showpiece will be at the BayArena, fourth-placed Freiburg’s trip to Dortmund is sure to be interesting.

Ten?goals to striker Papiss Demba Cisse this season have helped Freiburg begin the campaign positively, with his side having won three of their first four Bundesliga matches.

But Dortmund have scored their own share of goals, with last weekend’s scorers – Lucas Barrios and Shinji Kagawa – both in the top 10 in the league’s goal-scoring charts.

Early pacesetters Mainz have dropped off of late, losing five of their last six matches in all competitions.

They will have a chance to return to the winners list and potentially move into second if they can defeat strugglers Borussia Monchengladbach away from home.

After eight matches unbeaten, in-form Eintracht Frankfurt will host eighth-placed Hoffenheim while Schalke will hope to make it three matches unbeaten in succession when they host Werder Bremen.

Hannover and Hamburg and Nuremberg and Kaiserslautern will also do battle on Saturday, while Sunday’s matches see four of the bottom seven sides in action.

Bottom-side Cologne travel to Stuttgart – who have only lost one of their last five – while St. Pauli will look to halt a four-match losing streak when they host Wolfsburg.