FC Bayern: German Cup Semifinal; Clash Against Werder and More.

| Written by: Samrin Hasib @ Germany Bundesliga

699

FC Bayern won two games in a row this week as they booked a spot in the German Cup semifinal.

Borussia Dortmund drew against Stuttgart and Bayern made up some lost ground. As second placed Bayer Leverkusen and third placed Hanover go head to head this week, Bayern will go up to third with a win over Werder. Last week, the demolition of FCK truly displayed the Jekyll and Hyde nature of Bayern.

They took the lead through Arjen Robben. Mario Gomez scored a second to put them 2-0 up. However, the defence then fell asleep allowing FCK to come back into the match. Bayern looked nervous at 2-1. However, Mario Gomez then scored two goals and Thomas Mueller added one at the closing stages to wrap up the match and take Bayern up to fourth spot in the Bundesliga table.

Dortmund found out this week that they will have to do without influential midfielder Shinji Kagawa for the rest of the season. Dortmund's profligacy in front of goal cost them against Stuttgart. Lucas Barrios' form is poor and Robert Lewandowski isn't putting away his chances either. Due to Barrios' fitness, there was a bit of a disagreement between Juergen Klopp and the Paraguyan. Barrios feels he is fit enough to start but Klopp disagrees.

Dare I say it?

Will Bayern actually be able to fight back to win the title?

Bayern's confidence was further boosted by a win over Alemannia Aachen. Gomez once again opened the scoring and Thomas Mueller put in a stellar performance. Mueller scored twice while substitute Robben added a late goal to send Bayern into the German Cup semi-finals. They will know their opponents on Sunday. Their opponents might be Duisburg, Energie Cottbus or Schalke. Uli Hoeness wants to play Schalke, a side his Bayern lost to not too long ago.

What conspired before the match against Alemannia was the talk amongst the media and the fans. Dutch midfielder, fan favourite and Bayern captain Mark Van Bommel said a painful goodbye to the club. Disagreements between him and Louis Van Gaal (who else?) apparently led to Van Bommel leaving Bayern. His contract at FCB was terminated and he joined AC Milan on a six-month deal. Van Bommel didn't produce his best this season but will surely be missed. He will perhaps be seen supporting Bayern at the San Siro in February, who knows?

Edson Braafheid has also left Bayern for greener pastures. He has joined Hoffenheim. David Alaba is currently at Hoffenheim on a loan spell. The rumours of Diego Contento being sent on loan seems to be over. Bayern has been linked with a move for Juan Manuel Vargas. The move might not materialize as Fiorentina has firmly refused to allow Vargas to leave.

Werder Bremen is Bayern's next league opponent. They play the relegation threatened Green and Whites at the Weser Stadium on Saturday. Bayern will be without the services of Toni Kroos, Ivica Olic, Diego Contento and Franck Ribery. Werder will have to do without Sebastian Boenisch, Christian Vander, Marko Arnautovic, Naldo, Daniel Jensen and Wesley. Tim Borowski has returned to the scene on the positive side.

Werder's poor defence has not been covered for by the offence this year. The offence has failed to produce since Mesut Oezil's sale to Real Madrid. Werder has purchased a Schalke youngster called Predrag Stevanovic. Could he be the next Oezil?

Bayern is playing too well to fail to beat Werder. A couple of goals from Mario Gomez and a masterclass by Robben seems to be on the cards in this one, despite Bayern's poor away form.

