Dark horses Dortmund and Mainz clash for Bundesliga top spot

Both Bundesliga leaders Mainz and closest rivals Borussia Dortmund will be looking to get over German Cup disappointments on Sunday when they clash in the German league with top spot up for grabs.

Mainz suffered only their second defeat of the season on Wednesday when they were shocked 2-1 at second division Alemannia Aachen in the German Cup second round, while Dortmund lost 4-2 on penalties at third-tier Kickers Offenbach.

“We will learn the lessons from the defeat at Aachen and make things better at Dortmund on Sunday,” vowed Mainz manager Christian Heidel.

Both sides have begun the season with a hiss and a roar and their young rising stars have played some eye-catching football.

Mainz pair Lewis Holtby and Andre Shuerrle have both played themselves onto the verge of the full Germany squad.

Likewise, Paraguayan international striker Lucas Barrios, Japan midfielder Shinji Kagawa and Germany’s Kevin Grosskreutz have hit 11 goals for Dortmund.

With a two-point lead, Mainz can open up a five-point gap at the top of the table if they can beat Juergen Klopp’s young guns.

On Friday, defending champions Bayern Munich, who are 12th in the table, host Freiburg, seventh, hoping to make up the 12-point gap behind Mainz after coach Louis van Gaal demanded his side take all three points.

Bayern have a habit of putting themselves under pressure and failing to deliver in the league: they have won just three of their last nine Bundesliga games, but have three wins from three in the Champions League.

“Now is the moment to start to play catch-up in the Bundesliga,” said Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

The players, meanwhile, have identified the Freiburg game as an opportunity to create some forward momentum.

“We have to get some wins to climb forward and we have to start against Freiburg with three points, “said goalkeeper Hans-Joerg Butt.

Van Gaal says he wants Mainz to draw against Dortmund as there is a six-point gap between second-placed Dortmund and Hanover in third and he feels three more points would make Mainz hard to catch before the winter break.

US midfielder Jermaine Jones is expected to miss Schalke’s match against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday evening after he damaged ankle ligaments.

The 28-year-old picked up the injury in his side’s 1-0 German Cup win over second division FSV Frankfurt in mid-week.

A scan later revealed the midfielder, who has won two caps for the USA, has torn a ligament and damaged another.

Jones also looks set to sit out Schalke’s trip to Hapoel Tel Aviv on Tuesday in the Champions League.

Schalke are 16th in the Bundesliga — two places from bottom — with just six points from their first nine games.

Fixtures

Friday (1830GMT):

Bayern Munich v Freiburg

Saturday (1330GMT unless otherwise stated):

Werder Bremen v Nuremberg, VfL Wolfsburg v VfB Stuttgart, Cologne v Hamburg, Kaiserslautern v Borussia Moenchengladbach, St Pauli v Eintracht Frankfurt, Schalke 04 v Bayer Leverkusen (1630GMT)

Sunday:

Mainz 05 v Borussia Dortmund (1330GMT), Hoffenheim v Hannover 96 (1530GMT)