Bayern Munich striker Miroslav Klose is set to miss today’s league visit of former club Werder Bremen with a knee injury but the defending champions hope to welcome back French star Franck Ribery.
Klose, the top scorer at the 2006 World Cup, limped off at half-time during Bayern’s 1-0 win at Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League on Wednesday night and faces a race to be fit for the clash at the Allianz Arena.
With current Bundesliga leaders Hamburg playing tomorrow, second-placed Bayern have a chance to go top of the table against Bremen and hope to have midfielder Ribery back for the first time this season.
Werder have made a poor start to the season and were held to a 0-0 draw by Cypriot minnows Anorthosis in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
CONFIDENCE
In contrast, defending champions Bayern have scored seven goals in winning their last two games and confidence is high after Belgian defender Daniel van Buyten gave them a winning start to their Champions League campaign.
Ribery missed the trip to Bucharest, but is preparing to play his first game of the season after tearing ankle ligaments playing for France during Euro 2008 in June.
“It would have been senseless [to play in Bucharest], I want to play against Bremen from the start,” Ribery told German tabloid Bild on Thursday.
Bremen will have former Bayern striker Claudio Pizarro in their attack and the Peruvian says they are looking to make a statement in Munich.
“We will go there with respect, but no fear,” he said.
Having allowed a 3-0 lead to slip to a 3-3 draw at Dortmund last weekend, third-placed Schalke 04 host Eintracht Frankfurt without midfielder Fabian Ernst and defender Christian Pander who both received red cards in Dortmund.
BAN
Ernst was given a three-match ban after being shown a straight red for a dangerous tackle on Dortmund’s Polish winger Jakub Blaszczykowski.
Having beaten Greek side APOEL FC 4-1 in the UEFA Cup on Wednesday night, Schalke will welcome back Germany striker Kevin Kuranyi who missed the trip to Greece with a thigh injury.
Peruvian striker Jefferson Farfan and Uruguayan midfielder Carlos Grossmueller are both struggling to be fit in time after suffering with the flu.
Also today, bottom side Energie Cottbus host mid-table Bochum and second-from-bottom Arminia Bielefeld take on Cologne.
With both teams in UEFA Cup action on Thursday, leaders Hamburg are at mid-table VfL Wolfsburg tomorrow and fifth-placed VfB Stuttgart are home to Karlsruhe.
Also tomorrow surprise pacesetters Hoffenheim host fourth-placed Borussia Dortmund.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Manchester United on Thursday settled for a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Europa League round-of-16 tie. United led on Joshua Zirkzee’s goal in the 58th minute, but the hosts equalized 12 minutes later after Bruno Fernandes’ hand ball and Mikel Oyarzabal sent Andre Onana the wrong way from the penalty spot. The Europa League could be a way for United to finish the season with a trophy after crashing out of the FA Cup on Sunday. A spot in the quarter-finals is to be on the line at Old Trafford in the second leg on Thursday next
RSS