96's season ends with draw

Hannover 96's season came to conclusion with a 2-2 draw against Bielefeld.

Fighting to avoid relegation the schwarz-weiß-blauen took the lead two minutes in as Oliver Kirch's off-course drive hit Mario Eggimann and into the net. Eight minutes prior the break Florian Fromlowitz was forced to enter the match for Robert Enke who ripped open a wound to his head from Eggimann's boot. Despite the loss of the captain, Jiří Štajner squared the match three minutes before the hour as he re-directed Vinícius' free-kick from the left to the bottom of the net. Forced to play for the win in an effort to avoid automatic relegation, Bielefeld was completely exposed at the back and allowed 96 free reign in the counter. Finally with six minutes left Jan Schlaudraff and Sergio Pinto played one-two with the latter sending the ball in from the edge of the area to make it 2-1. Polish international Artur Wichniarek drew one back for the home side as the match ended in a 2-2 draw.

With all things consider, Dieter Hecking should be satisfied with the forty-point tally. 96 were challenged throughout the year with troublesome injuries but were able to collect points were needed and never be truly threatened with relegation. Next year will be very different as 96 will climb to the top!

96 devastated in Niedersachsenderby

On the heels of last weeks come from behind victory over KSC, Hannover 96 final home match of the year, the Niedersachsenderby against Wolfsburg ended in a 5-0 defeat. Difficult to watch at times, die Roten were never really in the match as the Wolfsburg plowed on the pressure throughout in order to add to their goal total given the title race could come down to tie-breakers.

Despite the sunny afternoon and the vocal capacity crowd, Wolfsburg's striking tandem of Edin Džeko and Grafite cut through weaknesses in 96's defending problems that have been compromised by injuries for all five goals. Dieter Hecking adjusted last weeks starting eleven to include Michael Tarnat and Frank Fahrenhorst, with the later making his final home appearance before joining MSV Duisburg this summer. After a confident opening ten minutes by 96, the day turned sour as Wolfsburg began to dominate. Unable to control Džeko, the Bosnian opened the scoring near the quarter-hour as he chested down Makoto Hasebe’s chip pass and sent the ball in from near the edge of the area. At the thirty-third minute Grafite out maneuvered Mario Eggimann to receive the ball from Džeko before firing in from the six yard box. That approach was duplicated a few minutes later as Grafite beat Vinícius before firing in Christian Gentner's cross. Mikael Forssell had a perfect chance to draw a goal back for 96 before the break as he broke free in on Diego Benaglio but the Wolfsburg goalkeeper could not be duped. Knowing the Bundesliga title could be decided on goal differential Wolfsburg poured gasoline on the fire and added two more goals after the break. First, six minutes before the hour Zvjezdan Misimović sent up a long cross that Džeko headed in and the Bosnian added his third at the seventy-ninth minute, flicking in Makoto Hasebe’s cross.

Not to be deterred 96's season is nearing conclusion as they travel to Bielefeld next week with great promise of next season when health issues are eliminated.

Hannover 96 come back to defeat Karlsruher SC

Hannover 96 made a push for the top half of the Bundesliga table with a stunning come from behind 3-2 victory over Karlsruher SC. With the victory Dieter Hecking's side is comfortably in eleventh place in the table with two remaining weeks in the season.

Using the same starting eleven as last weeks Frankfurt encounter, relegation concerned KSC started fast and only eleven minutes in Georgian international Alexander Iashvili took advantage of a poor clearance before sending the ball past Robert Enke to take the 1-0 lead from fourteen metres. KSC doubled the lead two minutes past the hour when Joshua Kennedy linked the ball to Christian Eichner before his cross went to Lars Stindl, who sent the ball in from just inside the area via a notable deflection off Christian Schulz. Herr Hecking immediately gave Patrick Hermann his Bundesliga debut, coming in for for Jan Schlaudraff. In a surprising conclusion to the half, Sergio Pinto brought the match to within low with a low probability chance from twenty-two metres that somehow got back KSC 'keeper Markus Miller. For a club fighting to avoid relegation such an error could prove to be highly costly and only three minutes later Pinto sent Jacek Krzynówek free with a well-weighted through ball, albeit in a debatable offside position, resulting in the Polish veteran rounding the 'keeper to the left and pulling the ball back from the byline with a perfect volley to Mikael Forssell who finished with ease roughly a metre from the line. After Robert Enke held KSC at bay, Hanno Balitsch cleverly played the ball upfield via Pinto and Bruggink's collaboration before sending in. Five minutes later in a highly controversial decision KSC had a goal pulled back and Joshua Kennedy was adjudged to jostling Robert Enke. Following that threat the Hannover was able to kill off the balance of the match for the important three points.

