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There are just four points between 4th and 10th as attention turns to this weekend’s fixtures. With six of the teams in European contention facing each other on Matchday 22, the outlook could once again change dramatically once all matches have concluded! Our Matchday Preview breaks down all the fixtures taking place across Germany this weekend, and is free for your editorial use.
FC Bayern München will hope to extend their advantage at the top before nearest rivals Borussia Dortmund take on fourth-placed 1. FC Union Berlin on Matchday 22 in the Bundesliga.
Defending champions Bayern beat RB Leipzig last time out, and that 3-2 home success means they have a nine-point cushion over Dortmund with 13 games left.
Bayern next travel to promoted VfL Bochum 1848 on Saturday without their captain Manuel
Neuer, who will miss several weeks after undergoing knee surgery. Sven Ulreich should replace Germany goalkeeper Neuer, who equalled the record for most Bundesliga career wins (310) in his last outing.
Robert Lewandowski got his league-high 24th goal of the campaign against Leipzig, but his team will need to be at their best to overcome plucky Bochum this weekend. Bayern’s opponents in 11th have lost just twice at home this season.
Second-placed Dortmund won’t be in action until Sunday, a full week after their painful 5-2 home defeat against third-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen. They have a potentially uncomfortable away game on the cards, with Union having won six and drawn three of their 10 home games to date. Erling Haaland is back in training, though, so the visitors could be boosted by the 16-goal Norwegian’s return from injury. They could do with him, too, given that Dortmund have lost on their two previous trips to face Union.
Matchday 22 kicks off with another top fixture on Friday, when sixth-placed 1. FC Köln travel to take on a Leipzig team who are a point behind them in the standings. Eight of Leipzig’s nine
Bundesliga wins this season have come at home, but Cologne have French striker Anthony Modeste for inspiration. The 33-year-old was the hero in their 1-0 win over Freiburg, meaning he now has 14 Bundesliga goals for the season and six in his last six league games.
Also a point behind Cologne – and three points off the top four – are Eintracht Frankfurt. The
Eagles soared to a 3-2 win at VfB Stuttgart last week, and they next host VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday. The Wolves re-signed talismanic attacker Max Kruse from Union last month, though, and they ended a nine-game winless run in the Bundesliga by beating SpVgg Greuther Fürth 4-1 in his first game back at the club.
Only three points separate SC Freiburg in fifth and 1. FSV Mainz 05 in tenth, while at the other end of the table Borussia Mönchengladbach’s meeting with FC Augsburg looks crucial too. Gladbach drew at Arminia Bielefeld last time out, so they are now just a point above Saturday’s visitors who are third from bottom. Augsburg – who should have US attacker Ricardo Pepi available again – gave their chances of avoiding the drop a real boost by beating Union 2-0 on Matchday 21. Hertha Berlin are – like Gladbach – only a point above the relegation zone, and after their 1-1 home draw with Bochum they could do with victory at bottom side Fürth.
Saturday’s late kick-off sees freescoring Leverkusen try to make it four wins on the spin when they welcome second-bottom Stuttgart, while on Sunday eighth-placed TSG Hoffenheim are home to in-form but fourth-from-bottom Bielefeld.
In Bundesliga 2 SV Werder Bremen are now one point off top spot after reeling off six consecutive wins. They kick off Matchday 22 with a trip to midtable FC Hansa Rostock on Friday, while northern rivals Hamburger SV in fourth host sixth-placed 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 on Saturday. Hamburg – who last week thrashed leaders SV Darmstadt 98 5-0 away from home with the help of four goals from Robert Glatzel – are now only two points off the pace.
Second-placed FC St. Pauli, meanwhile, are away to SSV Jahn Regensburg on Saturday, while Darmstadt are at midtable Hannover 96 on Sunday. That’s the same day fifth-placed FC Schalke 04 travel to face struggling Fortuna Düsseldorf.
