So without further ado, let’s get to it:

The Cream On Top

Borussia Dortmund

Without a shadow of a doubt, Juergen Klopp’s side have been the story of the season. It has taken the former Mainz coach quite a few years and Dortmund quite a few more, but the faithful at the Westfalenstadion could well be forgiven for dreaming of a first league title since 2002. Klopp has merged the mercurial talents of Lucas Barrios, Nuri Sahin and Mario Goetze with the brawn and hard work of players like Marcel Schmelzer and Kevin Grosskreutz. Making the signing of the season in Shinji Kagawa has also helped. With two perfectly compatible center-backs, Dortmund are odds-on to run away with the championship. One bookie has already stopped taking bets against that eventuality. But then again, this is Germany; stranger things have happened.

FSV Mainz 05

It is perhaps little surprise that in a season where Juergen Klopp’s methodology seems to be bearing fruit, his former team Mainz also seem to have come racing lung-bustingly out of the blocks. That’s not to take credit away from Bundesliga flavour of the season, Thomas Tuchel, a young coach who has carved the O-Fives team in his image; full of vibrant talents who play a high risk, high-octane game. Mainz have lost six times already but they have also won eleven games. With Tuchel it seems to be a case of all or nothing.

Bayer Leverkusen

Leverkusen and titles are hardly synonymous. The team which has tagged itself as perhaps the greatest bottlers of our time, have maintained a quiet but steady progress this season. Yet, third in the league is the perfect position from which to launch a raid for the title. Jupp Heynckes has seen it all and his team will be energized by the return to fitness of their marquee signing, Michael Ballack. But the return of the former (current?) Germany captain might pose a slight headache for the coach as he will look to accommodate the tireless Arturo Vidal and Simon Rolfes in the same midfield. With Patrick Helmes scoring again and Sidney Sam almost playing himself into a Germany call-up, Leverkusen are well placed to capitalize should Dortmund slip up.

The Proof is in the Pudding

Hannover ’96

The death of an icon, a great escape from relegation and a rise from the ashes; it does not get any more Cinderella than that. Hanover 96 have been the revelation this season in a league full of them. Mirko Slomka has forged a fighting unit made up of former castaways and some promising youngsters. But the star of their show has undoubtedly been Didier Ya Konan. The half a million euro striker from Rosenberg has hit 9 goals so far and all but one of them have been on winning occasions. That is exactly how important he is to a team that despite their European standing, have a negative goal difference. Only in the Bundesliga!

Bayern Munich

In terms of league position, Bayern Munich have arguably been the most disappointing team in the league. Much of Bayern’s struggles, however, have been due to a combination of injuries and fatigue, following a sterling World Cup run. Ribery has only seen action in a handful of matches, while Robben has yet to appear. One positive has been Mario Gomez’emergence as a potent goalscoring threat. The former Stuttgart man’s days at Bayern looked numbered but this season a slight tweak in the formation has seen him return to deadly form, bagging goals for fun. Bayern’s biggest headache has been a woeful defence where Daniel van Buyten and Martin Demichelis have combined to gift many a victory to their rivals. The Argentine has been moved on to Malaga but there are no takers for the hapless van Buyten. Robben is slated to return in the near future and with him and Ribery back in full flow, as well as Mark van Bommel and Bastian Schweinsteiger reunited in central midfield, count the Bavarians out at your own peril.

SC Freiburg

Like the Joker, the Bundesliga is full of surprises. Freiburg is one of them.  Much of the credit can go to the wonderfully named Papiss Demba Cisse. With 13 goals in sixteen games, the Senegalese caps off Freiburg’s gung-ho approach to perfection and looks completely at home in a league where risk is certainly paying dividends. Thought to be a shoe-in for relegation at the start of the season, Freiburg have scored in all but one game. Those are dizzying heights for the club and it remains to be seen if they can keep it up.

Eintracht Frankfurt

At this point, identifying clubs as doing surprisingly well is becoming cliché. Yet, Theofanis Gekas has done his best Roy ‘Phantom’Makaay impression and it has helped Frankfurt punch well above their weight. The Greek striker does little all game, then suddenly swoops in for a crucial strike, 14 of the 24 that have been scored by the frugal side, to be exact. Take him out of the equation and Frankfurt are in the drop zone; with him in it, Europe might be an option.