Hannover 96 play Frankfurt to 1-1 draw

With concerns of relegation taken care-of, 96 played Frankfurt to a 1-1 draw at the Niedersachsenstadion.

Used to juggling his lineup due to injuries, Dieter Hecking brought in Bastian Schulz, Jan Schlaudraff and Mikael Forssell for Leon Andreasen, Jiří Štajner and Mike Hanke. After Polish international Jacek Krzynówek came close early with a one-man effort die Roten took the lead at the ninth minute as Jan Schlaudraff received a quick touch pass from Mikael Forssell before crossing Arnold Bruggink to drive into the netting. After the goal 96 were having problems going forward and after considerable pressure, Frankfurt leveling the match just before the break as Martin Fenin's cross from the bye-line was headed in by Austria's Ümit Korkmaz. Returning from the break, 96's problems were accentuated as Frankfurt sliced through the flanks to create chances but with each opportunity finishing was incomplete. With the final whistle 96 was pleased to take the draw and can enter the final three match-days making plans for the future.

Hannover defeats Bochum 2-0

Die Roten won its first match of the year away from home as they defeat Bochum 2-0. The victory is Hannover's third victory in four matches and continues to lay a strong foundation for next year as they are in the top half of the table during the Rückrunde.

With Polish international Jacek Krzynówek the only addition to Dieter Hecking's starting eleven, 96 established the run of play early. Only twelve minutes into the match as Mike Hanke won a loose ball, laid off to Krzynówek who crossed from the left into the edge of the six-yard box for Arnold Bruggink to head in. Two minutes past the half-hour Arnold Bruggink's corner from the left was nodded into the near post by Hanno Balitsch to make it 2-0 for 96. Although controlling the match early, after the break Bochum unloaded a constant barrage of attacks on Robert Enke but each time the captain denied their efforts.

The three points all but guarantees Hannover's continuance in the Bundesliga as they welcome Frankfurt to Niedersachsenstadion next Saturday.

Hannover 96 defeats Köln 2-1

96 provided itself important space away from relegation with a 2-1 defeat over Köln at the Niedersachsenstadion. The loss drives Dieter Hecking level with Köln at twelfth and a full nine points above 'Gladbach in the relegation playoff spot.

Once again Dieter Hecking was without the services of Jacek Krzynówek, Michael Tarnat, Frank Fahrenhorst, Vinícius, Steven Cherundolo, Valérien Ismaël and Chavdar Yankov for the injury saddled side. After a few close chances in both ends went for naught, Leon Andreasen opened the scoring at the nineteenth minute, Leon Andreasen scored the first of his two goals as he volleyed in Christian Schulz incredible long diagonal cross in from eleven metres. At the thirty-second minute Andreasen had his second as he got behind Petit to accept Arnold Bruggink's through ball and went in to score past Faryd Mondragón. At the half, Köln summoned Nemanja Vučićević and with two minutes he was creator of the next goal as his cross from the left corner was headed in by Milivoje Novakovič from in-close. Vučićević continued to threaten as his diving header from the right side of the box trickled wide and a further chance from twenty-five metres that just missed. However with Joachim Löw in attendance, Robert Enke denied each Köln and sealed the 2-1 victory.

"Wir wollen euch kämpfen sehen!"

Die Roten continued to be on the wrong side of the score when away from the Niedersachsenstadion as they lost 2-1 to HSV. With only two draws to show for twelve away matches, besides the significant injuries, the road problems are at the root of the 96's proximity to the relegation zone.

Missing Polish international Jacek Krzynówek and Jan Rosenthal, Dieter Hecking was forced to use both Konstantin Rausch and Leon Andreasen in his starting eleven who were well below optimal fitness. Right from the start HSV sent waves of attackers forward and a minute after the start Mladen Petrić volleyed Jerome Boateng cross past Robert Enke. HSV would have doubled the margin eleven minutes later but Enke proved why he is Joachim Löw's choice as he robbed Piotr Trochowski from point-blank range. Chances in the opposite direction although just before the half Arnold Bruggink supplied Gaëtan Krebs a quality chance but his effort was over the bar. Seven minutes after the restart, the Croatian Petrić had his second of the day as he sent in a rebound from Paolo Guerrero's effort. Needing another attack to get back in the match Mikael Forssell was ushered in for Leon Andreasen shortly thereafter and after ten minutes the momentum slowly shifted in die Roten's direction. After Mike Hanke could not close-out a quality chance, HSV's Guy Demel was adjudged a penalty in the area and the spot was pointed to. Mikael Forssell converted from the spot to set-up a feverish final twenty minutes in answer to 96's traveling fans chants. Dieter Hecking pushed Mario Eggimann up as 96 tactically went to three across the top but despite strong efforts, the needed goal didn't materialize as the match ended with a 2-1 loss.

