This weekend Lukas Podolski ventures back to a place he can't really call home - despite spending the last three years there.

The Cologne striker heads back to the Allianz Arena on Saturday where he spent much of the last three years on the Bayern Munich bench, but even if his current club lies second from the bottom of the table, the 24-year-old still feels he made the right choice in going back home.

"I would never say that it was the wrong step," he told Bundesliga-Magazin.

"I knew that it was going to be a tough season, but I love this club just like (president) Wolfgang Overath or many other people who give everything for this club, whether we be bottom with just one point, 10th or 5th.

"I don't regret coming back in the slightest."

Bayern coach Louis van Gaal may well regret a decision which was taken before he was appointed as the club's new coach, though.

With Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez both struggling for their form, with Arjen Robben picking up a serious knee injury in the midweek Champions League game against Juventus and with Luca Toni yet to make his first-team debut this season, the Dutch coach could have done with a striker of Podolski's calibre in his attack this weekend.

Bayern are looking to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat at Hamburg last weekend which saw them drop to seventh in the Bundesliga standings.

Hamburg, meanwhile, lead the way with 17 points together with Bayer Leverkusen, the only other side still to boast an unbeaten record going into the eighth round of matches.

Leverkusen get the first chance to extend that record when they host Nurnberg on Saturday with Hamburg waiting until 24 hours later when they go to struggling Hertha Berlin, who have lost their last six games and sacked their coach Lucien Favre earlier this week.

In-form Hoffenheim, who have won their last four, can keep up the pressure on the leaders with a win at Mainz.

Elsewhere, Hannover and Freiburg jostle for position in mid-table with their clash at the Niedersachsen Stadion and defending champions Wolfsburg look to bounce back from their defeat at Manchester United yesterday when they head to Bochum.

On Sunday, the struggling Borussias from Monchengladbach and Dortmund lock horns with Stuttgart entertaining Werder Bremen.

In Friday's game, Schalke moved up to third by defeating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0.