Hoffenheim

Out went Ralf Rangnick and Luis Gustavo, in came David Alaba. Hoffenheim’s season might just have been thrown into turmoil by the actions of their benefactor Dietmar Hopp. Gustavo had been the team’s best performer this season and Rangnick had modelled the side into playing a high-tempo creative passing game. But with both men departed, the former headed south and  the other to parts unknown, the only way for the nouveau riche side might be down.

Dropping The Other Shoe

Hamburg

With all the upstart clubs in the top half of the table, you had to know this was coming but considering the value of their squad, Hamburg should be much higher up in the standings. Despite having experienced players like Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ze Roberto and young stars like Elijero Elia and Gojko Kacar, the northerners have struggled to string any semblance of results together.  This has proved to be their undoing in a season when they have no European distractions as well.

Schalke 04

With a strike force that once traipsed the pitches of the Bernabeu and a defender who failed to plug the gaps in Madrid, Schalke really should be doing better. And they are. After an absolutely abysmal start to the season, Felix Magath’s dreaded fitness balls seems to be having the desired effect on his players, as they have finally started to string together some results. A victory over Bayern Munich just before the winter break served to announce their ambitions and they are still in Europe with a negotiable tie against Valencia.

Wolfsburg

From Magath’s new team to his old one and what a difference a year (and a manager) makes. Steve McClaren has been utterly unable to forge a Wolfsburg side with some very talented players into a solid unit. With Edin Dzeko disappearing into the wasteland of Manchester, perhaps the team spirit will improve. Despite the departure of the Bosnian, the class still remains with the likes of Diego and Simon Kjaer. It remains to be seen if everyone’s favourite Englishman can repay the faith shown in him by the board. One thing is for sure, the honeymoon is over.

Werder Bremen

The love affair is perhaps finally over. Or is it? Klaus Allofs and Thomas Schaaf have made Werder their very own over the course of the last decade on the basis of some intelligent transfers, continuity and long-term planning. Still, with the sale of the irresistible Mesut Oezil to the millionaires of Madrid, somehow there seems to be a chink in their plan. Bremen have not been helped by injuries to key players and their season so far has been absolutely abysmal. Things can seemingly only get better for them, and if they don’t, it will surely be curtains for either or both of the two.

The Bottom of the Barrel

St Pauli

St Pauli is everyone’s second club and many others’ first. Unfortunately, their cult following has not helped this season, as they have won just twice in front of their home fans. No surprise really, considering their dearth of goals. With sixteen scored, Pauli are the least dangerous squad in the Bundesliga and they will really need to pull up their socks if they are to avoid relegation.

Cologne

Dearth of goals is also something a certain Lukas Podolski knows about. Once the wonder-boy of German football, Podolski has scored more goals in international football than he has in league action. The effects of the drought are evident, as the rest of the club has only managed two more than the dreadful St Pauli tally.  With Cologne, the figure shocks even more, since their forwards were touted as perhaps the best partnership in the league coming into the campaign. It surely has not worked out that way.

Stuttgart

Stuttgart’s first half has been, without doubt, the biggest disappointment in the Bundesliga. Atrocious, abysmal and calamitous are all words that would do their performances justice. The Swabians are the perfect dual personality club, great one season, absolutely terrible the next, but so far even the troughs had never seen them scrape the bottom of the Bundesliga. This season, relegation looks a very realistic possibility unless new coach Bruno Labbadia can urgently plug the gaps in a squad full of holes. A bit of plaster may help in the short-term but the damage may go all the way to the foundation..

Borussia Moenchengladbach

Gladbach have won just twice this season, both times on the road. By all definitions, the once great club looks almost a certainty for relegation. The only bright spot in a dark season has been the form of winger-cum-forward Marco Reus, whose pace, darting runs and overall quality mean that he will likely be snapped up by a bigger club, leaving Gladbach staring into the oblivion.

♦   ◊   ♦

While BVB seem almost uncatchable in the pole position, the topsy-turvy nature of the table leaves several sides, Hamburg, Schalke, Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen, Stuttgart and, of course Bayern, in what are unacceptable predicaments.  Each of them is intent on raising their game in the second half and, if even half of them succeed, the 2011 portion of the Bundesliga season should make for compelling viewing.