96 devours Berliners

96 continued its impressive run of performances a the Niedersachsenstadion with a shocking 2-0 victory over the Berliners. After last weeks weeks difficult 4-1 loss to Bremen this was the perfect antidote and provides further cushion on the relegation concerns.

Dieter Hecking made two changes from last weeks starting eleven, bringing in Mike Hanke and Polish international Jacek Krzynówek in place of Mikael Forssell and Jan Rosenthal. Hertha showed the early attacking initiative with Robert Enke being called into action to save Raffael's effort via the supply of Patrick Ebert. Despite Hertha's early dominance, 96 took the lead a minute before the half-hour when Konstantin Rausch sent a perfect left-footed cross to the back post that ex Schalke-man Mike Hanke headed-in after escaping the Rodnei's marking. 96 doubled the lead at the sixty-second minute via a fast-paced counter-attack. With Hanke attacking on the right flank, his cross to Sergio Pinto into the box was laid off to Arnold Bruggink, who then drove the ball through Marc Stein's legs and into the net to make it 2-0. Lucien Favre then doubled substituted, bringing Valeri Domovchiyski and Gojko Kačar for Patrick Ebert and Maximilian Nicu looking for a way back in but there was no way through Hannover's defenders. A minute before the end Ukraine striker Andriy Voronin was shown a straight red as "die alte Dame" went home in tears with a 2-0 loss.

96 needs to find combative spirit

As the Berliners visit AWD-Arena, the dark shadow of relegation looms over 96. Out-of-the question at the start of the year after a myriad of injuries has crippled Hecking's-team and they are now only three points above Mönchengladbach.

Following last weeks demoralizing 4-1 in Bremen with the hosts scoring three times in the final thirteen minutes, 96 needs to find the winning form or the situation could go from bad to worse in a hurry.

Whether 96 must begin the long process of rebuilding or simply accept the losses are purely due to injury is point for another time because the threat of relegation has crept too close and the alarms have now sound. Since 96 has lost every match away from home this year, the route to safety starts with maximal points in their remaining home matches. The staple of 96's diet has been success at home where they haven't lost since the start of the Rückrunde.

Standing in-line to ruin Easter dinner is Hertha Berlin who after consecutive losses to Dortmund and Stuttgart are in no mood to be nice guests. There own championship visions are slipping away as have stumbled out of first and channeled Hoffenheim's fall from grace.

The opening match at Olympiastadion this year saw the Berliners pound 96 into submission with late goals similar the recent Bremen encounter. 96 will once again be weighed down with the loss of Jan Schlaudraff, Chavdar Yankov, Frank Fahrenhorst, Steven Cherundolo, Vinícius and Valérien Ismaël and needs to find a combative spirit immediately.

96 must rebound

The Nordderby ended in defeat for 96 as they lost 4-1 to Bremen at Weserstadion. The loss pulls Dieter Hecking's side too close for comfort in the relegation fight as they are now only three points above 'Gladbach with Hertha BSC and HSV over the next two weeks.

While the score-line was deceiving that is little consolation. As Dieter Hecking suggested in his pre-match press conference on 96 TV Christian Schulz took his position in the interior defense and through the opening stages of the match 96 kept Bremen under control. However with four minutes remaining in the half Bremen broke the deadlock as Diego found Claudio Pizarro, who then sent the ball from outside the box but took a high deflection off Christian Schulz and beyond Robert Enke's reach. The situation looked dire on the hour as Mesut Özil was awarded a penalty from a non-foul by Sergio Pinto. However Diego's attempt was saved by the captain and Pizarro's effort from the rebound danced wide. Pizzaro had a number of chances to score after but each time Robert Enke was up to the challenge. Finally nine minutes past the hour the match was even as Polish international Jacek Krzynówek sent a curling shot in from twenty metres. With only thirteen minutes remaining the quality defending unwound for Hannover with a difficult run of allowing three goals in the next seven minutes. Starting with a odd chip into the box that was headed back to Diego, who after being challenged managed to get enough contact before nearly colliding with Enke. In rapid fire fashion Diego's corner was headed on to Pizarro at the back post and into the net only three minutes later. With 96 pouring forward they were open to the counter and four minutes later Mesut Özil’s cross was sent in by Pizzaro from six metres for his third of the day.

