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Before the shortened Winter Break for the Bundesliga resumes, I asked Bundesliga expert Brian Sanders a few questions on how the remainder of the season could go. Here are his responses:
1). Does it still stand that only Bayern can beat Bayern to the title this season?
Unless Leipzig defeat Bayern and keep pace until and after that match.
2). Did Borussia Dortmund pull the trigger too soon on Lucian Favre?
It was coming, he had not developed his team enough. While Gio Reyna has been exciting to watch, Jadon Sancho has vanished. There has felt this disconnect and it was seeming more and more than they were winning due to their own individual brilliance rather than a team tactic.
3). Are Wolfsburg a top-four side?
They are a top six side that is currently in the top four. Their success has been down to three things. Defense, until their 2-1 loss to Bayern they were one of the lone undefeated sides remaining. Wout Weghorst is a goal machine. Three previous Dutch clubs and he scored everywhere he has gone and he is that main man who draws in the defense, but once left only man-to-man marking he will score. No European matches, having been knocked out of the Europa League has been a blessing, but by end of season the benefit will no longer be there of playing one match a week.
4). Is Union Berlin a top-six side?
The single best team story of the Bundesliga season. They were considered a lock for relegation last season, but with teamwork and shrewd transfers they stayed up. Again, they made great signings. Taiwo Awoniyi on loan from Liverpool has found his groove with Max Kruse and they’ve looked very dangerous.
5). Is Schalke ever going to win in the league this season? Do they escape relegation?
Win yes. Someone will slip up and when they do get that first win, suddenly they will start earning points like a club that actually wants to fight it out. Sixteenth is the VERY highest they can finish as the point gaps are widening week by week and they keep firing then employing another dead end coach.
6). Will any of the six German sides in Europe taste glory in May?
Two teams have that possibility. Bayern Munich is 100% capable of winning the Champions League again, but this is down to how well they are playing in April when they could be experiencing exhaustion. Bayer Leverkusen could win the Europa League as only a couple teams have that urge to win it. Neither Italian side has the guns to keep up on the scoreboard and the English sides will be increasingly exhausted as they have been playing nearly two times a week since October with no end in sight.
7). True or False: RB Leipzig need to beat Bayern to be truly considered a top team in Germany.
True 100%! Leipzig is the best placed to keep up with Bayern in the title race. It also is the final hurdle that they have yet to conquer as a team.
8). True or False: BVB will eventually poach Marco Rose from Gladbach.
False and for one reason: Marco Rose has greater autonomy at Gladbach and if they finish in the top four again, they could do something big in 2021-22. But if he moved to BVB, he would have less control. After leaving the Red Bull family, I believe he would want to wait before a move like that to another side that is all about board level control.
9). Fill in the blank: At this point, the two teams that will go up automatically from Bundesliga 2 will be _________ and _________.
Hamburg & Kiel. HSV has a coach who doesn’t have the burden of others & Simone Terode the goal king of the 2nd division is there, having won 3 of the last 5 scoring titles and the two he didn’t win was because he was in the Bundesliga.
Second is Kiel. Their biggest test is actually vs Bayern in the Pokal. They will see that as a way to announce to the world they are ready. As they moved up the levels from the Fourth Division, Ole Werner the coach has been there and with the expansion of their stadium they can get excited about hosting top division matches and would be the first team in the Bundesliga from the region of Schleswig-Holstein. If a third does make it, toss a coin between old timers Bochum and the recently relegated Dusseldorf.
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