Weekend Talking Points
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Team News, Predictions & Betting Tips
Borussia Mönchengladbach (9th) - Borussia Dortmund (6th)
Form: Gladbach (2-1-3) - Dortmund (3-1-2)
Key personnel missing:
Gladbach - Hannes Wolf, Florian Neuhaus, Tony Jantschke (doubt), Tobias Sippel (doubt), Ko Itakura (doubt), Yann Sommer (doubt)
Dortmund - Sébastien Haller (out indefinitely), Thomas Meunier, Mahmoud Dahoud, Marco Reus, Mateu Morey, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Tom Rothe (doubt), Marius Wolf (doubt)
Match preview:
There is one key ingredient if one was to analyze both Gladbach and Dortmund this season; you never know what you will get on any given weekend from either Bundesliga side.
Dortmund was recently on a three-match winning run only for it to grind to a halt against Wolfsburg in midweek during a 2-0 loss, with a loss against Union Berlin by the same scoreline proceeding the winning streak. As for Gladbach, they have won just one of their last six in the league and continue to fall away from the top six places in the Bundesliga.
Edin Terzić's men own the head-to-head record of late (4-2-0) but Gladbach is one of the better sides at home this campaign, and with the fitness concerns plaguing both sides, this could go down as a draw here.
Prediction: Gladbach 2-2 Dortmund
FC Augsburg (14th) - VfL Bochum (17th)
Form: Augsburg (0-3-3) - Bochum (3-0-3)
Key personnel missing:
Augsburg - Tobias Strobl, Noah Sarenren Bazee, André Hahn, Niklas Dorsch, Mërgim Berisha (doubt)
Bochum - Paul Grave, Jacek Góralski, Takuma Asano (fitness), Erhan Masovic (fitness), Simon Zoller (doubt), Dominique Heintz (doubt), Ivan Ordets (doubt)
Match preview:
Two of the worst in the business lock horns on Saturday when Augsburg hosts Bochum in Bavaria.
Augsburg boasts the worst home record in the Bundesliga this season (1-2-4), while Bochum has failed to achieve a single point on their travels this term (0-0-7) with a -18 goal difference along the way.
The numbers dictate that Augsburg should be able to take something on home soil here, but Bochum is in the better overall form of late compared to an Augsburg outfit that has not won in their last six league fixtures. Much of the data is in Bochum’s favor, too, but such has been their abysmal nature away from the Ruhr valley that this could end in a draw, but don’t be shocked by an away win either.
Prediction: Augsburg 2-2 Bochum
Hertha BSC (16th) - 1. FC Köln (12th)
Form: Hertha (1-1-4) - Köln (1-1-4)
Key personnel missing:
Hertha - Rune Jarstein (out indefinitely), Jessic Ngankam, Stevan Jovetic, Kelian Nsona, Dong-Jun Lee (virus), Márton Dárdai (doubt)
Köln - Dejan Ljubicic, Sebastian Andersson, Dimitris Limnios, Florian Dietz (doubt), Tim Lemperle (doubt), Mark Uth (doubt), Timo Hübers (doubt), Benno Schmitz (doubt)
Match preview:
Bottom three outfit Hertha welcomes foundering Köln to the capital this weekend in a clash featuring two sides that would love nothing more than three points come the end of the day on Saturday.
Hertha has lost three on the spin and now sits 16th in another season far below what the club promised years ago when they tried to turn over a new leaf, while desired Köln’s push into the top seven has taken a massive hit this season with just one win in their last six on the back of continued fitness frustrations.
Both sides have similar records when stacked up home vs away as well, but Steffen Baumgart’s men have managed a strong 3-2-1 record against Hertha in recent matchups. The desire might be to stump for a Köln win, this could have a draw written all over it.
Prediction: Hertha 1-1 Köln
Bayer Leverkusen (13th) - VfB Stuttgart (15th)
Form: Leverkusen (3-1-2) - Stuttgart (3-0-3)
Key personnel missing:
Leverkusen - Robert Andrich (red card), Florian Wirtz (fitness), Charles Aránguiz (doubt), Patrik Schick (doubt), Sardar Azmoun (doubt)
Stuttgart - Wataru Endo, Konstantinos Mavropanos (red card), Josha Vagnoman (fitness), Hiroki Ito (fitness), Enzo Millot (doubt), Chris Führich (doubt)
Match preview:
Has the real Leverkusen finally stood up? New boss Xabi Alonso will certainly believe so after Leverkusen has won their last two on the spin in the league for the first time this season, including a 5-0 thrashing of heralded Union Berlin last weekend.
With the vast majority of his attacking options fit and available, Bayer seems to have remembered just how good they are going forward and it has certainly shown in recent weeks, which comes as bad news for a struggling Stuttgart who has not won against Leverkusen in any of their last six domestic clashes (0-1-5) while they have failed to win away from home all season long thus far (0-3-3).
This could be straightforward here, with Leverkusen the clear favorite when all factors are taken into account, with the Alonso train capable of continuing to roll here in front of home support at the BayArena.
Prediction: Leverkusen 3-1 Stuttgart
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (10th) - VfL Wolfsburg (8th)
Form: Hoffenheim (1-1-4) - Wolfsburg (3-3-0)
Key personnel missing:
Hoffenheim - Benjamin Hübner, Luca Philipp, Grischa Prömel, Ermin Bicakcic (fitness), Pavel Kaderábek (doubt), Munas Dabbur (doubt), Ihlas Bebou (doubt)
Wolfsburg - Bartol Franjic, Max Kruse, Lukas Nmecha, Kevin Paredes, Patrick Wimmer (doubt)
Match preview:
An ever-improving Wolfsburg under Niko Kovać travels to little Sinsheim to clash with Hoffenheim as Die Wölfe has enjoyed a strong run of form of late that sees them undefeated in their last six; far more commensurate with where the club wishes to be.
