Bundesliga Matchday 18 Preview: Welcome Back!

The Winterpause is over and the Bundesliga is back. When we last left you, Borussia Dortmund had a six-point lead over Bayern Munich who are looking for their seventh-straight league title. Borussia Mönchengladbach sit third, RB Leipzig are in fourth, and the two Europa League spots are currently owned by fifth-place VfL Wolfsburg and sixth-place Eintracht Frankfurt. At the other end of the table, VfB Stuttgart are in the relegation playoff spot while Hannover 96 and FC Nürnberg look to avoid being cut adrift from the rest of the field and ultimately cut from the top flight. It’s time to kick off again with the reverse fixtures from Matchday 1. Welcome to the Ruckrunde and Matchday 18.

TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM vs. BAYERN MUNICH (Friday at 1:30pm CT, FS1)

(Matchday 1:  Bayern Munich 3-1 Hoffenheim)

Despite finishing the Hinrunde with five straight wins, it is still the worst Hinrunde for Bayern in five years. They are within reaching distance of Dortmund, but will start the second half of the season without Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery (both thigh). Alphonso Davies, who shone in the Telekom Cup, may well step in for his debut. Robert Lewandowski is looking forward to this fixture as he has scored 14 past Hoffenheim keeper Oliver Baumann in his career. 

Julian Nagelsmann is set to manage his 100th Bundesliga match on Friday. The Sinsheimers are unbeaten in their last ten, but the last six have been draws and they are out of the top six as a result. Reiss Nelson and Andrej Kramaric are joint-top scorers for Hoffenheim with six apiece, though Nelson had scored a goal every 82 minutes of action he has seen.

BAYER LEVERKUSEN vs. BORUSSIA MÖNCHENGLADBACH (Saturday at 8:30am CT, FS1)

(Matchday 1:  Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-0 Bayer Leverkusen)

Die Werkself enter the Ruckrunde with a new coach as former Dortmund manager Peter Bosz has replaced Heiko Herrlich. Leverkusen currently sit three points adrift of the top six in ninth place. Leon Bailey could feature more into the fold as he scored twice in a friendly against Dutch side Zwolle last week. 

The Foals’ gallop to the top of the Bundesliga ended with a limp with just a return of seven points from the last five matches. As Thorgan Hazard has gone, so has Gladbach. Hazard has scored just twice in his last nine matches. Hazard and Alassane Plea lead the team with nine goals each, but both need to regain their scoring touch. 

EINTRACHT FRANKFURT vs. SC FREIBURG (Saturday at 8:30am, FS2)

(Matchday 1:  SC Freiburg 0-2 Eintracht Frankfurt)

Another team that raced up the hill, but has stumbled a bit down the mountain is Eintracht Frankfurt. The Eagles have just one win in their last five and likewise, Luka Jovic, joint top-scorer in the league with Dortmund’s Paco Alcacer at 12, has just three goals from his last six matches. Sebastian Haller leads the Bundesliga in assists with eight. 

Freiburg sit a comfortable seven points from the danger zone after seven points from their last four matches. Their last two trips to the Commerzbank-Arena have produced points—four in the last two outings there. Freiburg has been a plucky side all season and have produced shocks over RB Leipzig and Gladbach as well as a draw at Bayern this season.

VfB STUTTGART vs. FSV MAINZ 05 (Saturday at 8:30am CT, Fox Soccer Matchpass)

(Matchday 1:  Mainz 05 1-0 VfB Stuttgart)

The good news for Stuttgart is that Benjamin Pavard will still be with the team for the rest of the season. The bad news is that he will leave for Bayern in the Summer. Worse news is that he will miss this match as he is still recovering from a thigh injury. Stuttgart are currently in the relegation playoff place and could fall into the bottom two if results don’t go their way and that may end up being the worst news of the weekend if that becomes the case. 

The 05ers have the joint-fourth stingiest defense allowing just 22 goals, but they have scored just 17 which is joint-second from bottom. They will need to score goals in the Ruckrunde to be more comfortable in mid-table. Mainz ended the Hinrunde with back-to-back draws.   