Das waren schon immer ganz besondere Spiele!

Dieter Hecking and all of 96 welcome back Robert Enke from his superb international play for Germany. Now the club must focus on efforts on old foe Bremen and the threat of relegation. Still looking for the first win of the year away from Niedersachsenstadion, the Nordderby has not been kind to Hannover. The goal differential in the previous four matches has represented a complete dominance by Bremen and therefore defending is key.

Dieter Hecking made no doubt of this in his pre-match press conference on 96 TV ensuring that Christian Schulz will be in the interior defense ("Christian Schulz wird definitiv in der Innenverteidigung spielen"). Albanian international Altin Lala will be given the responsibility to keep Bremen play-maker Diego under control.

Bremen season has been inexplicably poor this year but Thomas Schaaf is anxious to salvage the year with a good wrap-up in the Bundesliga and in the UEFA Cup. He has a full squad available, excluding Daniel Jensen. Dieter Hecking once again has a long list of absentees as Jan Schlaudraff, Michael Tarnat, Frank Fahrenhorst, Vinícius, Steven Cherundolo, Valérien Ismaël are all out along with Chavdar Yankov who is doubtful.

Injuries aside, there is nothing like a Nordderby to bring out the best.

Hannover zeigte Kampfgeist

After last weeks tough draw against Dortmund, 96 responded with a tremendous 1-1 draw against 1899 Hoffenheim 1899. Against former Hannover coach Ralf Rangnick the match lived up to action packed expectations. It was only the second point of the year earned away from home and is further evidence of a resilient side of the team even though they are plagued with a number of injuries.

Forced into a number of changes due to injury Dieter Hecking listed Leon Andreasen, Bastian Schulz and Konstantin Rausch into his starting eleven along with Jan Rosenthal who replaced Jacek Krzynówek because of good form in practice.

The first half started with relative even play but twenty minutes after the start 1899 was awarded a highly erroneous penalty as a penalty was called on Konstantin Rausch challenge Andreas Beck even though he was outside the area. That aside Selim Teber gave fortuitous lead as Robert Enke, just called up for Deutschland World Cup qualifiers, wasn't able to stop the attempt. The poor call was met with a bit of justice two minutes later as Hanno Balitsch set in Arnold Bruggink’s set piece to square the match. Near the half hour it was Enke again proving Joachim Löw was correct in calling him up as he saved a Tobias Weis scoring threat and without a further goal the match went to the break even at one. With sixteen minutes left 96 looked to be heading to their first away victory as Mario Eggimann headed in Arnold Bruggink’s set piece in. However the three points disappeared with six minutes left as Wellington redirected Selim Teber cross's to make it a 2-2 final.


Photo Credit: Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896

pride shows

There are few words that can describe the intensity 96 AWD-Arena against Dortmund in fighting back for a 4-4 draw but effectively pride shows. In fighting back for the draw Dieter Hecking’s men showed what they are of and while their are many battles to be fought, this is a turning point .

The match didn’t start well as BVB took the lead seventeen minutes after the opening whistle as Alexander Frei scored from the spot after Nuri Şahin was brought down in the area by Michael Tarnat. Only ten minutes later Florian Kringe made it 2-0 and things looked bleak. However Jiří Štajner started the charge back three minutes before the break as he sent a corner in. Replaying the same circumstance three minutes after the restart Arnold Bruggink found the back of the net from a corner and the match was now level. However in a three minute binge just past the hour Kringe and Frei restored the two goal lead for BVB and the situation was once again bleak. Yet in the final ten minutes that could be remembered for turning the season around and something to build on for the future, Mike Hanke reduced the margin to one and only three minutes later, the spot was a pointed after Hanke was brought down by Neven Subotić and Mikael Forssell converted.

Pride shows and with a tough 4-4 draw against the Bundesliga’s best defenders 96 proved what they are capable of.

Lichtblick

After the brutality of losing 5-1 to Bayern München, 96 continues on its deadly schedule only four points above Energie Cottbus in the final relegation spot. Looking down a gauntlet of BVB, 1899 Hoffenheim, Werder, Hertha BSC and HSV, Dieter Hecking has his work cut out for him and need to start squeezing out points against top of the table sides.