Michael Ballack returns to the Bundesliga

Barely five weeks after the conclusion of proceedings in South Africa, it’s time for the Bundesliga to open its doors for the new season. German football has been walking with a spring in its step since the national team’s performance in the World Cup.  That has helped raise the overseas profile of a league which is Europe’s most watched and most profitable, not to mention being very fan friendly and awash with promising young players.  Furthermore, following recent Bundesliga  performances in Europe, the league looks set to overtake Italy’s Serie A in the UEFA Co-Efficient standings, which would afford it an extra Champions League place in the near future.

Perhaps conscious of the rise of the Bundesliga, longtime Madridista Raul and Danish international Simon Kjaer chose to ignore offers from England.  Instead, they’ll feature for Schalke and Wolfsburg respectively, whilst German legend Michael Ballack will make his long-awaited return in the colours of Bayer Leverkusen.

Doubtless, they’ll all be hoping for a tilt at the title come May.  Do their sides have what it takes?  Let’s have a look.

The Championship, Champions League & Europe League Contenders

Having won eight titles from the last twelve, Bayern Munich deserve the tag of perennial title favourites and it will be hard to see them as anything other than champions this time around. With a settled squad and formation, the early part of Bayern’s season will not be characterised by coach Louis van Gaal constantly tinkering with tactics and personnel, as he did in 2009/10.

Bayern’s squad is by far the most talented in the league, teeming with world class players, including Phillip Lahm, Mark van Bommel, Bastien Schweinsteiger, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben. Van Gaal has also shown that he is not afraid to give promising youth players a chance.  So, expect to see the likes of Diego Contento and the young Austrian, David Alaba, who starred recently in the EURO U19 Championships, feature more heavily in 2010/11, alongside the already-established Thomas Müller and Holger Badtsuber.  Toni Kroos, returning from loan at Leverkusen, will also expect plenty of match time.

Bayer Leverkusen, despite the loss of Kroos, look perhaps the best equipped to challenge the Bavarians. Runaway leaders before the winter break, they started to  fall away in February, plummeting all the way to fourth place. Most put that down to a lack of depth and experience in the squad.  Jupp Heynckes will hope to have addressed that, with the signing of Ballack, who will serve as another on-pitch leader, teaming with Sami Hyypia.

Also, the return to full fitness of Renato Augusto, in midfield, and Patrick Helmes, in attack, should offer additional competition for places, which was lacking last season.  A host of young players are pushing for places in the first team, most notably Burak Kaplan (whom Heynckes likens to Mesut Ozil), promising young Dane, Nicolai Joergensen, Marcel Risse, who is returning to the BayArena from a loan spell at Nürnberg, and Sidney Sam, signed this summer from Hamburg. If Leverkusen can keep their squad fit this season, a challenge for the title and a Champions League place look well within their reach.

McClaren and Friedrich are the impressive new arrivals at Wolfsburg

Vfl Wolfsburg should provide one of the most interesting Bundesliga stories in 2010/11. Last season was extremely disappointing for the Wolves, who went from champions to eighth place also-rans, practically overnight.  The capture of centre-backs, Arne Friedrich from Hertha Berlin and Kjaer, formerly of Palermo, will go a long way towards addressing the defensive frailties that were at the heart of last season’s slide down the table.

However, there is still work to do at the other end of the pitch for Steve McClaren, the league’s first ever English coach. Their two most talented attacking players, Edin Dzeko and Zvejzdan Misimovic, have made no secret of the fact that they want out of the club. If they are kept on board, it could mean another journey into the Champions League. If they are sold, success or failure will depend on how well they are replaced.

According to media reports, Diego could be on his way from Juventus. His signing would more than compensate for the potential loss of Misimovic.

Diego’s former club, Werder Bremen, did well to pick up third spot last season, making it their sixth podium finish in seven seasons. Can they repeat that feat in 2010/11 without Mesut Ozil? The wide-eyed wonderboy will leave a big creative whole in the Bremen attack following his move to Madrid, having racked up a far from shabby 17 assists and 9 goals in the last campaign. Losing his star playmaker is a situation to which coach Thomas Schaaf is used and he should have a replacement up his sleeve, Ozil was just such a replacement for the outgoing Diego, who, in turn, had made up for Bremen’s loss of Johan Micoud, in 2006. However, time is running out to get that man signed up and bedded in quickly enough for Bremen to be genuine challengers. Fans at the Wesrstadion may have to settle for a Europa League place this season.

