Bayern Munich will hope to extend their seven-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday with a win in the Bavarian derby at Nurnberg.Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld prepares to take his side to the Frakenstadion under strikingly different circumstances from the last time they played there.

It was the experienced coach's first game in charge when Nurnberg hosted the Bavarians in 2007. He had taken over from Felix Magath only 48 hours earlier and saw the size of the task in hand, after a resounding 3-0 defeat.

Nurnberg were riding the crest of a wave which carried them to a DFB-Pokal final triumph and a place in the UEFA Cup, while Bayern ended the season in fourth place, in the same European competition as their neighbours.

The boot is now firmly on the other foot. Bayern are marching authoritatively towards a 21st Bundesliga title, whilst Nurnberg are struggling in the bottom three and facing the serious prospect of relegation to the second division.

Although the stakes have changed ahead of the 50th derby between the two sides, Hitzfeld can still remember that game well.

He said: "I knew it was going to be a tough task but it surprised me how tough. It was not very nice to see and Bayern really looked bad."

Bayern general manager Uli Hoeness added: "I do not think we are going to trip up at Nurnberg again. We want to be champions and will look to pick up points everywhere."

Second-placed Hamburg will be hoping Nurnberg can do them a favour, as they look to keep the Bundesliga title race alive when they host Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday.

Huub Stevens' side have already taken advantage of slips by Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen to move two points clear in second place. Reducing the seven-point deficit on Bayern is their new target.

Bremen slipped out of the top three after a draw at Bielefeld last Sunday. They desperately need to recover against Duisburg on Saturday. Schalke have also drawn level with Bremen and Leverkusen in the fight for third place.

Mirko Slomka's side travel to Karlsruhe on Saturday, with more than just an eye on a significantly bigger fixture which is lurking on the horizon.

On Tuesday, Barcelona are the visitors to the Arena AufSchalke for a historic first-ever game in the last eight of the Champions League for the Royal Blues.

Stuttgart discovered how strong Barcelona are during the group stages of the competition, losing at home and away to the Spaniards as they made an early exit from the competition.

The defending champions appear to have put that disappointment behind them, moving back to within three points of the top three, largely thanks to sx wins in their last seven games. They travel to Hannover on Sunday searching for their 14th win of the season.

At the bottom of the table, Cottbus could have the chance to move out of the bottom three when they entertain Hertha Berlin on Sunday.

That will only be the case if Bielefeld, Nurnberg and Duisburg all lose their arguably tougher fixtures against sides from the top four.

Hansa Rostock are not safe yet but they can take an important step away from the danger zone by landing an early blow against visitors Wolfsburg on Friday night.

Elsewhere, Bochum and Borussia Dortmund meet in a Ruhr derby and Leverkusen entertain Eintracht Frankfurt.

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