Bundesliga Matchday 24 Preview: It’s Still Close

The beat goes on for German teams in Europe.

Bayern Munich were easy winners at Stamford Bridge over Chelsea. Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen get to continue their journey in the Europa League while Eintracht Frankfurt cruised past Salzburg later.

Back in the league, the usual suspects are still on top while the Green-Whites may end up in a place not usual for them next season. Welcome to Matchday 24 (All times CT).

FORTUNA DUSSELDORF vs. HERTHA BERLIN (Friday at 1:30pm, FS2):

A much needed 2-0 win over Freiburg gave Uwe Rosler his first win as Fortuna coach and got Die Flingeraner out of the automatic relegation places. Zack Steffen remains a doubt, but Florian Kastenmeier is likely to return to the net after picking up a clean sheet.

Hertha won the reverse fixture at the Olimpiastadion in October, but they have had three managers since and are just six points clear of the danger zone. Niklas Stark and Santiago Ascacibar being out injured will not help matters for The Old Lady.

HOFFENHEIM vs. BAYERN MUNICH (Saturday at 8:30am, FS1)

Both teams are missing a striker due to a knee injury. Munas Dabbur will be missing for Hoffenheim after injuring his knee in the 1-1 draw with Gladbach last week. Oliver Baumann was massive for the Sinheimers denying Alassane Plea’s late penalty. They are still winless in their last four in all competitions. 

Robert Lewandowski’s march to the Golden Boot has been derailed by a knee injury suffered Wednesday against Chelsea. He has 39 goals in all competitions for the seven-time defending champs right now. Either Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller, or Joshua Zirkzee could deputize. 

BORUSSIA DORTMUND vs. SC FREIBURG (Saturday at 8:30am, FS2)

Erling Haaland now has nine goals in six matches for BVB, including another one in the 2-0 win  over Werder Bremen last week. It is now five wins in their last six and keeps them within three points of the top. Jadon Sancho now has 14 assists in league play and nine in his last 12 matches. 

It’s been ten years and 17 matches since Freiburg last defeated BVB. They now have to figure out a way to stop Haaland who has scored a goal every 44 minutes on average. They have won just once in their last five as they Europa League hopes are threatening to fade away.  

FC AUGSBURG vs. BORUSSIA MÖNCHENGLADBACH (Saturday at 8:30am, Fox Soccer Plus)

Augsburg are not in trouble (yet), but four losses in six matches does not necessarily put them in a safe place (seven points clear of Fortuna). This is after they won five in six before falling in Matchday 17 to RB Leipzig. 

Gladbach’s Marcus Thuram is looking for his first goal in ten matches. The disappointing draw with Hoffenheim leaves the Foals six points adrift of the top with a match in hand. They have the joint-stingiest defense with RB Leipzig allowed just 25 goals so far this season.

MAINZ vs. SC PADERBORN (Saturday at 8:30am, Fox Soccer Matchpass in the USA)

The 05ers are just two points clear of the danger zone following a 4-0 loss to Wolfsburg. Adam Szalai is likely to start ahead of Jean-Philippe Mateta. Mainz have amasses just four points in the Ruckrunde so far this season.

That form has been matched by Paderborn who sit bottom of the league right now on 16 points, four poins adrift of 16th place Fortuna. Though they will be encouraged by their narrow defeat against Bayern last week, they will be without top-scorer Streli Mamba who suffered knee ligament damage. 

FC COLOGNE vs. SCHALKE (Saturday at 11:30am, Fox Soccer Plus)

The Billy Goats’ 5-0 win over Hertha last week gave them some breathing space from the bottom three. It is their sixth win in their last eight. Jonas Hector was a late scratch due to taking a knock before the match, but is expected to feature this week against the Royal Blues. 

Schalke were on the receiving end of a 5-0 thrashing by RB Leipzig. The Royal Blue are now winless in their last five matches in league play and are now just two points clear of Wolfsburg in sixth place. During that time, they have conceded 11 goals and scored just once. 

UNION BERLIN vs. WOLFSBURG (Sunday at 6:30am, FS1)

Union made it three wins from five by stunning Eintracht Frankfurt last week. The Iron Men are now tenth in the table and nine points clear of danger in their maiden season in the top flight. This is despite missing captain Christopher Trimmel due to suspension.

The Wolves are also in fine form winning three of their last four. The most recent result was a 4-0 dismissal of Mainz. That places them just two points behind Schalke for sixth place. They are also in the Round of 16 of the Europa League after handling Malmo, 3-0, in Sweden on Thursday night. Joshua Guliavogui may return after missing both matches with a knee injury.

RB LEIPZIG vs. BAYER LEVERKUSEN (Sunday at 8:30am, FS1)

Leipzig are keeping pace with Bayern in the league and keeping up appearances in the Champions League as they hold a 1-0 lead in their tie with Tottenham. Timo Werner was back on the scoresheet last week and trails the injured Robert Lewandowski by four for the Golden Boot. 

Die Werkself have won their last six in all competitions, including wins over Augsburg in the league and Porto in the Europa League. This despite missing Kevin Volland who may miss the remainder of the season with a torn ligament in his ankle. Lucas Allario will likely take his spot in the lineup up front. 

WERDER BREMEN vs. EINTRACHT FRANKFURT

This match has been cancelled due to Frankfurt’s Friday Europa League match with RB Salzburg which was postponed itself due to storms in the Salzburg area and the potential short recovery time. Details of the rearranged fixture will be announced in the coming weeks, the DFL have confirmed.

Frankfurt’s match with Borussia Mönchengladbach, postponed on Matchday 21 because of Storm Ciara, will be played on Wednesday, March 11th.