Schalke will have to adapt to get the best out of Raul.

Over in the Ruhr, the Schalke 04 clubhouse has featured a revolving door during the close season.  Kevin Kuranyi, to Dynamo Moscow, Heiko Westermann to Hamburg, Rafinha to Genoa and Marcelo Bordon to Al Rayyan, are the notable players to have exited, while some high profile names such as Raul and Christophe Metzelder, from Real Madrid, along with Tim Hoogland of Mainz and young Japanese full-back, Atsuto Uchida, formerly of the J-League’s Kashima Antlers, have come in.

Can Schalke maintain its Champions League status, despite all this turnover? Much will depend on how the new signings gel and how, accordingly, the team adapts its playing style. With Raul up top instead of Kuranyi, Schalke will have to change to a shorter passing style, which will put a lot more pressure on their creative midfielders, Ivan Rakitic and Alexander Baumjohann.  Both will be required to take responsibility on a more consistent basis than they previously  have done.

There is a good deal to admire about Schalke’s Ruhr rivals, Borussia Dortmund. In Juergen Klopp, they have a talented young manager who has gone about assembling a young, hungry squad. At the time of writing, Dortmund’s squad looks to have a very solid spine with Roman Weidenfeller in goal, American ex-pat Neven Subotic and Mats Hummels at centre-back, Nuri Sahin and Sebastian Kehl in midfield and the precocious Paraguayan World Cup debutante, Lucas Barrios, in attack.

A lack of big money, however, means they may have trouble holding onto their best players. Subotic and Barrios have been eyed by big clubs from England and Spain for a while now. Perhaps feeling a little jealous, Mats Hummels has recently been seen giving old flame, Bayern Munich, his best come hither gaze. A lot, therefore, will depend on whether their squad is still intact, at the end of August. If so, a third successive finish in the top five will be the least of expectations.

The Bundesliga’s notoriously slow starters, Vfb Stuttgart, will be without two important figures for the start of the new season. Sami Khedira has departed for Madrid, and Jens Lehmann has retired from the game. Lehmann will arguably be the bigger miss. Following Khedira’s exit, Stuttgart still have the likes of Zdravko Kuzmanovic and Christians Gentner and Traesch, all full internationals, to pick from in central midfield. Lehmann’s replacement however, will be the 20 year-old Sven Ulreich. Talented but inexperienced, Ulreich has huge boots to fill in marshalling the Stuttgart defence.

Can Veh get the best out of a talented Hamburg squad?

It looks to be another season of underachievement for Hamburg SV. ‘The Red Shorts,’aptly, if not intentionally named, do tend to see red and exhibit a short fuse, in the hiring and firing of coaches.

I don’t have much confidence that the new man in charge, Armin Veh, fresh from a disastrous spell at Wolfsburg, will buck that trend. Veh will not be helped by rumours of a divided dressing room, with goalkeeper Frank Rost being an especially difficult personality.

Hamburg do have a very talented squad, boasting internationals such as Ruud van Nistelrooy, Mladen Petric , Eljero Elia and David Jarolim. They have also bought very well, having raided Hertha Berlin for goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobny and Serb midfielder Gojko Kacar, whilst Westermann should shore up their defence following the departure of Jerome Boateng to Manchester City.

It remains to be seen however, just how well Veh will be able to galvanise the squad, having officially announced the use of a 4-2-3-1 system, which will leave both Paolo Guerrero and Petric playing out of position. It would be a brave man to bet on success for Hamburg this season.

Mid-table, But Far From Mediocre

Holtby hopes to make an impact at Mainz

Eintracht Frankfurt , Hoffenheim, Borussia Moenchengladbach, 1.FC Koeln and FSV Mainz 05 will be the most likely contenders for the ‘golden pineapple’ come May 2011, but they shouldn’t be dismissed from putting themselves in the running for the Europa League places.

For FSV Mainz 05, the season could go one of two ways:  progression or the dreaded ‘second season syndrome’. Following an excellent 9th place finish last season, they have lost influential defender/midfielder Tim Hoogland, to Schalke, and powerful striker Aristide Bance, to Al-Ahli, but, in their dugout, boast one of Germany’s most talented young managers, 36 year-old Thomas Tuchel.  New signings Haruna Babangida, from FC Kuban Krasnodar and Lewis Holtby, on loan from Schalke, promise to bring some excitement to the Bruchweg Stadion.

