Bundesliga preview: Dortmund aim to keep streak intact

Fresh from re-signing their manager, Borussia Dortmund will seek to extend their winning Bundesliga streak on Saturday.

As the league leaders continue to prepare for their home fixture against Borussia Monchengladbach, the club was lifted by the news that Juergen Klopp had signed a two-year contract extension to his current deal – tying him to the club until 2014.

Klopp, 43, has overseen Dortmund’s rise to the summit of German football this season, with the 1996/97 Champions League winners sitting seven points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.

“I want to develop what I have started here,” a proud Klopp said on Thursday.

“I’m incredibly happy to have this confidence shown in me. When I told my family about the extension, there was a lot of celebrating at home. I am really excited about the next three-and-a-half years.”

Dortmund’s rise under Klopp has been meteoric, raising hopes of a return to the club’s headier days among Germany’s elite clubs.

He inherited a Dortmund side that finished 13th in 2007/08 but won two top-six finishes in a row before the side’s superb start to the 2010/11 season.

Klopp has seen the likes of Kevin Grosskreutz, Marcel Schmelzer, Mario Goetze and Mats Hummels become German internationals, but it is his mixed bag of goalscorers that have rewarded him this season.

Grosskreutz, Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, Paraguay forward Lucas Barrios and Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa have scored 20 goals between themselves this season and Klopp will hope one of the four can find the back of the net against bottom-placed Monchengladbach.

Monchengladbach’s terrible defence has cost them several points this season and the strugglers have let in 16 goals in their past six league games – a statistic that is sure to excite Barrios and company.

Dortmund have won 11 of their 12 Bundesliga matches and should have little trouble at least maintaining their lead on top of the league with the potential to stretch it further.

The round’s Friday fixture sees second-placed Mainz host mid-table Nuremberg.

Mainz arrested a four-match losing streak in all competitions with a 3-2 win at lowly Monchengladbach on Saturday but will need to lift if they are to see off a Nuremberg side who have impressed on their travels of late.

The form of strike duo Sami Allagui and Andre Schurrle will be crucial if Mainz are to revive their impressive early season form.

Both players had not scored in over a month before their Monchengladbach triumph, with Allagui’s double and Schurrle’s strike possibly signalling that Mainz are back.

Bayern Munich’s poor start to the season has continued and the Bavarian giants need a victory against Eintracht Frankfurt at the Allianz Arena on Saturday to keep in touch with Dortmund.

Bayern trail the table-toppers by 14 points but have qualified for the Round of 16 in the Champions League and will soon see some key playmakers return.

Club captain Mark van Bommel is back in training and has been joined by French winger Franck Ribery.

The likes of Miroslav Klose, Arjen Robben and Ivica Olic should also return by the time the winter break has been concluded, meaning that points now are vital for Bayern so the gap is not too wide when their stars return.

Louis van Gaal’s eighth-placed side face an Eintracht Frankfurt team who sit one spot higher in the league and the Dutchman will be banking his hopes on in-form striker Mario Gomez, who has netted 10 goals in his last six appearances in all competitions for Bayern.

Hoffenheim, fifth, host third-placed Bayer Leverkusen in what is sure to be another mouth-watering encounter on Saturday.

Leverkusen are unbeaten in their last 13 away trips in all competitions and have not lost an away game since April, with that result coming at the hands of Stuttgart.

The 2001/02 Champions League finalists will head to Hoffenheim full of confidence, but will need to be wary of an impressive side who destroyed Eintracht Frankfurt with a superb 4-0 away win last Saturday.

Other Saturday games see Hamburg host struggling Stuttgart while Hannover clash with Freiburg as two of the top-six sides meet.

Schalke will look to convert their strong European form into league performances and keep a three-match unbeaten streak in the league alive with a trip to Kaiserslautern.

Werder Bremen face St. Pauli on Sunday, with both sides knowing that a loss could send them awfully close to the relegation zone. Cologne will look to build on a solid 1-0 away triumph at Stuttgart when they host Wolfsburg the same day.