Werder Bremen 1-1 Borussia Mönchengladbach

The first half formations.

Borussia Mönchengladbach broke Bremen hearts with a surprise late equalizer after the home side failed to put the game to bed.

Both sides came into this game locked in a relegation battle. Werder, sat in 15th because Kaiserslautern had scored a 92nd minute earlier in the afternoon, were just two points above the drop zone, and six points ahead of bottom side Gladbach. There was a degree of confidence in both camps pre-match, with Gladbach on a high after last weekend’s triumph against Hoffenheim, and Bremen likewise following their 3-1 success at Freiburg. The visitors arrived at the Weserstadion without Igor de Camargo, but were at near enough full-strength. Werder, meanwhile, had to make do without Aaron Hunt and Naldo – Marko Marin and Wesley were on the bench, as Florian Trinks, who turned 19 the day before this game, was handed a rare start.

Advertisement

Hoffenheim 1-0 Borussia Dortmund

The formations with half-hour played.

Hard-working Hoffenheim punished a surprisingly unimaginative Dortmund side to deny the league leaders what would have been a record-setting 12th away win of the season.

These two teams came into this game on largely differing runs of form. In-form Dortmund, top of the table by 12 points, having racked up 11 away wins in the league so far this season. Hoffenheim, on the other hand, had fallen from credible Champions League contenders to the mid-table positions they’ve made their home these last few seasons. They sat in ninth place haven taken just seven points from the last 18 available. Both sides had only failed to score on three occasions this season, so goals seemed certain. Definitely absent from the scoresheet by virtue of being absent from the teamsheet for Marco Pezzaiuoli’s hosts were Andreas Ibertsberger, Tobias Weis, Chinedu Obasi and Peniel Mlapa. For the visitors, Mats Hummels, Shinji Kagawa, Patrick Owomoyela, and Damien Le Tallec were all out.