SPORTS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2015 German League Preview Bayern out to exorcise Gladbach defeat in derby BERLIN: Bayern Munich host Ingolstadt in the symmetrical record of five wins, five draws first Bundesliga derby between the clubs and five defeats in their first season in GERMAN BUNDESLIGA TABLE today full of respect for their Bavarian neigh- Germany’s top-flight and are 11th in the table BERLIN: German Bundesliga table ahead of this weekend’s matches (played, won, bors, but determined to bounce back from with 20 points. Coach Ralph Hasenhuettl has drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): their shock defeat at Moenchengladbach. Pep kept most of the side which won last season’s Guardiola’s Bayern crashed to their first second-division title and they have drawn Bayern Munich 15 13 1 1 43 8 40 Dortmund 15 11 2 2 42 20 35 German league defeat of the season last with top side Wolfsburg, Schalke and M’gladbach 15 8 2 5 31 23 26 Saturday when they were humbled 3-1 by Moenchengladbach so far. “They deserve to Hertha Berlin 15 8 2 5 20 18 26 third-placed Gladbach. It was only Bayern’s be where they are in the league and I hope VfL Wolfsburg 15 7 4 4 24 17 25 second loss of the season, following a they stay up,” said Bayern captain Philipp Schalke 04 15 7 3 5 21 21 24 Champions League defeat at Arsenal, and Lahm, who played alongside Hasenhuettl in Mainz 05 15 7 2 6 23 21 23 Bayern are determined to protect their five the Bavarian youth football. “They don’t just Bayer Leverkusen 15 6 3 6 19 20 21 Hamburg 15 6 3 6 18 21 21 point lead in the table. “We have to play well play defensively and don’t just stand at the FC Cologne 15 5 5 5 15 19 20 and fight for everything, it won’t be an easy back.” Between them Poland’s Lewandowski FC Ingolstadt 04 15 5 5 5 11 15 20 game,” said Robert Lewandowski, whose and Thomas Mueller have scored 27 league SV Darmstadt 98 15 4 6 5 15 19 18 goals sealed a 2-0 win at Dinamo Zagreb on goals so far this season, but the Germany for- Eintr. Frankfurt 15 3 5 7 18 23 14 Wednesday with Bayern in the last 16 in ward expects a tussle. “We have a task today Hanover 15 4 2 9 18 27 14 Werder Bremen 15 4 2 9 15 29 14 Europe. “We have to keep our concentration which will clearly be a difficult thing,” said FC Augsburg 15 3 4 8 18 25 13 and score the first goal, that should lay the Mueller. Bayern are set to be without centre- VfB Stuttgart 15 3 2 10 19 36 11 foundations for us to have some fun.” back Medhi Benatia, who suffered a suspect- Hoffenheim 15 1 7 7 16 24 10 Ingolstadt deserve Bayern’s respect with a ed torn left thigh in Zagreb. — AFP Italian League Preview Matches on TV Super-charged Serie (Local Timings) ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE A puts focus on Inter Norwich City v Everton 15:45 beIN SPORTS West Ham v Stoke City 18:00 MILAN: Napoli host Roma and year by giving them a special gift run-in to the festive break. “It’s impor- son, but that doesn’t mean we have beIN SPORTS Crystal Palace v Southampton 18:00 Fiorentina are away to Juventus in a today,” said Di Natale. Having seen tant we finish this first half of the sea- to settle for seventh place.” Roma, beIN SPORTS super-charged Serie A weekend in Udinese lose to both Napoli and son strongly, but we know it’s going unconvincing in a 1-1 Champions Man City v Swansea 18:00 which all four title contenders will Fiorentina in recent weeks, either side to be tough at Udinese and against League draw at home to BATE beIN SPORTS have one eye on leaders Inter Milan. of two wins against Sampdoria and Lazio after that.” Napoli host Roma Borisov on Wednesday that secured Sunderland v Watford 18:00 Although designed to provide some Chievo, Di Natale expects no-frills tomorrow in the ‘Derby del Sole’, with passage to the last 16, travel south beIN SPORTS pre-festive thrills, the penultimate Inter to be tough to beat today. the hosts firm favourites at the San on the back of a league defeat to Bournemouth v Man United 20:30 round of games before the league He added: “Their game is not Paolo three days after hammering Atalanta and last week’s 1-1 draw at beIN SPORTS stops for the winter break has been