Eintracht Frankfurt have undoubtedly made progress under Michael Skibbe and can boast a forward line of genuine quality, further bolstered by the signing of Theofanis Ghekas, from Bayer Leverkusen, and the permanent capture of Halil Altintop, away from Schalke.  They also have high hopes for youngsters, like midfielder Sebastian Rode, signed from Kickers Offenbach, and Greek full-back Giorgios Tsavellas, late of Panionios Athens. The key for Frankfurt will be to achieve a higher level of consistency than last season, in which they were victorious against the likes of Bayern and Dortmund, but disappointed, all too often, with losses against the smaller sides.

If Borussia Moenchengladbach are to return to the upper echelons, they will have to improve their porous defence, which leaked an unacceptable sixty goals last season. To remedy this, they have signed Bamba Anderson from Duesseldorf, dubbed the best defender in Bundesliga 2, last season. Going forward, Gladbach should look very exciting, once more, with Marco Reus and Juan Arango pulling the strings in midfield, backed by another promising youngster, Patrick Herrmann. Up front, the Foals also look well set, with two new signings, Igor de Camargo, from Standard Liege and Mohamadou Idrissou, from Freiburg, accompanying Argentine Raul Bobadilla.

Podolski, ironically, must translate his international form to club level

Hoffenheim still have the nucleus of the squad, which took them to the ‘Herbstmeisterschaft’ (autumn championship) at the back end of 2008.  That core includes players of such quality as Carlos Eduardo and Vedad Ibisevic. Since early 2008, however, they have flattered to deceive, too often looking devoid of leadership and confidence. The loss of Timo Hildebrand, in goal, will further hamper their European aspirations.

For 1. FC Koeln, this could be a season of struggle. There is a feeling around the Cathedral City that coach Zvonimir Soldo is too negative, in his outlook, and doesn’t know how to get the best out of German international, Lukas Podolski. Whilst their second half, last year, was a slight improvement on the first, they were unable to secure the permanent signing of Zoran Tosic,in the offseason. Koln are hopeful that the new Croatian signing,  Mato Jajalo, from Siena, in Italy, will take up where Tosic left off. It’s a big ask, however.

The Newly-Promoted Teams

1. FC Kaiserslautern and St. Pauli will bring plenty of colour and character to the Bundesliga, this season. With large and loyal fanbases, visiting sides won’t have it easy at the Fritz Walter Stadion or the Millerntor. Supporters aside, the clubs do not share much in common, having taken different approaches in their transfer market strategies.

Kaiserslautern have dived right in to the fray, with key figures in their promotion, such as Erik Jendrisek (Schalke) and Sidney Sam (Leverkusen) moving on, to be replaced by the likes of loanees Jan Moravek (Schalke) and Erwin Hoffer (Napoli), the most notable of 11 new summer signings.

St Pauli, on the other hand, have hardly dipped their toe in to test the water. The only players of note coming in are Gerald Asamoah and Carlos Zambrano, from Schalke, the latter on loan, along with Moritz Volz, finally returning home after a long spell in England. Will that be enough to keep them out of the relegation dogfight and safe in mid-table?

In my opinion, if either side is to ‘do a Mainz’ it will be Kaiserslautern, whose squad has more quality running through it.  St Pauli will, more than likely, be facing a relegation battle.

The Relegation Battlers

Joining St. Pauli, as Bundesliga basement tenants, will be SC Freiburg, Hannover  96 and 1. FC Nurnberg. Anything more than survival, for these clubs, will be a pleasant surprise.

Each suffered a poor 2009/10 and were saved, arguably, by the ‘even worseness’ of Bochum and Hertha Berlin. Moreover, none of the trio have made any outstanding additions to their squads.

Ilkay Guendogan, a poor club's Mesut Ozil

The most likely to push on, from last season, appears to be Nurnberg, who have taken some talented players on loan, such as Mehmet Ekici (Bayern), Julian Schieber (Stuttgart) and Jens Hegeler (Bayer Leverkusen), whilst there are high hopes for their young German/ Turkish starlet, Ilkay Gündogan. The loaning of young stars is a strategy that coach Dieter Hecking adopted to good effect last season, when the likes of Maxim Choupo-Moting (Hamburg), Andreas Ottl and Breno (Bayern), contributed to a mini revival during the latter half of the season.   The late season surge allowed them to escape relegation, via a play off victory over second division Augsburg.

