Bundesliga, five matches are scheduled before the anticipated summit clash: Leipzig risks at home to Augsburg, balance between Werder Bremen and Heidenheim.
The spotlight this weekend is all on the summit clash between Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich, the two teams that (for now) are vying for the title. Before the big match, however, the 21st day of the Bundesliga features five more matches, which offer quite a lot of food for thought.
Union Berlin, for example, is struggling to pull itself out of trouble and out of the dangerous areas of the standings after a disastrous first part of the season. The inevitable turnover between Urs Fischer and Nenad Bjelica is proving to be an apt move: the capitols have stopped the hemorrhaging of defeats and in the last six days have lost only in the two away matches with Bayern Munich and Leipzig. In the week, however, they picked up a valuable point in their direct clash with Mainz (1-1), recovering the match that had been postponed in January due to snow. Unbeaten in their last three home matches, Union should extend their positive streak against Wolfsburg, coming off four consecutive draws. It was a month and a half ago that Niko Kovac’s green-and-whites, now increasingly distant from Europe, last succeeded.
Newly promoted Darmstadt gives the impression of already being doomed. It is last in the standings, has only 11 points and comes from two defeats (Union Berlin and Leverkusen) in which it also ran out of goals. Unlikely to turn things around in an always very hostile stadium like Borussia Park: Monchengladbach will not miss the appointment with the three points for the fourth time in a row.
The predictions on the other matches
Thanks to a major buying campaign, Eintracht Frankfurt is back in the upper league air, but the defeat in Cologne a week ago set off some alarm bells. Dino Toppmoller’s team aims to get back on its feet right away but will have to watch out for Bochum, an opponent within reach but still very unpredictable. The Rossoneri are favored, however, it cannot be ruled out that the guests, always in goal in the last four games, will manage to score at least one goal.
Marco Rose’s Leipzig turned over a new leaf a week ago after three straight defeats (Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart) that dropped it to fifth place, out of the Champions League zone. The victory with Union Berlin was pure oxygen, but it will not be a cakewalk to repeat on the field of Augsburg, which also made Bayern Munich sweat in its last home match: at least three goals in total in Bavaria. Finally, the clash between two healthy teams Werder Bremen and Heidenheim, still unbeaten in 2024: both should score at least one goal each.
Bundesliga: possible winners
Union Berlin or draw (in Union Berlin-Wolfsburg).
Borussia Monchengladbach (in Borussia Monchengladbach-Darmstadt)
Eintracht Frankfurt (in Eintracht Frankfurt-Bochum)
The matches of at least one goal per team
Eintracht Frankfurt-Bochum
Augsburg-Lipsia
Werder Bremen-Heidenheim
Bundesliga: matches with at least three total goals
Borussia Monchengladbach-Darmstadt
Augsburg-Leipzig
