Matchday ten of the 2022-23 Bundesliga season offers two season-defining clashes on Sunday when Bayern Munich hosts second-sitting SC Freiburg at the Allianz Arena, while Borussia Dortmund travels to the capital to take on table-topping Union Berlin.
The pair of neutral fan favorites have thus far defied expectations and then some through nine fixtures on the calendar as Union and Freiburg continue to set the pace in the top flight of German football, with Union enjoying a two-point lead over Freiburg while boasting a four-point cushion over both Bayern and Dortmund respectively.
Union’s meteoric rise since their promotion to the Bundesliga back in 2019-20 under beloved manager Urs Fischer has seen them climb from 11th to 7th, to 5th, in a seasonal progression that puts city rivals Hertha BSC to shame. A test against a topsy-turvy Dortmund would do well to cement their unexpected title credentials thus far, while Freiburg has a test of their own away from the Black Forest when they take on Bayern in Bavaria.
The Rekordmeister has managed just one win in their last six league fixtures but remained in good form against Czech champions Viktoria Plzen in the last two matchdays in the Champions League while hitting nine goals in the process. But Freiburg under Christian Streich is a different animal entirely while embarking on what is currently a six-match unbeaten run coming into the weekend.
Can the big boys give the early upstart leaders a moment of pause, or will the unexpected regional sides continue to read from a different hymn sheet? That and the rest of the previews and predictions can be found below for matchday ten of the Bundesliga season.
FC Schalke 04 (16th) - TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (T-7th)
Form: Schalke (1-1-4) - Hoffenheim (2-2-2)
Key personnel missing:
Schalke - Marcin Kaminski, Sepp van den Berg, Ibrahima Cissé, Rodrigo Zalazar
Hoffenheim - Benjamin Hübner, Ihlas Bebou (doubt), Ermin Bicakcic (fitness)
Match preview:
Just one win from a possible nine opportunities highlights the current situation for Schalke after returning to the Bundesliga this season, compounded by the fact that only one club (VfL Bochum) has allowed more goals this season. Hoffenheim will be looking to get back on track after their loss last week and should be able to come out on top despite going winless in their last three fixtures.
Prediction: Schalke 1-2 Hoffenheim
SV Werder Bremen (T-5th) - 1. FSV Mainz 05 (T-11th)
Form: Bremen (3-1-2) - Mainz (1-2-3)
Key personnel missing:
Bremen - Jean-Manuel Mbom, Nicolai Rapp, Leonardo Bittencourt (ill)
Mainz - Silvan Widmer, Marlon Mustapha, Maxim Leitsch (out indefinitely), Jonathan Burkardt (fitness)
Match-up preview:
Werder Bremen’s return to the Bundesliga comes in stark contrast to that of Schalke and is currently in the race for Europe while only Bayern Munich has scored more goals in the league than the north German outfit. Mainz boasts one of the better overall away records in the league but on balance has fallen short performance-wise when stacked against last season. Bremen could be looking at a third consecutive win here.
Prediction: Bremen 2-1 Mainz
Eintracht Frankfurt (T-7th) - Bayer Leverkusen (T-14th)
Form: Frankfurt (4-0-2) - Leverkusen (2-2-2)
Key personnel missing:
Frankfurt - Jérôme Onguéné, Aurélio Buta, Luca Pellegrini, Ansgar Knauff
Leverkusen - Florian Wirtz, Karim Bellarabi, Exequiel Palacios (doubt), Sardar Azmoun (doubt)
Match-up preview:
Frankfurt and Leverkusen come into their weekend clash in Germany’s financial capital on the back of midweek losses in the Champions League, but Frankfurt’s travel plans to London could prove decisive after a hard-fought 3-2 loss against Tottenham. Leverkusen remained at home in midweek and could look to once again tap into the mind of new boss Xabi Alonso on the domestic front. Should be close but Leverkusen could sneak it.
Prediction: Frankfurt 1-2 Leverkusen
VfL Wolfsburg (13th) - Borussia Mönchengladbach (T-5th)
Form: Wolfsburg (2-1-3) - Gladbach (2-2-2)
Key personnel missing:
Wolfsburg - Max Kruse, Paulo Otávio (doubt), Lukas Nmecha (doubt), Jonas Wind (fitness)
Gladbach - Florian Neuhaus, Hannes Wolf, Ko Itakura, Christoph Kramer (doubt)
Match-up preview:
Gladbach takes their efforts on the road at the weekend against a still-underperforming Wolfsburg as Nico Kovać remains unable to get his troops performing to a level commensurate with the club’s stature thus far in 2022-23, with potential key absences in attack compounding the situation. Gladbach owns the head-to-head of late, and Wolfsburg’s overall inconsistency in front of goal could play in Gladbach’s favor.
