SPORTS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2015 GERMAN LEAGUE PREVIEW Bayern target another Hamburg rout BERLIN: Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich suspended centre-back Jerome Boateng, who Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, last season’s top scorer host Hamburg today in their final warm-up will be available to face Donetsk, though. in the Bundesliga, who is nonetheless avail- GERMAN LEAGUE TABLE before Tuesday’s Champions League clash Hamburg captain Rafael van der Vaart is able to face Real. Germany winger Sidney away to Shakhtar Donetsk. Despite their fighting for his midfield place having been Sam trained on Thursday after shaking off a eight-point lead, Bayern have struggled to hauled off at half-time of their 2-1 home win leg injury, while Japan defender Atsuto BERLIN: German Bundesliga table ahead of this week- impress in their first three league games of over Hanover 96 following a poor display. His Uchida also trained after recovering from flu. end’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals 2015, but have a habit of hammering side has climbed to 12th in the table after Resurgent Werder Bremen face a tough test, against, points): Hamburg. Their shock 4-1 thrashing at sec- back-to-back wins, but Munich’s Allianz having shot up from 18th to eighth in just Bayern Munich 20 15 4 1 45 9 49 ond-placed Wolfsburg was followed by a 1-1 Arena has not been a happy hunting ground four games, as they chase a fifth-straight win VfL Wolfsburg 20 12 5 3 41 19 41 draw at home to Schalke 04, albeit with only for Hamburg recently. They have also lost 3-1, at home to fourth-placed Augsburg today. Schalke 04 20 10 4 6 31 22 34 10 men for 70 minutes, before last weekend’s 5-0 and 6-0, on their last four visits to the Borussia Dortmund bid to back up last week- Augsburg 20 11 1 8 28 24 34 2-0 win at strugglers Stuttgart in a below-par Bavarian capital, but coach Joe Zinnbauer will end’s impressive performance in their 3-0 win Moenchengladbach 20 9 6 5 27 17 33 display. be buoyed by their goalless draw in Hamburg at Freiburg with another win when they host Bayer Leverkusen 20 8 8 4 30 22 32 Coach Pep Guardiola admitted his side’s in September-his first game in charge. mid-table Mainz 05 on Friday. Hoffenheim 20 7 5 8 31 33 26 display “was not our best” and added “we Dortmund, who are 16th, were boosted in Werder Bremen 20 7 5 8 32 41 26 need to find our rhythm”, while Germany star Real loom for Schalke mid-week when Germany winger Marco Reus Thomas Mueller said the team need to raise Schalke 04 will give third-choice teenage signed a contract extension until 2019. It Eintracht Frankfurt 20 6 7 7 38 41 25 their game. “You can’t just get up in the goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther only his ends weeks of speculation of a possible big- Hanover 96 20 7 4 9 23 30 25 morning, say: ‘today, I’m going to play out- third senior appearance against Eintracht money transfer to one of Europe’s top sides Cologne 20 6 6 8 19 23 24 standingly well’ and it will happen. You have Frankfurt today night in their last game at the end of the season, due to a release Hamburg 20 6 5 9 14 22 23 to make it happen,” he said. Arjen Robben is before facing Real Madrid. The Royal Blues clause in Reus’s old contract. There is a base- Mainz 05 20 4 10 6 25 26 22 one of the few Bayern stars currently in form host title-holders Real at the Veltins Arena on ment battle on Sunday as 14th placed Hertha Hertha Berlin 20 6 3 11 26 38 21 with the Dutchman having claimed 12 league Wednesday in the last 16, first-leg, of the Berlin host second-from bottom Freiburg in Paderborn 20 4 8 8 21 34 20 goals in 16 matches. Champions League, desperate to avoid a sim- Germany’s capital coach Pal Dardai takes Borussia Dortmund 20 5 4 11 21 27 19 But Bayern have posted some big wins ilar scoreline to last season’s record 6-1 drub- charge of his first home game for the hosts, Freiburg 20 3 9 8 21 30 18 over Hamburg in recent years including a 9-2 bing. In Frankfurt, Roberto di Matteo’s eager to prove last weekend’s 2-0 win at VfB Stuttgart 20 4 6 10 20 35 18 drubbing in March 2013, but will be without Schalke will be without suspended striker Mainz was no fluke. — AFP United under ITALIAN LEAGUE PREVIEW van Gaal are miserable: Scholes Napoli sight second