When Lucien Favre took over struggling Borussia Moenchengladbach last February, the club was bottom of the table with the worst defensive record in the Bundesliga — 56 goals conceded in 22 games leaving it seven points from safety.

The Swiss coach completed a remarkable turnaround in the club’s fortunes, starting with a 2-1 win at home over Schalke.

Moenchengladbach are top of the table as they host the same opponents again tomorrow.

Midfielder Thorben Marx said “we want to ride this wave of euphoria for as long as possible, so we’ll try and take the three points off Schalke.”

Earlier tomorrow, Hannover host Mainz.

Today, it’s the meeting of bottom sides Hamburger SV and Cologne, Nuremberg vs. Augsburg, Freiburg vs. Wolfsburg, Kaiserslautern vs. Bayern Munich, Hoffenheim vs. Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen vs. Borussia Dortmund.

Favre’s side has conceded only 10 goals in 15 Bundesliga games since the 53-year-old took over. Only Bayern Munich, with one goal conceded, are better defensively this season.

Marco Reus has chipped in seven goals in 15 games, as Favre — who took Hertha Berlin to fourth place in the Bundesliga in 2009 — sees his efforts pay off all over the pitch.

“Of course I’m very happy when I look at the standings,” Favre said. “However, we shouldn’t forget that we were fighting against relegation a few months ago. We’ve only played three games. The season will still be very difficult for us.”

Borussia striker Mike Hanke — who was a Schalke player from 2000 to 2005 — said his former teammates put in an “enormous performance” at Mainz but “we also have to show Schalke that we want to win.”

Hannover are second on goal difference to Moenchengladbach.

Mirko Slomka’s side would be top of the table if Christian Pander’s late free kick wasn’t ruled out against Hertha Berlin last weekend.

Today, Hamburg coach Michael Oenning and Cologne coach Stale Solbakken desperately need a win to ease the pressure on their sides.

Cologne sports director Volker Finke said Norwegian coach Solbakken will be given time, and there were signs of improvement in the 1-1 draw with Kaiserslautern last week.

However, Oenning is a good candidate to be the first managerial casualty of the season after his side’s 5-0 capitulation to Bayern last weekend, when Munich also missed a host of chances.

The 45-year-old coach said the experience was “terrifying” and his authority is further undermined by claims he warned players of the prowess of striker Miroslav Klose before the game. Klose moved to Italian side Lazio in the offseason.

Hamburg’s sporting director Frank Arnesen said he still has “faith in Oenning and our players. I told him so.”

“We have a lot of preparation work to do ahead of the Cologne game, and we have to show what we are capable of,” Arnesen said.

Hamburg have boosted their defence with the signing of Slobodan Rajkovic from Chelsea — the fifth player to follow Arnesen from his former club in the offseason — and the 22-year-old Serbian defender will likely get his first start today.

It was Hamburg’s defence which helped Bayern Munich click into gear last weekend, albeit at the expense of striker Ivica Olic for six to eight weeks with a hip injury.

Bayern will not be buying a replacement, with coach Jupp Heynckes saying he has “complete confidence in our existing squad players.”

Dutch winger Arjen Robben is also ruled out indefinitely, but Franck Ribery finally appears to have gotten over his injury issues.

Bundesliga runners-up Leverkusen are unbeaten at home in the league since losing 3-1 to Dortmund last January.

Mario Goetze is a doubt for the defending champions, but Sven Bender has recovered from a knee injury and could line up against his twin brother Lars.