As Dortmund comes to AWD-Arena they are still without a win since the start of the Rückrunde and know that three points is needed if they can rekindle their European hopes. After three consecutive draws, last week they broke their streak, albeit in the wrong direction with a 2-1 loss to Stuttgart. Last week their coach, Jürgen Klopp, went looking for goals using Nelson Valdez and Mohamed Zidan up-front and is likely to do the same with Tamás Hajnal a very dangerous creative influence. Dedê returned to his defending position but they are without Kevin-Prince Boateng for the next month. Possibly the biggest concern is the possibly return of Polish international Jakub Błaszczykowski and while few details are available, if he returns the Dortmund attack takes a great leap forward.

Set pieces which ripped apart 96 badly last week will again be the concern. Arnold Bruggink, Steven Cherundolo, Sérgio Pinto and Jan Schlaudraff all returned to training and are recovering nicely and likely to be available for the weekend although Mikael Forssell is less than "fifty-fifty."

When asked of the problems last week Michael Tarnat said to 96 TV:

"Faced with a result like that we're not exactly sitting around in the changing room laughing our heads off. It was a big disappointment. We had been up 1-0 and given away two easy goals from set-pieces. Then we put everything into getting back on level terms and went 3-1 down instead. At that point it was obvious that our chances of taking anything from the game were fairly minimal."

Katastrophale

Needing a win against Bayern München, Hannover 96 suffered one of its worst losses of the year, losing 5-1. Bayern completely dissecting 96's weaknesses with four of the five goals coming from a combination of set pieces and / or aerial assaults.

The match could not have started better for Dieter Hecking's men as fifteen minutes in Jiří Štajner made his way through Bayern defenders before hammering the ball into the net from the edge of the area. The goal however woke the hosts as they erupted with three goals before the break exposing 96's aerial weaknesses. After the opening goal Bayern leveled as Bastian Schweinsteiger's free kick was headed in by Daniel van Buyten and only five minutes later Schweinsteiger was provider again, this time with Miroslav Klose nodding the ball in. The endless wave of attacks continued as Hamit Altintop made it 3-1 nine minutes before the break. With little attacking resistance, target practice for Bayern continued with seventeen minutes left as Köln hero Lukas Podolski headed-in Zé Roberto's cross from five meters. With a minute left another aerial attack resulted in a goal with Martín Demichelis out-jumping Steve Cherundolo to nod in Zé Roberto's cross to the back of the net as the catastrophic match ended 5-1.

Photo Source: Hannoverscher Sport-Verein von 1896 e.V.

Wir wollen gewinnen

Beaming with the 1-0 victory over Leverkusen Hannover 96 make their way south through to face Bayern München. Hungry for the another victory Bayern is struggling with Jürgen Klinsmann under great pressure as they have yet to win since the start of the Rückrunde.

While Bayern is ripe for another fall, die Roten are still without a win away from AWD-Arena this year. Bayern is less likely to go "easy" in this match given their Champions League match on Tuesday as they blew Sporting apart in the opening leg 5-0. Additionally losing mid-week in the Pokal to Leverkusen has the club the focal point of a lot of criticism and they will want a strong response in front of their supporters.

However the blueprint to defeating Bayern at home has been well-laid out recently, none better than Köln, in which their coach Christoph Daum completely out-witted the opposition. Their starting eleven is up in the air will late decisions on Philipp Lahm, Franck Ribéry and Luca Toni to come but Mark van Bommel is suspended.

Dieter Hecking's chances are slowly improving as other than long term losses Vinicius, Gaetan Krebs und Valerien Ismael and injury concern Sergio Pinto, die Niedersachsen are returning to being fully-fit. While Herr Hecking is likely to use the same starting eleven as last week he may need to juggle his lineup due to a midweek training injury involving Steven Cherundolo and Mike Hanke. However with 5,500 die Roten fan making the trip south through Deutschland, support will be there and said simply the coach announced that we want a win!

Photo Source: Hannoverscher Sport-Verein von 1896 e.V.

96 defeat Leverkusen

After last weeks difficult loss to Borussia Mönchengladbach, 96 responded in perfect fashion with a 1-0 victory over Bayer 04 Leverkusen at AWD-Arena.

