Bundesliga Matchday 25 preview: Spring Forward

We are at ten matches to go in the season (or eleven if you’re Borussia Mönchengladbach or Werder Bremen or twelve if you’re Eintracht Frankfurt).

We still have a battle at the top, for Champions League spots, and one for Europa League as well. Don’t forget to set your clocks an hour forward for Sunday. Welcome to Matchday 25 (All times CT).

SC PADERBORN vs. FC COLOGNE (Friday at 1pm, FS2):

Paderborn currently sit bottom of the Bundesliga, five points adrift of 16th-place Fortuna Dusseldorf, and have lost three straight. Not helping matters is that Streli Mamba and Luca Kilian are out injured which means that others will have to cover even more ground as the side has covered the second-most distance in the league this season.

The Billy Goats have won seven of their last nine and are odds on for safety in 11th place. Jhon Cordoba has scored six goals in that span, but a fifth yellow card last week against Schalke means he will have to sit out this match. 

WOLFSBURG vs. RB LEIPZIG (Saturday at 8:30am, FS1)

Wout Weghorst kept Wolfsburg’s Europa League hopes on track as his goal rescued a draw at Union Berlin. The Wolves remain a point behind sixth-place Schalke and are unbeaten in their last five. 

Leipzig also had to rally from behind to draw last week. That resulted in them falling three points behind Bayern Munich at the top of the table. After amassing 37 points in the Hinrunde, they have dropped nine out of possible 21 in the Ruckrunde. Tyler Adams has resumed full training. 

SCHALKE vs. HOFFENHEIM (Saturday at 8:30am, FS2)

The Royal Blues are winless in their last six in the league and were knocked out by Bayern in the DFB Pokal quarterfinals on Tuesday night. Amine Harit might return to the fold after bing on the bench on Tuesday, but Ozan Kabak is likely out for the year after pelvic surgery. 

Hoffenheim are also struggling amassing a return of just four points from their last five matches and also having to deal with opposing fan protests of its owner Dietmar Hop. Despite all of that, the Sinsheimers are just two points away from sixth and would leapfrog Schalke with a win on Saturday. 

BAYER LEVERKUSEN vs. EINTRACHT FRANKFURT (Saturday at 8:30am, Fox Soccer Plus)

Die Werkself are through to the Pokal semifinals after a 3-1 win over Union Berlin on Wednesday. They enter this match in fifth just two points behind Gladbach in fourth. Leverkusen has earned the third-most points in the Ruckrunde so far this season with 16.

The Eagles are also semi-final bound after disposing of Werder Bremen on Wednesday night. They also have two matches to make up in league play and Europa League as well after seeing off RB Salzburg last Friday. Frankfurt currently sit 12th and are actually closer to 16th place Fortuna (seven points) than sixth place Schalke (eight points).

HERTHA BERLIN vs. WERDER BREMEN (Saturday at 8:30am, Fox Soccer Matchpass)

Hertha are not completely safe after rallying from 3-0 down to draw Fortuna, 3-3, last week. They are just six points clear of the Dusseldorf side entering this weekend. They are also winless in their last four and won just once in their last six. 

Nothing is going right for the Green-Whites. They have lost five straight, are four points adrift of 16th, were knocked out of the Pokal on Wednesday, and have the worst attack and defense in the league. Milot Rashica has ten goals for Bremen, but none since mid-December. 

SC FREIBURG vs. UNION BERLIN (Saturday at 8:30am, Fox Soccer Matchpass)

The good news for Freiburg is that they are still just three points out of sixth. The bad news is that they have won just twice in their last ten and have lost twice this season to Union—once in the league and once in the Pokal. They also have three defeats from their last five home matches. 

Union would have been closer to Freiburg than three points had they not blown a 2-0 lead against Wolfsburg last week. Neven Subotic, captain Christopher Trimmel, Christian Gentner and top scorer Sebastian Andersson were all dropped to the bench in the eventual 3-1 loss at the BayArena in the Pokal, but are expected to be recalled for the trip to the Black Forest.

BORUSSIA MÖNCHENGLADBACH vs. BORUSSIA DORTMUND (Saturday at 11:30am, Fox Soccer Plus)

A potential turn card match in the race for who can get closer to Bayern, the Foals are unbeaten in their last five and Lars Stindl have four goals in his last three matches. Gladbach have the third-best defence in the league allowing just 27 goals this season, though no clean sheets in the last five. 

Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland are the main reasons BVB are back in the title race. They have won three straight. Haaland is expected back in the starting XI after missing the match with Freiburg with an illness. Sancho has scored or assisted in each of his last seven league matches.

BAYERN MUNICH vs. FC AUGSBURG (Sunday at 9:30am, FS1)

Bayern are semi-final bound in the Pokal and extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 14. What was remarkable about their 6-0 thrashing of Hoffenheim last week was that it came without Robert Lewandowski who is out injured. Joshua Zirkzee and Philippe Coutinho are more than capable of filling his void in the league’s best attack.

FCA are six points clear of the danger zone in 13th. Alfred Finnbogason is expected to start on the bench again after coming off the bench as a sub to score in last week’s defeat to Gladbach. Augsburg did net a 2-2 draw earlier in the year against Bayern, though it will be an ask to get a result at the Allianz given Bayern’s current form. 

MAINZ vs. FORTUNA DUSSELDORF  (Sunday at 12:00pm, FS2)

The 05ers currently sit in 15th, four points clear of Fortuna in the table. Robin Quaison leads Mainz with 12 goals this season. It’s been 25 years since Mainz last lost to Fortuna in the Bundesliga. 

Fortuna dropped points from a leading position for the eighth time this season after a 3-0 lead against Hertha turned into a 3-3 draw. Worse, they fell on penalties in the Pokal to fourth-tier Saarbrucken on Tuesday. They need Rouwen Hennings to find his scoring touch again. He is yet to score in 2020. 

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