Prediction: Wolfsburg 0-1 Gladbach
VfB Stuttgart (17th) - VfL Bochum (18th)
Form: Stuttgart (0-3-3) - Bochum (1-1-4)
Key personnel missing:
Stuttgart - Josha Vagnoman, Nikolas Nartey (doubt), Serhou Guirassy (red card), Atakan Karazor (red card)
Bochum - Takuma Asano, Paul Grave
Match-up preview:
The worst home side in the Bundesliga is set to welcome their traveling counterpart away from home when Stuttgart hosts Bochum on Saturday in a relegation six-pointer as both sides sit in the relegation zone amid horrific starts to the season. Bochum enjoyed a 3-0 win against Frankfurt last weekend and could be on a high against managerless Stuttgart, but this has a draw written all over it.
Prediction: Stuttgart 1-1 Bochum
RB Leipzig (T-11th) - Hertha BSC (T-14th)
Form: RBL (3-1-2) - Hertha (1-4-1)
Key personnel missing:
RBL - Péter Gulácsi, Konrad Laimer, Lukas Klostermann, Dani Olmo (doubt), Marcel Halstenberg (doubt), Yussuf Poulsen (fitness)
Hertha - Jean-Paul Boëtius (out indefinitely), Rune Jarstein (out indefinitely; disciplinary), Filip Uremovic (doubt), Kelian Nsona (doubt)
Match-up preview:
Leipzig has begun to improve performances under Marco Rose and come into the weekend at home against visiting Hertha who has managed to secure a point in four consecutive Bundesliga fixtures, and while they remain tough to beat, have only scraped one win together thus far. Champions League commitments aside, RBL should be winning here though likely not by the gargantuan scorelines seen last season.
Prediction: RBL 2-0 Hertha
1. FC Köln (T-9th) - FC Augsburg (T-9th)
Form: Köln (2-2-2) - Augsburg (3-1-2)
Key personnel missing:
Köln - Sebastian Andersson, Dejan Ljubicic, Julian Chabot, Mathias Olesen, Dimitris Limnios, Florian Kainz (red card), Tim Lemperle (doubt), Jan Thielmann (fitness)
Augsburg - Felix Uduokhai, Tobias Strobl, Noah Sarenren Bazee, André Hahn, Niklas Dorsch, Jeffrey Gouweleeuw (red card), Maximilian Bauer (red card), Rafal Gikiewicz (doubt), Reece Oxford (doubt)
Match-up preview:
Both Köln and Augsburg come into their Sunday clash with a laundry list of first-team casualties to consider when the two lock horns at the RheinEnergieStadion, and with a head-to-head series deadlocked at 2-2-2 in recent fixtures, this could be another close run affair along the Rhine. Köln was in Belgrade in the Europa Conference League on Thursday and that may factor in but are generally tough customers at home while Augsburg brings the third-longest current undefeated record to the table but struggle for goals all the same. This has a draw stamped on it.
Prediction: Köln 1-1 Augsburg
Union Berlin (1st) - Borussia Dortmund (T-3rd)
Form: Union (4-1-1) - Dortmund (3-1-2)
Key personnel missing:
Union - Full strength
Dortmund - Sébastien Haller (out indefinitely), Mahmoud Dahoud, Mateu Morey, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Thomas Meunier (doubt), Giovanni Reyna (doubt), Mats Hummels (fitness)
Match-up preview:
One of the headline fixtures of the weekend, table-topping Union Berlin welcome Borussia Dortmund to the capital in a bid to put their title credentials up against one of the two giants of German football, and loveable manager Urs Fischer has a fully fit senior squad to select from against a visiting Dortmund who remains hit by fitness concerns and hot-and-cold form. Both sides featured at home in Europe in midweek, but Dortmund has two days additional rest due to Champions League commitments, but Berlin is excellent in front of home support whereas the Ruhr valley side struggle for goals away from home. A draw would be quite fair but Union could sneak a memorable win.
Prediction: Union 2-1 Dortmund
Bayern Munich (T-3rd) - SC Freiburg (2nd)
Form: Bayern (1-4-1) - Freiburg (3-3-0)
Key personnel missing:
Bayern - Lucas Hernández, Bouna Sarr, Jamal Musiala (Covid-19), Kingsley Coman (red card), Manuel Neuer (doubt), Alphonso Davies (doubt), Thomas Müller (doubt), Matthijs de Ligt (doubt)
Freiburg - Roland Sallai, Kimberly Ezekwem, Jonathan Schmid (doubt), Manuel Gulde (doubt)
Match-up preview:
Bavaria will play host to the second of two Sunday clashes that have direct implications in the Bundesliga title race as Bayern Munich welcome SC Freiburg to the Allianz Arena. Julian Nagelsmann’s men have won just one of their last six league fixtures but have trounced their Champions League group and may draw inspiration - as well as two days extra rest - over a flying Freiburg who confirmed passage into the Europa League knockout stage last night and bring the league’s longest unbeaten record as well as one of the top away forms on the chart. Bayern may also be without a cadre of top players for various fitness and health issues, and should the likes of Manuel Neuer, Jamal Musiala, Alphonso Davies, and Thomas Müller miss out, Christian Streich’s men could earn a very credible away point here.
Prediction: Bayern 2-2 Freiburg
