Hamburg homing in on leaders

Nov 1, 2007 - 3:46 PM HAMBURG, Germany (Ticker) -- Hamburg has the chance to move within one point of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich this weekend, but coach Huub Stevens is keeping his side's feet on the ground.

During his eight months in charge, the Dutchman has dragged Hamburg to second place and made them the most serious challengers to Bayern this season.

Just four points separate the two clubs at the top of the table going into this weekend's round of matches.

Hamburg has been labelled as the only club to stop Bayern's march towards the title this season, but ahead of their game against Hertha Berlin on Saturday, Stevens is being realistic.

"Calculations are done at the end of the season, and nothing else interests me," Stevens said. "If you are top after 34 rounds of matches, then you can enjoy it, but not before then."

Bayern has yet to lose a match this campaign, but several draws recently have seen their lead at the top shrink to just four points.

They entertain Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday buoyed by the return to form of Luca Toni, who scored twice in the midweek DFB-Pokal win over second division leaders Borussia Monchengladbach.

Miroslav Klose also found the back of the net in that game, proving the league's most prolific attack is in good health.

The same cannot be said for Nurnberg and Stuttgart, however.

Cup holders Nurnberg went out of the competition to second division opposition on Wednesday while defending league champions Stuttgart are a full 14 points adrift of the summit.

Both are struggling at the wrong end of the table and Saturday's clash is not likely to be pretty as both clubs scrap for three much-needed points.

Nobody needs points more than Energie Cottbus, however, who have yet to win a game all season.

On Friday night, they start the weekend's action at home to Schalke, who after only 10 games have written off their chances of winning the league.

"We needn't even talk about top spot," said general manager Andreas Muller following a 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen last weekend which leaves the Royal Blues nine points behind Bayern.

Bremen have returned to form and can return to second place if they beat rivals Hansa Rostock on Saturday, while Karlsruhe are also keeping up with the pace of the leading clubs and will expect to stay in the top four by defeating Duisburg on Sunday.

Hannover have surprised many with their form this season and a place in the top five beckons should they get the better of a resurgent Borussia Dortmund while Saturday's other fixture sees Bayer Leverkusen entertain Arminia Bielefeld.

On Sunday, Bochum look to end a run of nine games without a win against a Wolfsburg side who are unbeaten in their last six.