Germany spoilt by Sunday feast

In mid-December fans around the world tuned in for the Premiership's 'Grand Slam Sunday' as the big four clubs faced off one after another. It is the Bundesliga's turn this weekend when top two FC Bayern München and Werder Bremen meet at the same time as probably Germany's biggest derby between Ruhr rivals BV Borussia Dortmund and FC Schalke 04

Bayern ahead
Bayern, who secured a 4-0 victory at Bremen in August, lead Werder by three points, the two sides between them having won four of the last five German titles. Although Bayern were criticised for their second-half display in their 2-1 victory at FC Hansa Rostock last week, they were the only one of the top three to pick up maximum points in the first fixtures of 2008 as Bremen were beaten 2-1 at home by VfL Bochum 1848 to allow their weekend hosts to open up a gap.

Ribéry out
Bayern will be without in-form Franck Ribéry due to thigh problems, though defender Lúcio should overcome a hamstring complaint. "We would not have paid €25m for [Ribéry] if he was not someone we would miss," said Bayern general manager Uli Hoeness. "But this should not be something that totally prevents us from performing."

Making amends
Bremen are also missing a key man in the shape of midfielder Torsten Frings, who has a knee injury, and forward Boubacar Sanogo is at the Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast. Still, the players are certainly motivated, due to their nightmare against Bochum as well as their recent cup exit at Dortmund. "We have to make amends," said forward Aaron Hunt. "And we will do so."

Derby day
While Bremen are attempting to close the gap on Bremen, 80,000 fans will be at the Westfalenstadion for the visit of Schalke. Dortmund are back in 12th place, seven positions adrift of Schalke, and last week were held 3-3 at lowly MSV Duisburg while their rivals were beating VfB Stuttgart 4-1. But Dortmund can take hope ahead of their 131st encounter with Schalke thanks to that cup win against Bremen, while the Gelsenkirchen side crashed out to VfL Wolfsburg on penalties.

Kuranyi banned
Schalke, whose 2-0 loss to Dortmund last season dealt a hammer blow to their title hopes, are missing forward Kevin Kuranyi, with a shirtless goal celebration against Stuttgart prompting the booking which triggered a one-match suspension for the striker. "We will have to win without him in Dortmund," said a defiant Jermaine Jones, fresh from winning his first Germany cap on Wednesday in the 3-0 win in Austria. Dortmund coach Thomas Doll said: "The result will show whether we will continue to be average or if we can start a resurgence."