Capriccio with Venetian Motifs, 1760, Francesco Guardi
“Dortmund dropped points for the second week i, n succession as a spirited performance from Mainz in the final quarter of the game and a last-gasp equalizer proved enough to hold the league leaders to a draw. Both sides came into this game on the back of disappointing 1-0 defeats – Dortmund to Hoffenheim, and Mainz to Leverkusen. They were the success stories of the first half of the campaign, but whereas Dortmund have stayed in good form after the winter break, Mainz have been up and down.” Defensive Midfielder

Freiburg 1-2 Bayern Munich
“A poor showing from Bayern Munich ultimately didn’t matter as they won their second consecutive game in the Bundesliga to keep the pressure on the sides above them in the Champions League places. Looking at the history of this fixture, the odds looked pretty stacked in Bayern’s favour – no defeats in the last 17 Bundesliga clashes between the sides, and a 4-2 win at the Allianz Arena in October.” Defensive Midfielder

Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-1 Kaiserslautern
“Kaiserslautern took a huge step to securing their Bundesliga place for next season at the expense of doomed-looking Borussia Mönchengladbach. Both sides came into this game in precarious Bundesliga positions – the hosts bottom, but knowing a win would lift them up to 17th, while the visitors, level on points with three other sides, were only out of the drop zone on goal difference.” Defensive Midfielder

“A decisive second half performance from Mainz saw them defeat inconsistent Hamburg after the home side had taken a controversial lead via a goal that didn’t actually cross the line. Mainz came into this game knowing a win would lift them above Bayern Munich and into fourth spot. Hamburg knew a win by two clear goals would lift them above Mainz into fifth. As if to spice things up even further, it was the home side who ended Mainz’s spectacular start to the season, winning at the Bruchweg stadium with a late Jose Paolo Guerrero goal back in October.” Defensive Midfielder

“Wolfsburg defeated relegation rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach to move into 13th place, and more importantly, three points above the drop-zone. The stakes couldn’t have been higher before this one. Fifteenth-placed Wolfsburg, who knew a loss would set a new club record of five straight defeats, faced bottom-placed Gladbach, who won against Schalke last time out with a new coach in charge.” Defensive Midfielder

“Schalke again flattered to deceive as this mid-table tie between two middling sides ended in a draw. Nürnberg came into the game looking to make it five wins in a row, after an impressive run of 14 points from the last 18 available. The Bavarians are as good as safe from relegation, and travelled to the Arena AufSchalke in a buoyant mood, perhaps seeking revenge for their DFB-Pokal exit at the hands of Felix Magath’s men last month.” Defensive Midfielder

“Dortmund ended Bayern’s faint hopes of winning the Bundesliga with an impressive victory. Louis van Gaal kept the same XI that started the midweek win over Inter. Luis Gustavo played at left-back, whilst Danijel Pranjic was in the centre of midfield. Jurgen Klopp made one outfield change, welcoming back Neven Subotic in place of Felipe Santana, and also gave a debut to Mitchell Langerak in goal.” Zonal Marking

“Bayer Leverkusen defeated relegation-haunted Stuttgart in a hugely entertaining game at the BayArena. Stuttgart will feel hard done by after giving a positive performance in and out of possession, but Leverkusen’s quality in front of goal helped seal all three points.” Defensive Midfielder

“Hertha comfortably beat Arminia to notch up their 13th win of a professionally conducted 2. Bundesliga campaign. The home side created a nervy last few minutes when Josip Tadić scored in the 85th minute after their first incisive through-ball of the match (Christian Müller). But the away side fully deserved the win, and will go into next week’s derby against Union on top of the league and feeling on top of the world.” Defensive Midfielder

AZ 6-1 VVV
“Kolbeinn Sigþórsson grabbed a quintuple as Gertjan Verbeek’s side grabbed their first win at home since November. Graziano Pellè got an 89th-minute winner when these sides met at De Koel earlier this season, but there was never any danger of AZ needing a late match-clincher this time. The game was sealed just shy of the quarter-hour mark, but perhaps that was unsurprising – Venlo have been on a torrid run of form in the league recently, with no win since November 5, and now 25 goals leaked in the last eight games.” Defensive Midfielder

“Duisburg beat Kaiserslautern in the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal as Milan Šašić got one over his former employers. Goals from Branimir Bajić and Goran Šukalo in either half saw the second division side beat their top-flight visitors comfortably at the noisy Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena. They’ll now join fellow 2. Bundesliga side Energie Cottbus in the last-four of Germany’s premier cup competition.” Defensive Midfielder

“All the goals came in the second half as Dortmund took another step towards the Bundesliga title. Jupp Heynckes made multiple changes to his side in the first game back after the winter break. Eren Derdiyok, Tranquilo Barnetta and Arturo Vidal were all left out, whilst Sidney Sam and Gonzalo Castro both switched from the right flank to the left. Patrick Helmes played just off Stefan Kiessling.” Zonal Marking

“Despite winning their last three matches before Germany’s winter break, including a notable success against reigning champions Bayern Munich, this season has been a mixed bag for Schalke 04. They have struggled in the Bundesliga, making a desperately poor start when they lost their first four games, including a crushing home defeat in the derby against bitter rivals Borussia Dortmund, but have cruised through their Champions League group, finishing ahead of Lyon and Benfica to secure a very winnable last 16 tie against an inconsistent Valencia.” The Swiss Ramble