LONDON: Manchester United, once a byword for slick attacking football, are play- MILAN: Napoli coach Rafael Benitez has called for focus ahead of closer to Roma.” Benitez has attributed his side’s purple patch to ing some “miserable” stuff under manager a trip to on-form Palermo that could prove decisive as his side taking things one game at a time and repeated: “We have to keep Louis van Gaal, former United midfielder Paul continue their quest to secure Champions League football next our focus, we’ve won four games consecutively but we should be Scholes believes. Despite Van Gaal taking season. Napoli have won their last four games on the trot in looking only towards our next game and not at our standing in United to third in the table in his first season Italy’s Serie A to tighten their hold on third place, while their the league table.” in charge, some critics have attacked the promising run of late has also fired a warning shot to title chal- The chances of Napoli clawing back an 11-point deficit to chal- style of play employed by the Dutchman. lengers Roma. Roma finally ended a run of four consecutive lenge Juve for what would be the Turin giants’ fourth consecu- Another former United stalwart, Gary Neville, draws last week but while Rudi Garcia’s men are seven points tive title look slim. But Napoli have the momentum compared to caused a stir when he compared them to a behind leaders and champions Juventus, they are only four a Roma side which has suffered on the park and, in terms of pub side earlier this season, while Scholes is absences, off it as well. also scathing of their style. ahead of Napoli. Napoli’s players can scent the lure of the Writing in the Independent newspaper, Champions League and are desperate to return, having failed to Roma have sorely missed the pace and creativity of Gervinho he said: “At times, United’s football is miser- get past the group stages two years ago and failed to qualify for but the striker, fresh from helping Ivory Coast to Africa Cup of able. To beat opposing teams you have to the group stages last summer. Nations triumph, may not make it back in time for the visit of attack, and to attack you have to take risks. Attacking midfielder Marek Hamsik believes facing Palermo basement side Parma tomorrow. Too few of the players in the current team away today will be tough but the Slovakian said: “We’re fighting Gervinho, who in November 2014 was reportedly foiled in his are prepared to take those risks.” He for second place and we want to close the gap on Roma as much bid to smuggle a woman on his flight back to Italy following explained: “Part of being a Manchester as possible. international duty, has been delayed by a bereavment in the fam- United player under Sir Alex Ferguson, per- “It won’t be easy away to Palermo, if you consider they held us ily, said a report in La Corriere dello Sport. Fellow Ivorian Seydou haps the most important part of being one of to a 3-3 draw at home.... but we want to keep on trying to get Doumbia, who joined the club from CSKA Moscow last month, United’s attacking players, was that when could also be delayed due to visa issues while Roma are still with- you were in possession you had to take risks out Kevin Strootman, Juan Iturbe and recent loan signing Victor in order to create goalscoring chances. It was ITALIAN LEAGUE TABLE Ibarbo. Captain Francesco Totti is also struggling to recover from not an option; it was an obligation. “In the flu and there are doubts on Adem Ljajic (foot), who opened the periods of my career when I stopped passing ROME: Italian Serie A table ahead of this weekend’s games scoring in a 2-1 win away to Cagliari last week in which Leandro the ball forward, or when I stopped looking (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Paredes hit his maiden Serie A goal for the club. for the risky pass that might open up a Juventus 22 16 5 1 47 10 53 Whether Parma can capitalize on Roma’s absences remains to defense, the consequences were the same. Roma 22 13 7 2 36 17 46 be seen, but Roberto Donadoni’s side remain in the league dol- “The manager stopped picking me. I got Napoli 22 12 6 4 41 27 42 drums and uncertainties over the club’s ownership have left a back into the team when I went back to Fiorentina 22 9 8 5 32 22 35 dark cloud hanging over the Ennio Tardini stadium.