Bayer Leverkusen’s Stefan Kiessling tops the FTBL ranking of forwards in the German Bundesliga and is the top scorer going into the 16th round. Yet No. 2 Mario Gómez of Bayern Munich, who trails by less than a point, is threatening Kiessling’s position. Can Gómez surge to the top?

Bayern travel to Hertha Berlin today, and despite the fact that the Berliners are at the bottom of the table and have struggled since the beginning of the season, they still have 3 wins over the Bavarians in the latest encounters between the two. Bayern’s next game will be against another struggling team, Bochum, and the Bavarians will be clear favorites after winning 6 of the last 8 matches between the two. This seems to indicate Gómez should be in a position to close the very narrow gap to the top spot in the ranking.

In addition, Gómez will face a plank 1.1 point lower than his rival’s. This very small advantage is what will allow Gómez to beat his Leverkusen rival.