exceptional, but they’re winning con- Legia Warsaw 5-2 in the Europa Torino-and likely to be without SPANISH LEAGUE made even more enticing by the cur- sistently and conceding few goals. League to record six wins out of six in injury-hit Ivorian Gervinho. “We’re Barcelona v Deportivo 18:00 rent state of affairs in Italy’s top flight. We’ve been working hard in the past the group stage. going through a tough spell in the beIN SPORTS Inter travel to Udinese today with a days for this game.” Inter have scored Last week’s 3-2 reverse at league,” admitted Roma coach Rudi Levante v Granada 20:15 one-point lead on Fiorentina, with the fewest goals (18) from the top six Bologna left scars, and Napoli Garcia. “We have to recover quickly beIN SPORTS Napoli two points behind and Roma teams, but Roberto Mancini’s men coach Maurizio Sarri said: “There ahead of Napoli given that we put a Celta de Vigo v Espanyol 20:15 in fourth at five points off the pace. have conceded only nine times in 15 are a lot of title contenders this sea- lot in tonight.” — AFP beIN SPORTS Champions Juventus are only one- games and their reverse at Napoli a Sevilla v Sporting Gijon 22:30 beIN SPORTS point behind Roma in sixth. fortnight ago was their lone defeat in Tomorrow Inter could go four points clear of nine successive outings. The visitors Barcelona aim for Las Palmas v Real Betis 0:05 Fiorentina with a win today but their should welcome back Felipe Melo, beIN SPORTS trip to the Friuli comes with a twist, who spent a night in observation last 1 billion euro goal 38-year-old striker Antonio Di Natale week after a head clash with team- ITALIAN LEAGUE hinting Wednesday it could be his last mate Gary Medel in their 1-0 win LONDON: Barcelona are aiming to 93,000 capacity Camp Nou stadi- Genoa v Bologna 17:00 home game for the club that has against Genoa. become the world’s highest earn- um. It has one overseas office in beIN SPORTS Citta di Palermo v Frosinone 20:00 been his home since 2004. “The fans “I’m fine, thank God. I don’t ing club in the next six years and Hong Kong and plans to open beIN SPORTS are always behind us and always fill remember much about the game but are determined to counter more in New York, Sao Paulo and Sassuolo Calcio v Torino 20:00 the stadium. I want to show my luckily I’m okay,” said Brazil midfielder England’s Premier League, club Shanghai by 2017, Bartomeu said. beIN SPORTS thanks in our last home game of the Melo, who does not expect an easy president Josep Maria Bartomeu Barcelona, which is owned by Udinese v Internazionale 22:45 said in an interview published yes- its 145,00 members, also wants to beIN SPORTS terday. The Spanish giants will set up its own university and German Bundesliga ITALIAN SERIE A TABLE make about 600 million euros move into women’s sports. But SV Werder Bremen v FC Koln 17:30 beIN SPORTS ($658 million) this year but the Barcelona boss acknowledged MILAN: Italian Serie A table ahead of this weekend’s fixtures (played, won, Darmstadt v Hertha Berlin 17:30 drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Bartomeu told the Financial Times that the shadow of England’s beIN SPORTS newspaper he was aiming to lift Premier League hangs over his TSG Hoffenheim v Hannover 17:30 Inter Milan 15 10 3 2 18 9 33 this to one billion euros ($1.1 bil- club’s plans. “Our rival is the beIN SPORTS Fiorentina 15 10 2 3 30 12 32 lion) by 2021. Premier League. It is not a specific Bayern Munich v Ingolstadt 04 17:30 Napoli 15 9 4 2 28 12 31 “We want to be the first club to club, it is the strength of the beIN SPORTS Roma 15 8 4 3 30 18 28 reach one billion euros in rev- Premier League itself,” Bartomeu Wolfsburg v Hamburger 17:30 Juventus 15 8 3 4 22 11 27 beIN SPORTS Sassuolo 15 7 5 3 19 14 26 enues,” said Bartomeu, who won said. He insisted that Barcelona Bayer 04 v Monchengladbach 20:30 Atalanta 15 7 3 5 18 15 24 an election for a six-year term in has the financial power to hold off beIN SPORTS AC Milan 15 7 3 5 19 18 24 July after Barcelona overcame any English challenge for its three Torino 15 6 4 5 21 19 22 team divisions to win the top stars Lionel Messi, Neymar FRENCH LEAGUE Empoli 15 6 3 6 17 20 21 Champions League.