“Schalke struck late to eliminate plucky Augsburg from the DFB-Pokal and move into the quarter-finals. This was the fifth consecutive game the Gelsenkirchen side had won in all competitions, and they’ll be disappointed that the winter break now eats into their momentum. The defeat was the first suffered by Augsburg in over two months, but they won’t be too disheartened as they seek to gain promotion to the top-flight for the first time in their history.” Defensive Midfielder

“The starting line-ups Dortmund weren’t at their best, but were still relatively comfortable. Jurgen Klopp selected an unchanged side, and with the exception of the absent Kevin Grosskreutz, this is the XI he has favoured so far this season.” Zonal Marking

“A brace from Didier Ya Konan punished two defensive mistakes as Hannover moved into second place. As a result, Stuttgart will be stuck in the bottom three over the winter break. Stuttgart came into this game as the only team who hadn’t won away from home in the Bundesliga this season, and knew that a win wouldn’t even be enough to lift them out of the drop zone. Hannover, on the other hand, went into the game knowing that a win would give them a new club record of five consecutive victories – and, as mentioned in the introduction, a win would also lift them up to second place. That’s Hannover. In second place. In December. Oh, and they’d be taking that position from Mainz. Yes, Mainz.” Defensive Midfielder

Tactical Breakdown: How High-Flying Hannover Edged Struggling Stuttgart
“A brace from Didier Ya Konan punished two defensive mistakes as Hannover moved into second place. As a result, Stuttgart will be stuck in the bottom three over the winter break. Stuttgart came into this game as the only team who hadn’t won away from home in the Bundesliga this season, and knew that a victory wouldn’t even be enough to lift them out of the drop zone. Hannover, on the other hand, went into the game knowing that a win would give them a new club record of five consecutive victories.” Goal

“A scoreline that barely makes sense given the away side’s dominance for the majority of the game. Felix Magath lined up with a lopsided and frankly disorganised 4-4-2 / 4-4-2 diamond shape. Jermaine Jones and Jefferson Farfan were dropped after last week’s 5-0 defeat to Kaiserslautern. Jose Jurado came in as a playmaker drifting to the left, and Ivan Rakitic played on the left of the centre of midfield.” Zonal Marking

“Wolfsburg and Bremen played out an entertaining scoreless draw but one that’ll only truly live on in the memory for Edin Džeko’s petulant reaction to being substituted. Bremen came into this game with a number of absentees, including Claudio Pizarro, Wesley, Naldo, and Tim Borowski. Wolfsburg, meanwhile, made do without just two first-choice players – Arne Friedrich, and Grafite.” Defensive Midfielder

“A decent game where neither side truly hit top form. Leverkusen kept the broad 4-2-3-1 system they’ve favoured this season, making two changes – Sami Hyypia came in at the back for Stefan Reinartz, whilst Erin Derdiyok was back in place of Patrick Helmes.” (Zonal Marking)

“Amid all the excitement about Mainz’s exhilarating start to the new German season, Borussia Dortmund’s surge into second place in the Bundesliga, winning seven of their first nine matches, including the impressive disposal of fierce local rivals Schalke 04 in the Revierderby, has gone largely unnoticed, even though Jürgen Klopp’s young, athletic team puts on show a similar brand of aggressive, attacking football.” (The Swiss Ramble)

“Mainz are THE story of the European season so far – top of the Bundesliga with six wins from six. Five wins from five was good enough, but few expected the run to continue, since they faced a trip to last season’s champions. But Mainz triumphed 2-1 over Bayern, using a 4-3-1-2 formation and pressing all over the pitch.” (Zonal Marking)

“The Saturday evening tie for Round 6 in the Bundesliga saw Northern rivals Bremen and Hamburger SV face off. Coming seventh in the list of the nine fixtures that comprise the round, Hamburger SV began the clash in 7th place on 8 points, while Bremen found themselves in penultimate place on a mere three points.” (Defensive Midfielder)

“A thoroughly entertaining battle ended with a win for the home side thanks to a late Hugo Almeida goal. Bremen lined up with an attack-minded system which was vaguely a 4-2-3-1, with the front four players allowed to drift across the pitch, with the understanding that two of them would cover the wide positions and defend with two banks of four when they lost the ball. Generally this resulted in Marko Marin on the left and Aaron Hunt on the right, although sometimes Hunt ended up in the centre and one of the strikers provided right-wing width.” (Zonal Marking)

“A frantic game that Spurs looked set to win at a canter, only to be pegged back in the second half. Harry Redknapp went with a fairly basic 4-2-3-1 shape, with Rafael van der Vaart in behind Peter Crouch. Jermaine Jenas was a surprise starter in the centre of midfield alongside Tom Huddlestone, whilst the rest of the side was as expected.” (Zonal Marking)

“An amazing second leg of a superb tie sees Bremen progress thanks to a dramatic late show, whilst Sampdoria must settle for the Europa League. Both teams changed shape from the first leg, with plenty of personnel changes too. Sampdoria set out with a strange formation vaguely resembling a 4-4-2 diamond (more on that later), with Stefano Guberti and Daniele Dessena starting in midfield, and Marius Stankevicius replacing the suspended Stefano Lucchini.” (Zonal Marking)

“A tremendous fixture to open the new Bundesliga season – the champions from the last two seasons going head-to-head – and it turned out to be a wonderful game. Bayern continued to use their 4-2-3-1 formation that brought them such success last season, with some notable modifications. Holger Bastuber moved to centre-back, with the promising Diego Contento starting at left-back. Toni Kroos has returned from a loan spell at Leverkusen and played behind Miroslav Klose, meaning Thomas Mueller played the right-wing role he thrived in at the World Cup.” (Zonal Marking)