Prediction: Bremen 1-4 Bayern

<div class="media_area"> <div class="media_area_title"> <h4><%= title %></h4> <span>this is <%= (required ? 'required' : 'optional') %></span> </div> <div class="media_area_controls"> <% if (!required) { %> <a class="small-orange button add-poll">Add Poll</a> <a class="small-orange button delete-poll">Delete</a> <% } %> <a class="small-orange button add-photo">Add Photo</a> <% if (!required) { %> <a class="small-orange button delete-photo" style="display:none">Delete</a> <a class="small-orange button add-video">Add Video</a> <a class="small-orange button delete-video">Delete</a> <% } %> </div> </div> <div id="lightbox_upload_photo" class="lightbox_content"> <a href="" id="upload_photo_button" class="medium-orange button">Upload Photo</a> <p><input type="checkbox" class="image-permission" name='image-permission' value="has-permission">I certify that I have the right to use this photo and that it doesn't violate the <a href='/pages/terms' target='_blank'>terms of use.</a></p> </div> <div id="image-gallery-lightbox" style="display:none"> <div id="image-gallery-help"> <p>Try searching Getty Images for:</p> <ul> <li>Teams (Ex: San Francisco Giants, Duke Basketball, Manchester United, etc...)</li> <li>People (Ex: Kobe Bryant, Bob Knight, Tiger Woods, etc...)</li> <li>Events (Ex: World Cup, 2010 NFL Draft, March Madness, etc...)</li> </ul> </div> <div id="image-gallery-spinner">Spinner</div> <div id="image-gallery"> <span id="results-meta" style="display:none"> <span id="image-results-count">0</span> results for <span id="image-search-term">cheerleader</span> </span> <ul id="gallery-image-list" style="display:none"> </ul> <div class="clear"></div> <br> <div id="image-paginator" class="pagination"> <a href="#" id="prev-page" style="display:inline">prev</a> <ul id="page-list" style="display:none"> </ul> <a href="#" id="next-page" style="display:inline">next</a> </div> </div> <div id="image-gallery-cropper" style="display:none"> <img id="cropper-image"> <div id="cropper-information"> <h3 id="cropper-header">This Photo Must Be Cropped</h3> <p id="cropper-optional">(optional)</p> <a href="#" id="enable-cropper" class="medium-orange button" style="display:none">Crop Photo</a> <a href="#" id="disable-cropper" class="medium-orange button" style="display:none">Cancel Crop</a> <a href="#" id="reset-cropper" class="medium-orange button" style="display:none">Reset</a> <p id="cropper-instructions">Drag and resize the window to select the area that will be cropped.</p> </div> <h3>Caption <span>(optional)</span></h3> <input type="text" class="text medium-text" id="cropper-caption-input" value="" placeholder="Enter your photo caption"> <br> <div id='image-permission'><p id="image-permission-warning" style="display:none">Required</p><input type="checkbox" class="image-permission" name='image-permission' value="has-permission">I certify that I have the right to use this photo and that it doesn't violate the <a href='/pages/terms' target='_blank'>terms of use.</a></div> <a href="#" id="crop-button" class="medium-green button">Add Photo</a> </div> </div> <div id="video-embedder-lightbox"> <div id="video-embedder-form"> <p> <label for="videoUrlField">Video Embed Code or URL</label> <input type="url" id="videoUrlField" class="medium-text text" value=""> <span class="example"> <strong>Example:</strong> <em>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wyLvagyApY</em> </span> </p> <p> <label for="videoCaptionField">Caption <span>(optional)</span></label> <input id="videoCaptionField" class="medium-text text" value=""> </p> <a href="#" id="videoEmbedButton" class="medium-green button">Add Video</a> </div> <div id="video-embedder-help"> <p> Please embed a video from a trusted partner: </p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/" target="_blank">YouTube.com</a></li> <li><a href="http://video.yahoo.com/" target="_blank">Yahoo.com</a></li> <li><a href="http://hulu.com/" target="_blank">Hulu.com</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.vimeo.com/" target="_blank">Vimeo.com</a></li> <li><a href="http://espn.go.com/video/" target="_blank">ESPN.com</a></li> <li><a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video-central" target="_blank">FoxSports.com</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.nba.com/video/" target="_blank">NBA.com</a></li> <li><a href="http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/" target="_blank">NHL.com</a></li>  </ul> </div> <div class="clear"></div> </div> <form action="/article/588342/poll" id="poll-form"> <input type="hidden" name="article_id" value="588342"> <label for="poll-question">Question</label> <input name="question" id="poll-question" class="medium-text text"> <div id="error-question" class="error">Please enter a question.</div> <label for="poll-question">Choices</label> <ul id="poll-choices"> <li><input name="choices[]" id="poll-choice" class="medium-text text poll-choice"></li> </ul> <div id="error-choices" class="error">Please enter at least two choices.</div> <span id="review-poll" class="medium-green button">Preview</span> <span id="save-poll" class="medium-green button">Save</span> </form>

699