Champions League heroes Schalke 04 host the VfL Wolfsburg team of their former coach Felix Magath in an intriguing Bundesliga duel on Saturday.
Magath had to leave Schalke three weeks ago and rejoined Wolfsburg two days later. Ralf Rangnick is now in charge at Schalke and led them to a memorable 5-2 triumph against holders Inter Milan in the Champions League quarters at the San Siro on Tuesday.
While being all but in the Champions League semis, and in the German cup final, Schalke have nothing much to play for in the Bundesliga as they appear to be safe in mid-table.
However, a victory over Magath's Wolfsburg would carry huge prestige among fans and players. Winger Jefferson Farfan said the team enjoys a new-found freedom now that the strict and eventually unpopular Magath is gone.
"I can imagine that it is a special match for the players," said Rangnick, adding that for himself "it is irrelevant and not the first time that a team and I have played against Magath."
Magath admitted that "because things happened so recently this could be emotional," but also said he had done nothing wrong and "can look everyone in Schalke in the eyes."
Magath also praised Schalke for "a fantastic match" in Milan. "Of course I watched the game and was happy for the team," he said.
A pair of 1-1 draws under his reign against Stuttgart and Frankfurt still leave the club he coached to the 2009 title in the danger zone.
Schalke's arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund, meanwhile, take a seven-point league lead into their Saturday date at indifferent SV Hamburg after ending a mini-crisis which a 4-1 triumph over fourth-placed Hanover 96.
But coach Juergen Klopp is taking nothing for granted as second-placed challengers Bayer Leverkusen are unbeaten in seven games of which they have won six and the last four.
"We must make sure to garner a lot of points if we want to stay top," said Klopp.
Hamburg, for their part, still eye a Europa League berth in seventh place.
Leverkusen also face Hamburg opposition when they host free-falling and disgraced St Pauli on Sunday.
St Pauli have lost their last six games to go second bottom, including a 2-0 defeat against Schalke in a German football federation ruling after the game last Friday was abandoned in the 88th minute when a linesman was hit by a full cup of beer thrown from the stands.
Elsewhere, champions Bayern Munich aim to keep third place and with it a Champions League qualifying berth when they visit sixth-placed Nuremberg in a Bavarian duel. Hanover are one point behind Bayern when they host number five Mainz, and Freiburg play Hoffenheim in mid-table.
The other games have to do with the fight against relegation. Eintracht Frankfurt host Werder Bremen Friday, Stuttgart meet Kaiserslautern on Saturday and bottom club Borussia Moenchengladbach take on Cologne on Sunday.
Magath had to leave Schalke three weeks ago and rejoined Wolfsburg two days later. Ralf Rangnick is now in charge at Schalke and led them to a memorable 5-2 triumph against holders Inter Milan in the Champions League quarters at the San Siro on Tuesday.
While being all but in the Champions League semis, and in the German cup final, Schalke have nothing much to play for in the Bundesliga as they appear to be safe in mid-table.
However, a victory over Magath's Wolfsburg would carry huge prestige among fans and players. Winger Jefferson Farfan said the team enjoys a new-found freedom now that the strict and eventually unpopular Magath is gone.
"I can imagine that it is a special match for the players," said Rangnick, adding that for himself "it is irrelevant and not the first time that a team and I have played against Magath."
Magath admitted that "because things happened so recently this could be emotional," but also said he had done nothing wrong and "can look everyone in Schalke in the eyes."
Magath also praised Schalke for "a fantastic match" in Milan. "Of course I watched the game and was happy for the team," he said.
A pair of 1-1 draws under his reign against Stuttgart and Frankfurt still leave the club he coached to the 2009 title in the danger zone.
Schalke's arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund, meanwhile, take a seven-point league lead into their Saturday date at indifferent SV Hamburg after ending a mini-crisis which a 4-1 triumph over fourth-placed Hanover 96.
But coach Juergen Klopp is taking nothing for granted as second-placed challengers Bayer Leverkusen are unbeaten in seven games of which they have won six and the last four.
"We must make sure to garner a lot of points if we want to stay top," said Klopp.
Hamburg, for their part, still eye a Europa League berth in seventh place.
Leverkusen also face Hamburg opposition when they host free-falling and disgraced St Pauli on Sunday.
St Pauli have lost their last six games to go second bottom, including a 2-0 defeat against Schalke in a German football federation ruling after the game last Friday was abandoned in the 88th minute when a linesman was hit by a full cup of beer thrown from the stands.
Elsewhere, champions Bayern Munich aim to keep third place and with it a Champions League qualifying berth when they visit sixth-placed Nuremberg in a Bavarian duel. Hanover are one point behind Bayern when they host number five Mainz, and Freiburg play Hoffenheim in mid-table.
The other games have to do with the fight against relegation. Eintracht Frankfurt host Werder Bremen Friday, Stuttgart meet Kaiserslautern on Saturday and bottom club Borussia Moenchengladbach take on Cologne on Sunday.
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