Die Roten intense play characterized the day, taking Herr Hecking's words of "showing no fear" to hear and never let the Leverkusen swirling attack get moving. Late addition Steven Cherundolo und Jan Schlaudraff were part of the starting eleven and their impact was notable. After keeping the visitors locked down early, their swirling attack began to get uncorked with Robert Enke denying Stefan Kießling from close range. Just past the half hour 96 found the go-ahead goal with a good linkup of play from Jacek Krzynówek with Jan Schlaudraff pulling the ball back to Arnold Bruggink, with the veteran goalscorer finding the net from eleven metres.

After the break 96 grew confident with Krzynówek und Schlaudraff threatening near the hour but additionally keeping the match well under control. Until the later stages when Leverkusen brought in Toni Kroos for Manuel Friedrich, attempts going forward by the visitors were locked down tightly. With ten minutes remaining Arturo Vidal came close but after that Leverkusen's chances disappeared and the celebration began.

96 will show NO FEAR

Following last weeks loss to Borussia Mönchengladbach, 96 face Leverkusen at AWD-Arena in need of a win. Only two points above the drop zone, Dieter Hecking is taking the task saying, "we are showing no fear." He will be without Mike Hanke, Altin Lala and Chavdar Yankov for the match while Leverkusen will miss Tomasz Zdebel as well as Henrique and Gonzalo Castro on suspension.

In their first meeting of the year Leverkusen anniliated 96 4-0 as Patrick Helmes, Stefan Kießling and Renato Augusto were left unchecked. Singling out the trio, Herr Heckling noted how they must ensure they are marked tightly in the tough fight out of the bottom of the table.

96 fall short at Borussia-Park

As stated in the match preview, Borussia Mönchengladbach has been one of the tougher clubs in the Bundesliga since the start of the start of the Rückrunde and the proved it today as the avenged their early 5-1 loss to 96 by winning today 3-2 in front of their vocal supporters in Borussia-Park. Following the opening week victory Rückrunde against Schalke, Dieter Hecking's side have stumbled in the last three matches and are only three points above the drop zone.

Looking to end their problems playing away from home Jiří Štajner and Mikael Forssell both threatened early but after those efforts Gladbach slowed the pace of the match down without every threatening. However in a series of defending breakdowns, Gladbach took the lead with with Alexander Baumjohann und Marko Marin scoring with nine and two minutes remaining. Frustrating to say the least because while 96 had taken most of the initiative and looked to be on the verge of scoring, Gladbach took a commanding two goal lead into the break.

At the restart Jan Schlaudraff came in for Hanno Balitsch and 96 slowly worked themselves back into the match. Sergio Pinto brought one back striking from twenty metres after linking up with Arnold Bruggink. 96 continued to pressure with Jan Schlaudraff in the centre of things and finally Christian Schulz found the equalizer with thirteen minutes remaining of a corner. Fighting back from the two goal arrears, the home stands sang out and if on cue, the great veteran Oliver Neuville stepped up to centre stage to sink 96 with seven minutes remaining as he sent in a close range rebound.

96 to Borussia-Park

A preview of a match is a unique thing. For myself I find them a bit over blown and typically prefer to deal strictly to hard-line facts. Tangible data regarding injuries, recent play and how the clubs match-up is all that is needed typically. Yet unfortunately that is misleading on many occasions because Football is not simply defined by "tangibles" but additionally the fight and spirit of a club.

That is likely the most important backdrop of 96's visit of Borussia-Park. Since the start of the start of the Rückrunde, Borussia Mönchengladbach has been one of the tougher clubs in the Bundesliga to play against and they will be looking to avenge the 5-1 beating from die Roten in September. Holding up the bottom of the Bundesliga, they have adopted a tough tactical plan under Hans Meyer and know their survivals hopes depend upon a victory over die Roten, who additionally have yet to win on the road.

Since the match in September a great deal has changed with both clubs including the loss of Szabolcs Huszti to Zenit Saint Petersburg who scored three times and Gladbach has solidified their defending with Logan Bailly between the posts and the leadership of Tomáš Galásek.

96 coach Dieter Hecking will have Leon Andreasen back from suspension and wait for late decisions on the health of Jan Schlaudraff, Altin Lala and Steven Cherundolo. There are no changes to with long term absences Vinicius, Valérien Ismaël, Gaëtan Krebs and Chavdar Yankov. There will be no changes to the attacking soul of the lineup with the Jiří Štajner, Arnold Bruggink and Jacek Krzynówek providing for the lone striker Mikael Forssell.

Ich bin 96!