A modicum of pride

Considering that the DW pundits plumbed the very depths in week 10 with a single point gleaned, scoring five on match day 11 should be seen as a remarkable upturn in form. However - it has to be put into context. T. Mills from Toronto ran riot with eleven points, giving the guest guessers a mighty lead over all. DW has it all to do on match day 12 to keep the Twittering classes in sight.

This week's challenger: Saurabh (@TheHoffside) in Toronto.

Follow us on Twitter (@DW_Sports) for the next chance to be picked to pick!

Friday, November 4

Mainz – Stuttgart

The reality check continues for Thomas Tuchel's Mainz side as their limitations continue to be exposed. The romanticized view of Mainz as a potential title challenger from outside of the traditional power brokers has been replaced by one of doom and gloom after yet another defeat last week which leaves them two points off the bottom. Their confidence – something Mainz never lacked when flying high – has abandoned them. Stuttgart, meanwhile, are still holding things together in the European places – but only just. A victory over a fragile Mainz team may be just what they need to escape a potential rut which could undo all their good work to date.

DW prediction: Stuttgart 2-1
Guest prediction: Draw 1-1

Saturday, November 5

Dortmund – Wolfsburg

The champions are still keeping pace but seem to be taking two steps forward and one step back in their pursuit of Bayern Munich. It must also be galling to see bitter local rivals Schalke edge past them into second. After looking to be back on track, Dortmund stumbled again against Stuttgart last week and were lucky to come away with a draw. BVB will hope to get back to winning ways against Felix Magath's Wolfsburg who continued their schizophrenic run of form last week by losing at home to Hertha. Dortmund's Champions League win in midweek will have given them confidence whereas the Wolves continue to search for theirs.

DW prediction: Dortmund 3-0
Guest prediction: Dortmund 2-0

Bremen – Cologne

It's very tight at the top with three clubs all on 20 points in the places behind Bayern and Schalke. Bremen are still in the mix, sitting in fourth, and looking in good shape to stay there or even advance. Last week's 3-1 defeat of Mainz seemed routine given the current state of their opponents and Cologne - on paper at least - should provide Werder with the opportunity to keep the pressure on their championship rivals. However, Cologne have proved that, even after a dip in form, they can still surprise. They came back from a 5-0 drubbing by Dortmund to beat Augsburg 3-0 last week. Bremen, however, are more in Dortmund's class and so a home win is a more likely outcome here.

DW prediction: Bremen 4-1
Guest prediction: Bremen 3-1

Nuremberg – Freiburg

Freiburg's woes continued last week with the home loss to Leverkusen making it eight defeats out of 11. The bottom-placed club look in deep trouble and appear devoid of ideas or craft to get out of their current predicament. Travelling to Nuremberg may not be as bad as other away days but it's still a hard place to go and win - something Freiburg need to do if they're not going to be cast adrift for the whole season. Nuremberg got hammered 4-0 by Bayern last week. That's a score line that's unlikely to be repeated here - although Freiburg may be right to fear a reaction to that humiliation. They should certainly expect a difficult game at the very least.

DW prediction: Nuremberg 2-0
Guest prediction: Freiburg 2-1

Hoffenheim – Kaiserslautern

Kaiserslautern are scraping points together wherever they can find them and while it's not the prettiest approach, it's starting to pay dividends. They looked lost in the early weeks, unable to buy three points, but have now moved out of the drop zone and are a couple of wins off mid-table. That should be a satisfactory target given their propensity for annual relegation dramas. Victory over a slowly descending Hoffenheim team could see them move within a point of their opponents while adding to the growing belief that the Hoff's season is going in the direction of their previous top flight campaigns - downwards.

DW prediction: Draw 1-1
Guest prediction: Hoffenheim 2-1

Hertha – Gladbach

Hertha showed true character to beat Wolfsburg last week, going in at half-time with a 2-1 lead and holding off a second half recovery by their hosts to win 3-2. Survival was always going to be the goal for Markus Babbel's team but they seem to be exceeding that at the moment and have a good chance of comfortably seeing out their first season back in the top flight in mid-table. Gladbach will be another test of whether they can continue looking upwards rather than back at the relegation zone. Gladbach have slipped a little in recent games but their defeat of Hanover last week may have turned things back in their favor. Saturday's trip to the Olympiastadion, however, may give them pause for thought.

DW prediction: Hertha 1-0
Guest prediction: Gladbach 1-0

Leverkusen – Hamburg

Leverkusen squeaked past lowly Freiburg last week with a single goal, earning them a valuable three points but very few plaudits. Michael Ballack's first Bundesliga goal for Leverkusen since rejoining the club from Chelsea in 2010 was enough to win the game but the labored manner of the victory adds to the concerns about their consistency and mental strength. Hamburg may prove a much tougher proposition, despite still hovering above the relegation zone. HSV are unbeaten now in three games but two 1-1 draws and a scraped 2-1 win hints at slow progress. This is a game between a team unsure of its footing and one just now finding its feet.

DW prediction: Draw 2-2
Guest prediction: Draw 1-1

Sunday, November 6

Hanover – Schalke

Hanover are struggling to find any consistency at the moment; beating Bayern one week, losing to Gladbach the next. Schalke, meanwhile, look to have discovered theirs. Huub Stevens continues to be a fan of the philosophy where filling the midfield away from home and nicking the game with a single goal can be offset by a more cavalier attacking approach at home. Schalke have frustrated opponents on their travels and blown them away at home - most of them, anyway. It seems to be working as Schalke are now up to second in what is turning out to be a very open season. Hanover may face a blue wall on Sunday and could struggle to breach it. Schalke on the other hand, if they can stem the tide, are in good shape to steal another three points.

DW prediction: Schalke 2-1
Guest prediction: Hanover 3-2

Augsburg – Bayern

The loss of Bastian Schweinsteiger for a month and a half with a fractured collar bone may very well be felt by Bayern in the coming weeks but it's unlikely they'll suffer without their midfield fulcrum against Augsburg. Toni Kroos may get the nod to fill in for Schweinsteiger with Thomas Müller moving into the hole behind Mario Gomez or youngster David Alaba, who has some central midfield experience, getting a chance to shine, leaving Müller on the right and Kroos in the hole. Either way, it's hard to see Schweinsteiger's loss disrupting Bayern's flow against lowly Augsburg, who could really be taught a lesson this week - especially if Gomez keeps mining his rich seam of goal scoring form.

DW prediction: Bayern 6-0
Guest prediction: Bayern 4-1

Last week's results:

DW: 5 points

Guest: T. Mills (@GorillaMzungu) in Toronto: 11 points

DW total for the season: 63 points

Guest total for the season: 69 points

Three points for a correct score prediction

Two points for a correct winning margin prediction

One point for a correct winner prediction

Author: Nick Amies
Editor: Andreas Illmer