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| Bayern face derby duel as Celtic showdown looms
BERLIN, Nov 21 (AFP) - Reigning champions Bayern Munich hope to continue their dominance over local rivals 1860 Munich on Saturday as they bid to keep in touch with the pretenders to their Bundesliga crown and build confidence ahead of the crunch Champions League clash with Celtic in Glasgow on November 25. The other mouthwatering match of the weekend sees a tussle between two title contenders as 2002 champions Borussia Dortmund entertain second-placed Bayer Leverkusen at the Westfalen Stadium. BizVantage – Beyond the news: when knowing counts. It is make-or-break time for Bayern with VfB Stuttgart six points ahead in the German top-flight and their Champions League ambitions hinging on a tricky test to Glasgow where Celtic are a formidable force. The first installment is to win over neighbours 1860 and the omens are good with the 18-time German champions winning the last six encounters and netting 20 goals in the process. "We are Bayern so we do not need to be worried about the derby," said a confident general manager Uli Hoeness. "It is vital that we go to Glasgow full of confidence." The match, which will be relayed to China with 1860's Chinese midfielder Jiayi Shao in the commentary box, is always a special occasion but Bayern and former 1860 midfielder Jens Jeremies feels the fixture has lost its bite in recent years. "It is just not the same as the derbies in the past," explained Jeremies. "They were more heated then." Bayern are firm favourites to take the spoils but 1860 striker Benjamin Lauth believes his side can hit Bayern on the break and send their arch rivals to Scotland on a low ebb. "It could work in our favour that Bayern have to come at us," Lauth told German magazine Kicker. Bayer Leverkusen face the sternest test of their title credentials so far with a trip to Borussia Dortmund's fortress Westfalen Stadium. Matthias Sammer's men have won all their league matches at home this term and will hope to bounce back from the 4-1 defeat by Bayern last time out. "We saw the class difference in Munich," admitted Dortmund defender Christian Worns. "But I think our strength at home will compensate against Leverkusen." Dortmund have the highest home attendances in Europe at present and Leverkusen know they have to play the proverbial 12th man that is the crowd. "We have to play with control and intelligence to minimise the effect of the fans," declared Bayer boss Klaus Augenthaler. "Dortmund are always favourites in front of 80,000 noisy fans," added general manager Ilja Kaenzig. Borussia will look to make headlines on the pitch after the public bust-up with injured striker Marcio Amoroso over his refusal to return from his native Brazil for treatment. Another team looking to brush aside personnel problems are Bundesliga tabletoppers VfB Stuttgart who face Hannover on Saturday. Speculation about the futures of Andreas Hinkel, Alexander Hlleb, Marcelo Bordon and Kevin Kuranyi has coach Felix Magath at the end of his tether. "It annoys me that other things have become more important," stated Magath. "I sometimes wonder whether we are going to achieve anything this year." On the pitch everything is going according to plan and a home win against Hannover would maintain their spot at the Bundesliga summit. Last year's runners-up then host Rangers at the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadium on November 26 as they look to clinch passage into the last sixteen of the Champions League. Saturday VfL Wolfsburg v Borussia Monchengladbach, VfB Stuttgart v Hannover, Werder Bremen v VfL Bochum, Cologne v SV Hamburg, 1860 Munich v Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke 04 v Hansa Rostock Sunday Kaiserslautern v Hertha Berlin, SC Freiburg v Eintracht Frankfurt phs/ea03 Fbl-GER
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