Up for the cuppa

DW's soccer pundits have been forming a fidgety queue outside the bathroom this week after downing enough tea to fill a swimming pool. As well as causing numerous pairs of legs to cross, the experiment has also produced enough Bundesliga result-shaped tea leaf formations to come up with the predictions for match day twelve. Amuse yourselves with these forecasts while we dash once again to the little boys room...

Saturday, Nov 13

Bremen – Frankfurt

Oh dear. Just what is going on with Werder Bremen? Esteemed colleague Jefferson Chase nailed it in his commentary this week – whatever's gone wrong at Bremen, it'll need huge changes to fix it. While wondering what was going to happen next was initially an endearing game of roulette, as the season wears on, it looks like Bremen are playing the Russian variety. No guesses who'll get the bullet if their form continues to nosedive. Frankfurt very well could be the team to load the gun.

Prediction: Frankfurt 2-1

Wolfsburg – Schalke

Go on then, but just whisper it…Schalke may have turned a corner. There – I said it…which means, of course, that Wolfsburg's up-and-down season will ascend again to the detriment of Felix Magath's struggling side on Saturday. The Royal Blues may have fired three past St. Pauli to put them one point from safety but the Hamburg club are quickly becoming easy pickings as their confidence dwindles. Wolfsburg will be a sterner test. Perhaps the training ground punch-ups suggest the Wolves have the fight to come out on top in this one.

Prediction: Wolfsburg 3-2

Cologne – Moenchengladbach

Wake us up when this derby is over. The two sides who manage to make Schalke look good come together in this basement clash with little daylight between them in terms of points and class. Gladbach at least shocked the life out of Bayern last week - which always raises a smile in these parts - but with Cologne struggling to find anything resembling flair in any of their games to date, these two could blunder and bump against each other for 90 minutes and still not score. Hopefully one will manage it but it's a coin toss. Heads it's Gladbach.

Prediction: Gladbach 1-0

Kaiserslautern – Stuttgart

Stuttgart will be nicely rested after last weekend's game so Kaiserslautern should beware. VfB stuck six past Bremen and then must have retired to a dark room to lie down. Despite the green shoots of recovery growing over at the Mercedes Benz Arena, few would have tipped Jens Keller's team to thrash Werder so comprehensively (I certainly didn't). But then Kaiserslautern looked impressive last week, even though they evenutally lost against in-form Leverkusen. This one could prove quite entertaining to watch.

Prediction: 2-2

St. Pauli – Leverkusen

Pauli continue to slide and it's already looking like an inevitable one towards what many people think is their rightful place in the relegation zone. The neutral will hope they can arrest the decline but taking on Leverkusen may not be the best place to start. Bayer have been quietly efficient in rising to third place and will be looking to make up ground on Mainz in the place above them. On form alone, it looks as though Pauli will be deeper in the mire come Saturday night.

Prediction: Leverkusen 3-1

Mainz – Hanover

Mainz in crisis! Two defeats on the bounce! How easy it is to forget what an achievement this season has already been for Mainz. It isn't only their position which is impressive but the way they've gotten there. Okay, so Freiburg should never have beaten them last week – but only in the context of Mainz's amazing form to date. Last season, this wouldn't have been such a shock. Losing or drawing with Hanover wouldn't have been either but on the evidence of this campaign alone, one would expect Mainz to triumph.

Prediction: Mainz 2-0

Sunday, Nov 14

Hoffenheim – Freiburg

Despite winning last week, Hoffenheim still dropped down the league, giving the illusion that their title charge has already petered out. Don't be fooled. The pendulum of form is swinging in the Hoff's direction and a win over Freiburg will see them back in the mix. Freiburg had a great result against Mainz and will have to be completely free of the hangover to cope with the Hoff at home. Expecting the Freiburgers to be well up for it as usual, this could be a tight affair.

Prediction: Hoffenheim 1-0

Bayern – Nuremberg

They still haven't quite got it right, have they? Louis van Gaal tore his team a new one after letting the points slip against bottom club Gladbach last week and you would expect a reaction from the German champions against Nuremberg on Sunday. But how many times has the gruff Dutchman got all red in the face only to see his team go pale on the pitch? Nuremberg cantered to a win against Cologne last week and of course Bayern, however dire, are the polar opposite of the boys for Köln. However, the Bavarians are increasingly hard to fathom so – who knows?

Prediction: 1-1

Last week's results: 3 points

Schalke – St. Pauli 3-0 (DW Prediction 1-2)

Hamburg – Hoffenheim 2-1 (DW Prediction 1-2)

Frankfurt – Wolfsburg 3-1 (DW Prediction 2-0)

Moenchengladbach – Bayern 1-1 (DW Prediction 0-3)

Freiburg – Mainz 1-0 (DW Prediction 0-3)

Nuremberg – Cologne 3-1 (DW Prediction 1-0)

Hannover – Dortmund 0-4 (DW Prediction 0-2)

Leverkusen – Kaiserslautern 3-1 (DW Prediction 0-1)

Stuttgart – Bremen 6-0 (DW Prediction 2-2)

Total for the season: 49

Three points for a correct score prediction
Two points for a correct margin prediction
One point for a correct winner prediction

Author: Nick Amies
Editor: Rob Turner