Phew, there you have it. If you’ve managed to follow this far, you must be an avid Bundesliga fan indeed, with your own opinions on how the season will pan out. Why not share them with us in the comment field below?

The second half of the season usually breathes new life into the Bundesliga, with previously unheralded teams springing to the fore to the surprise of many, not least a few red-faced pundits. But the element of surprise isn’t only limited to teams. Here are some lesser-known players who could enhance their reputations between now and May:

Franco Zuculini (Hoffenheim) - Hoffenheim coach Ralf Rangnick is a personal friend of Arsene Wenger. The two share the same footballing philosophy. And it shows. Hoffenheim play a brand of pacy attacking football that is pleasing on the eye and, like Wenger’s boys, lack steel and bite in the centre of the park. That’s where Zuculini comes in. Despite having made only 4 appearances this season, Rangnick trusted the 19 year-old Argentinian to start in the centre of midfield in their defeat away to Bayern this Friday (15 January). Zuculini didn’t disappoint, putting in an all-action display, harrying Schweinsteiger and Van Bommel in Bayern’s midfield. He was hell-bent on breaking up Bayern’s attacks, also showing a willingness to get forward and a good range of passing. Signed from Racing Club Avellaneda for €4.6 million, Zuculini has the potential to become the complete midfielder and could be a real find for Hoffenheim.

Alexander Baumjohann (Schalke) – Schalke have been nothing short of a revelation so far this season. Despite a lack of imagination in midfield, and a mountain of debt, Schalke find themselves 2nd in the table (as at 18 January). That they have come this far is down to a list of factors (tight defence, superior fitness levels, a top class manager) in which creativity is closer to the bottom than the top. To inject some invention into the centre of the park, Magath has brought in Baumjohann. One of a long and distinguished list of promising young players not to have made the grade at Bayern, Baumjohann made ony 3 appearances for the Bavarians before landing back at the club where he began his career. The skilful midfielder will be hoping to recapture the form he showed for Borussia Moenchengladbach in 2008-09, the form which earned him the move to Bayern in the 1st place. If he does, you wouldn’t bet against Schalke capturing an unlikely league title.

Marco Reus (Borussia Moenchengladbach) – The sales of both Marko Marin and Baumjohann during the close season, and the replacement of experienced manager Hans Meyer with Michael Frontzeck, were thought by many to be a recipe for relegation. However, Gladbach have been a pleasant surprise this season, playing some classy football and recording some notable wins against the likes of  Hamburg, Schalke, Mainz and Frankfurt. This is thanks in no small part to the men signed to replace Marin and Baumjohann: Juan Arango (Mallorca) and Reus (Rot-Weiss Ahlen). 20 year-old Reus has been particularly impressive. A classy playmaker, Reus’trademark is cutting in from wide positions, either to slip the strikers through on goal or to go for the one-two and finish the move himself. Reus scored in the wins against Hamburg and Schalke, but his finest moment was a stunning solo effort against Mainz in August, running from the halfway line to coolly slot past the keeper.

Adrián Ramos (Hertha BSC) - If Ramos had known what was to unfold at Hertha Berlin during his first half season at the club, he may well have stayed put in Colombia. The side from the capital lost 13 of their 17 league games. Lucien Favre, the manager who brought him to Germany, was sacked and the club have been rooted to the bottom of the table and hurtling towards the trap door. The Colombian international initially looked like a fish out of water at Hertha, unable to adapt to the demands of the Bundesliga. However, as Berlin have shown a small improvement under new coach Friedhelm Funkel, Ramos has begun to show what inspired Favre to sign him from America de Cali. Perhaps Ramos’ biggest strength is his intelligent movement off the ball. He frequently manages to position himself in the channels between full-backs and centre-backs so that team mates can slip him through on goal with ease, and when he’s one on one with opposing keepers, he keeps a cool head and looks to place it into the corners. Since his first goal for the club at Stuttgart in November, Ramos has netted 5 in 6. Unbeaten so far in the ‘Rueckrunde’, Hertha now lie 8 points adrift of safety. If they’re to somehow survive, they’ll need Ramos firing.

Photo from www.focus.de