By contrast, Hoffenheim is on the downturn and now finds themselves out of the European places after just one win in their last six on the back of continued fitness concerns.
The absence of Lukas Nmecha could prove decisive in the end for Wolfsburg as the German striker remains out with an injury, but Kovać's men are in form to a level that should see them pushed over the line here.
Prediction: Hoffenheim 1-2 Wolfsburg
SV Werder Bremen (7th) - RB Leipzig (5th)
Form: Bremen (3-0-3) - RBL (4-2-0)
Key personnel missing:
Bremen - Jean-Manuel Mbom, Felix Agu, Niclas Füllkrug (doubt), Milos Veljkovic (doubt)
RBL - Timo Werner, Péter Gulácsi, Konrad Laimer, Josko Gvardiol (fitness), Marcel Halstenberg (fitness), Yussuf Poulsen (doubt), Abdou Diallo (doubt)
Match preview:
High-flying Werder Bremen have looked something like their old selves of years gone by as they currently come into the weekend sitting seventh in the Bundesliga despite being promoted back to the German top flight this season, but a humbling at the hands of table-topping Bayern Munich to the tune of a 6-1 thrashing in midweek could bring them back down to earth against visiting RB Leipzig.
Marco Rose has guided his hometown club to a fantastic run of form of late (4-2-0) that has Die Roten Bullen back within touching distance of a top-four place they feel now belongs to them by right, and their recent record against Bremen (5-0-1) will no doubt boost their confidence. The possible absence of Niclas Füllkrug could prove decisive as well as Bremen could struggle without the World Cup-bound striker.
RBL are favorites here but as this season has proven anything, Bremen is sure to put up a fight and this could be a near-run thing despite Leipzig’s form.
Prediction: Bremen 1-2 RBL
FC Schalke 04 (18th) - Bayern Munich (1st)
Form: Schalke (1-0-5) - Bayern (5-1-0)
Key personnel missing:
Schalke - Leo Greiml, Ibrahima Cissé, Ralf Fährmann, Thomas Ouwejan, Sepp van den Berg, Marcin Kaminski, Rodrigo Zalazar
Bayern - Alphonso Davies, Thomas Müller, Sadio Mané, Bouna Sarr, Josip Stanisic (fitness), Matthijs de Ligt (doubt)
Match preview:
Bayern, Bayern, Bayern; it was always inevitable, wasn’t it, that the Bavarian juggernaut would finally find its way back to its perch atop the Bundesliga. It was heady days for a while under Julian Nagelsmann this season, but Bayern are rolling once again and their midweek destruction of Werder Bremen put the rest of the league on notice.
Schalke must be weary here as the Gelsenkirchen-based outfit sits bottom of the table, with just one win in their last six, and has not taken even one point off Bayern in recent meetings (0-0-6). The Bavarians do have a cadre of top players missing here after Alphonso Davies, Thomas Müller, and Sadio Mané are all unavailable, but such is Bayern’s depth that it will likely matter not.
This really should prove to be one-way traffic, but the Bundesliga does have a habit of springing surprise results. This probably won’t be one of them.
Prediction: Schalke 1-4 Bayern
1. FSV Mainz 05 (11th) - Eintracht Frankfurt (4th)
Form: Mainz (2-1-3) - Frankfurt (4-0-2)
Key personnel missing:
Mainz - Maxim Leitsch (out indefinitely), Marlon Mustapha
Frankfurt - Makoto Hasebe, Aurélio Buta, Sebastian Rode (doubt), Christopher Lenz (doubt)
Match preview:
Eintracht Frankfurt clash with Mainz in a derby matchup that could put a real exclamation point on Frankfurt’s season as they can finish the year before the World Cup break in fourth - or better - with a win on their travels against a side in Mainz who are historically strong at home but struggle mightily this season.
Eintracht comes into the weekend on the back of four wins in their last six while Mainz has been patchy on their end, which has resulted in three consecutive losses in the league, making them the underdog here despite being on the home front.
Neither side has considerable fitness concerns overall and Frankfurt has been a credible story once again both at home and abroad in Europe, with that confidence capable of pushing them over the line on Sunday.
Prediction: Mainz 0-2 Frankfurt
SC Freiburg (3rd) - Union Berlin (2nd)
Form: Freiburg (3-1-2) - Union (3-1-2)
Key personnel missing:
Freiburg - Kimberly Ezekwem, Daniel-Kofi Kyereh (fitness), Jonathan Schmid (doubt), Manuel Gulde (doubt)
Union - Frederik Rønnow, András Schäfer, Rani Khedira (red card)
Match preview:
The match of the weekend comes down to the final day and final hours of the first half of the 2022-23 Bundesliga sitting when two heralded, neutral fan favorites take center stage at the foot of the Black Forest when Freiburg host Union Berlin during a season where both are still dreaming of Champions League football next season.
Both sides have qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League and continue to flex their muscles on the home front as both sit in the top three while keeping giants Dortmund at bay. Freiburg could end the happier of two sides here, though, with a recent run of form at home that is some of the best in the league (4-1-0) while Union has dropped three of their last four on the road.
The absence of Frederik Rønnow is also a blow for the traveling side so a narrow Freiburg win would be a decent shout, though the data between both clubs is even to the point where a draw would be incredibly fair.
Prediction: Freiburg 1-0 Unon
