Freiburg v Bayern Munich
It’s not so much a case of the Black Forest for Freiburg this weekend, but the potential Black Hole they are in danger of entering. With just one point from their last five matches, the Breisgauer have dropped to ninth in the table and are seeing their hopes of another top six finish evaporating. They will look to summon up the spirit of last season when they beat Bayern in the DFB Pokal as they seek to end their barren run.
The Rekordmeister ended their own poor run of three successive defeats last weekend with their late 2-1 win at home to RB Leipzig. It may not have been convincing, but with the Thomas Tuchel situation now cleared up ahead of next season, the Bavarians might be able to play with more freedom. Their slim chance of catching Bayer Leverkusen means that they cannot afford to drop points and three points from the Europa Park on Friday will at least reduce the gap to five points temporarily.
Union Berlin v Borussia Dortmund
The Eisernen have started to slowly extricate themselves from the relegation zone with a four-match unbeaten run, but they are still too close to the bottom three for comfort and will want to extend their run at home to Dortmund on Saturday.
BVB’s own eight-match unbeaten run was ended last weekend with a surprise home defeat to Hoffenheim. That run had however highlighted the inconsistencies with the Schwarzgelben this season with four wins and four draws amongst them. They are still very much in a battle with Leipzig for a top four finish, but know a trip to Köpenick presents a real challenge.
Mainz v Borussia Mönchengladbach
Having won his first game in charge, Bo Henriksen saw a spirited Mainz lose at the Bay Arena last Friday to cement their place in the bottom two. The fact that Köln above them haven’t managed to pull away will give them hope that survival can still be achieved, but picking up wins at home will be the key to this. They face Mönchengladbach this weekend with the Foals one of four teams ten points above them.
Gerardo Seoane’s side had a much-needed morale boost last week with their 5-2 win over Bochum, but will be fully aware that they are still too close to the bottom for any complacency to set in. On paper their squad is much better than their league position suggests and the task now is to push on and try to beat (or at least match) last season’s tenth place finish.
VfL Bochum v RB Leipzig
Bochum were unable to build any momentum from their memorable win over Bayern and went down to a big defeat at Mönchengladbach last weekend. Back at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion Thomas Letsch will want to see his side raise their game again as RB Leipzig are the visitors.
The Roten Bullen were unable to capitalise on Dortmund’s loss last weekend when they themselves lost to Bayern, but they were worthy of a point at the Allianz Arena after an improved second half display and were only denied by a late Harry Kane goal. They face a trip to the Bernabeu to tackle Real Madrid in midweek and a win here would set them up nicely for the journey to the Spanish capital.
Heidenheim v Eintracht Frankfurt
Frank Schmidt’s side continue to pick up the valuable points that are keeping them safely positioned in mid-table and they came away from the Alten Försterei last week with a share of the spoils. A top half finish isn’t out of the question for the 2.Bundesliga champions and visitors Frankfurt will be more than wary of facing Heidenheim at the Voith Arena.
The Adler continue to frustrate their fans with their inconsistency. Last week’s draw with VfL Wolfsburg was their third on the trot and if they want to hold onto their sixth place (and European qualification) a run of positive results will be needed. Elimination from the Conference League following a home defeat to Union St. Gilloise has further dampened the mood meaning a good showing against Heidenheim is vital.
Darmstadt v Augsburg
Things continue to look very bleak for Darmstadt as they sit at the bottom of the pile with just two wins to their name. They just can’t seem to catch a break and will still be seething after having two goals disallowed last week away at Werder. They thought they had grabbed a sensational late winner at the Weser Stadion, only for VAR to intervene and rule out Tim Skarke’s goal for a debatable handball.
Augsburg grabbed an important three points last week when coming from behind to beat Freiburg with two goals in the last twenty minutes. Jess Thorup’s side have now established a nine-point cushion over 16th place Köln, but have four teams just a point behind them, so know they could easily be sucked back down the table.
VfL Wolfsburg v VfB Stuttgart
Wolfsburg’s wait to put a tick in the win column for the first time this year continues after they were held last week by Niko Kovac’s former side Eintracht Frankfurt. Die Wölfe have only won twice in their last seventeen matches after starting the season with four victories in the opening six games.
Stuttgart continue to cement their position in third place but were frustrated by Köln last weekend in a 1-1 draw at the MHP Arena, which ended a four-match winning streak. Their away form has been much improved this season with six victories picked up on the road.
Köln v Bayer Leverkusen
The Billy Goats need a spark to get their survival push going and a local derby with neighbours Leverkusen could be just the occasion. Timo Schultz has got his first win as Köln coach and did see his side take a point off high-flying Stuttgart last week, but the challenge of the league leaders at the Rhein-Energie Stadion is a step up.
The Werkself maintained their unbeaten season last week, but once again were made to work for it by Mainz. The atmosphere is sure to be electric on Sunday as their neighbours look to be the first side to beat them in the derby, but Xabi Alonso’s side need to play the opponent, not the occasion if they are to maintain their record and their healthy advantage over Bayern in the table.
Hoffenheim v Werder Bremen
After eight games without a win, Pellegrino Matarazzo’s Hoffenheim finally turned a corner last week with an impressive away win at the Signal Iduna park with Maxi Beier the hero with two goals. They will still maintain hopes of making the top six this season, but face a side with similar ambitions on Sunday.
Werder Bremen have enjoyed a very good Rückrunde so far and have climbed to eighth in the table and currently sit level on points with Hoffenheim. The two sides will have Frankfurt in their sights and three more points at the PreZero Arena will go some way to overhauling the Adler and really igniting the European dream.
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