PREVIEW: Hanover and Munich hope for normality

By John Bagratuni Nov 26, 2009, 7:42 GMT

Hamburg - Hanover 96 and Bayern Munich simply hope for football normality in their Bundesliga meeting on Sunday.

Hanover play their first home game since the club's Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke committed suicide on November 10.

The players will pay a tribute to Enke by wearing a black number one on their shirt for the rest of the season.

But all signs of mourning around the stadium, ranging from candles to flowers and photos, were removed last weekend.

The home game will bring back some painful memories but Hanover are determined to take another step towards Bundesliga normality, having played well under the circumstances in their first game without Enke, a 2-0 defeat at Schalke 04 last Saturday.

'It will be special again,' said coach Andreas Bergmann, looking ahead at the meeting with Munich. 'But we will do our best to perform well.'

For title-hungry Munich, victories mean normality, and the Bavarians hope for all three points in what has been an indifferent season under beleaguered Dutch coach Louis van Gaal.

Munich lie seventh, six points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen, but got a morale-booster on Wednesday in the form of a 1-0 win over Maccabi Haifa which kept their chances intact of making the knockout stages in the European Champions League.

'It was important to end this bad run. We are on a good way,' said Wednesday's match-winner Ivica Olic.

Munich's stars Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery remain sidelined with injury. It remains unclear whether Luca Toni returns into the squad after the frustrated Italian was fined for a second time in less than three weeks, for critical comments about van Gaal.

Munich also come to Hanover with a new club leadership, to be elected on Friday at the annual members' meeting.

Uli Hoeness' reign as general manager will end after three decades. Hoeness is to be elected club president, taking the place of club icon Franz Beckenbauer who steps down after 15 years on the job to become honorary president.

The changes mark the end of an era in Munich, while further north Leverkusen will aim to take another step towards ending their reputation as perennial runners-up.

Coming off an impressive 1-1 in Munich, Leverkusen host drop zone club VfB Stuttgart who are desperate for a turnaround.

'VfB are a top team. We will only win if we give it all we have,' warned Leverkusen coach Jupp Heynckes.

Werder Bremen are just one point behind Leverkusen and not hiding their title ambitions after a stunning 6-0 demolition of SC Freiburg.

'Of course we want to become champions,' said striker Hugo Almeida as Bremen's unbeaten run in competitive games now covers 20 games.

Bremen host VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday, with the champions reeling from a 3-2 home defeat against lowly Nuremberg in the league and a 2-1 Champions League loss at CSKA Moscow in mid-week.

Elsewhere on Saturday, third-placed Schalke visit Borussia Moenchengladbach, number four TSG Hoffenheim host Borussia Dortmund, stumbling SV Hamburg visit Mainz 05, Nuremberg play Freiburg and bottom club Hertha Berlin host Eintracht Frankfurt. The Friday game is VfL Bochum vs Cologne.