FC AUGSBURG vs. FORTUNA DUSSELDORF (Saturday at 8:30am CT, Fox Soccer Matchpass)

(Matchday 1:  Fortuna Dusseldorf 1-2 FC Augsburg)

FCA are winless in their last eight and are just one point clear of the danger zone. Gregor Kobel, on loan from Hoffenheim, could start in goal and maybe start up a competition for the #1 shirt. Alfred Finnbogason has scored seven goals in ten matches and FCA will need him to be healthy for the full second half.  

Fortuna are just above Augsburg in the table, but ended the Hinrunde on three straight wins including ending Dortmund’s unbeaten run in the league. Dodi Lukebakio is the in-form striker at the moment with five goals in his last six matches. Coach Friedhelm Funkel is hoping Fortuna can continue their form and improve their defense. Only the bottom two sides—Nürnberg and Hannover—have conceded more. 

SV WERDER BREMEN vs. HANNOVER 96 (Saturday at 8:30am CT, Fox Soccer Matchpass)

(Matchday 1:  Werder Bremen 1-1 Hannover 96)

This match could see US internationals Bobby Wood and Josh Sargent on opposite sides. Sargent has played just 45 minutes of first team football for Bremen, but has scored twice during that time. He may well see more minutes in the second half of the season and may well be needed as Bremen are winless in their last three. 

Bobby Wood has competition for his job in the forms of Hendrik Weydandt and loan signee Nicolai Müller from Frankfurt. All three scored in last week’s friendly against Dutch side Heracles. They need to find their scoring touch when it counts as the 96ers are winless in their last six and currently sit in the bottom two. 

BORUSSIA DORTMUND vs. RB LEIPZIG (Saturday at 11:30am, FS1)

(Matchday 1:  RB Leipzig 1-4 Borussia Dortmund)

Christian Pulisic begins his farewell tour of Dortmund before moving to Chelsea in the Summer. BVB lead the Bundesliga by six points and are the top scorers with 44 goals. Paco Alcacer is joint-leader individually with 12 goals and Jadon Sancho has become the new star at the Signal Iduna. 

Former New York Red Bull Tyler Adams was confirmed for the squad may debut for Leipzig on Saturday. Adams would become the ninth American player to feature this season in the Bundesliga. After the opening loss to BVB, Leipzig went unbeaten in their next eleven matches. Timo Werner leads the squad with 11 goals which includes five braces. 

FC NÜRNBERG vs. HERTHA BERLIN (Sunday at 8:30am CT, FS1)

(Matchday 1:  Hertha Berlin 1-0 FC Nürnberg)

Der Club are bottom of the table and winless in their last eleven. They also have the most charitable defense allowing 38 goals. Hanno Behrens is available again for Nürnberg after missing the last four matches. Still, Nürnberg face an almighty task to avoid the drop.

The Capital Club also finished the Hinrunde in a rut losing two of their last three and did not improve matters with two losses in the Telekom Cup. They will miss Australian Matthew Leckie who is on Asian Cup Duty. Hertha are winless in their last seven trips to Nürnberg, whose two wins have both come at home.

FC SCHALKE 04 vs. VfL WOLFSBURG (Sunday at 11am CT, FS1)

(Matchday 1:  Wolfsburg 2-1 Schalke)

This will be the third match to potentially see American internationals on opposite sides. This time, it’s Schalke’s Weston McKennie and Haji Wright versus Wolfsburg’s John Brooks. Advancing to the knockout stage of the Champions League was the sole highlight of the first half of the season for the Royal Blues. They are just four points clear of the danger zone after a horrible Hinrunde. Salif Sane has played every minute of the Bundesliga so far, but he could be sidelined with a thigh problem.   

Wolfsburg finished the Hinrunde with five wins from their last six and are just three points off the top four. However, what really has the Wolves cursing is Daniel Ginczek injuring ankle ligaments in last Saturday’s friendly with HNK Rijeka. He’s out two and a half months. That said, Schalke have the most home losses this season with five.