PREVIEW: Bayern need Schalke help in Bundesliga battle

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Bayern
Munich will be hoping for some help from Schalke 04 in their bid to
salvage something from a season which will leave them without a title.

Both clubs are now looking for new coaches, with Schalke now
rudderless following the decision to sack coach and manager Felix
Magath.

Schalke visit second-placed Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday with
co-trainer Seppo Eichkorn temporarily in charge, while Bayern must
bounce back from a bitterly disappointing Champions League exit to
Inter Milan as they travel to seventh-placed Freiburg Saturday.

Bayern coach Louis van Gaal will remain in charge until the end of
the season as the club hopes at least to rescue a Champions League spot
for next season - but they are seven points behind Leverkusen and two
adrift of third-placed Hanover in the Bundesliga.

Leverkusen will also need a new coach if Jupp Heynckes does not
renew his contract and instead succeed Van Gaal at Bayern. Bayern's
visit also follows a tough trip for Leverkusen to Villarreal Thursday
to rescue their Europa League hopes after the Spanish side won the
first leg 3-2.

A glimmer of hope in the title race emerged for Leverkusen last
week after Borussia Dortmund slipped to defeat at Hoffenheim.

Juergen Klopp's side will have to be on their guard their nine-point
lead at the top is not reduced further when they welcome fifth-placed
Mainz Saturday.

Magath's sacking at Schalke on Wednesday followed complaints by the players to supervisory board chairman Clemens Toennies.

Captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said he had a good relationship
with Magath but some players had approached him and the players'
committee about their concerns.

"We couldn't clear up all the problems," he said.

Toennies said he had held "frank talks" with Magath after he had
been approached by the players, but after another meeting with the
players' committee it appeared the problems were getting worse.

"So I had another discussion with Magath. It was quite an argument
between the two of us. I told him: 'Schalke 04 doesn't work like that!
You have to approach people and take them with you. You are losing this
team - at least on the inside,' Toennies explained.

The mood at Bayern was just as glum following Tuesday's Champions
League 3-2 defeat at home to Inter, who had rallied from 2-1 down to
hit a late winner.

Bayern's task now is to finish at least third to earn a chance of
qualifying for the Champions League. With next year's final in Munich,
Bayern are desperate not to miss out on the competition.

"It's still wide open, but it won't be easy against Freiburg,
especially after you've had a shock like yesterday's. We're in a
difficult and critical position," captain Philipp Lahm said a day after
the exit.

"A number of us have played in the UEFA Cup and the Europa League, but don't want to again," he added.

"We all want to contest the Champions League. That's our motivation,
but Bayern would normally be competing for more than just a Champions
League qualifying place."

Hanover meanwhile welcome Hoffenheim hoping to recover from a 4-0
defeat last week at Cologne who are at SV Hamburg, while the rest of
the programme features teams in relegation danger. Only three points
separate second-last Wolfsburg from 12th-placed Werder Bremen.

Bottom club Borussia Moenchengladbach - three points adrift - greet
fifth-last Kaiserslautern Friday, and in matches Saturday, Eintracht
Frankfurt, after nine games without a win, take on fellow strugglers St
Pauli, and Bremen visit sixth-placed Nuremberg.

On Sunday, Wolfsburg visit VfB Stuttgart, who are only two points ahead despite three wins in a row.