Bundesliga Matchday 13 Preview: Return of the Monday Match

It was a good week in Europe for German sides. Dortmund, Bayern, and Schalke are all through to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League while Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen are into the last 32 in the Europa League. But now, it’s back to league play and to see if a team not named Bayern will give chase to Dortmund this season. Welcome to Matchday 13.

FORTUNA DUSSELDORF vs. MAINZ 05 (Friday at 1:30pm CT, FS2)

Dodi Lukebakio became the first player to score a hat trick off Manuel Neuer as Fortuna got an improbable point at Bayern. All of a sudden, Fortuna have scored seven goals in their last two matches which is more than they scored in their first ten league matches. They will be hoping that Lukebakio can keep his scoring touch at home. Eight of his nine competitive goals have come away from home this year. 

Back-to-back wins against Werder Bremen and Freiburg has given Mainz some breathing space from the bottom of the table. However, their last match was a 2-1 loss to Dortmund. There may be a lot of goals in the second half in this one. Mainz have conceded 11 of their 14 goals and Fortuna 21 of 28 in the second 45 minutes. 

WERDER BREMEN vs. BAYERN MUNICH (Saturday at 8:30am CT, FS1)

Bremen are hoping that their luck may finally change against Bayern. They have lost their last 17 competitive fixtures against Bayern. They are also winless in their last four matches with just the one point last week against Freiburg. Bremen are still 7th in the in the table, but their fast start to the season seems a distant memory.

Bayern did get a nice 5-1 win over Benfica on Tuesday in Champions League play to advance to the last 16, but they are winless in their last three in Bundesliga play. The last time they were nine points adrift of top of the table was at the end of the 2010-11 season which was won by Borussia Dortmund. Bremen is one of Robert Lewandowski’s favorite opponents with 14 goals and three assists in his last 11 matches against the northern side include a pair of braces last season. 

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

BVB are unbeaten in their first 12 matches for the first time ever and just one point behind their return at this time in 2010-11 when they won the title. Dortmund are high-flying at the moment with 35 goals on the season which is just one less than the bottom three put together. Paco Alcacer is joint-top scorer in the Bundesliga which is very impressive considering eight of his nine goals has been as a substitute. 

Freiburg have won just once in their last seven, but that win was against Borussia Mönchengladbach in Matchday 9 and they have draws against Bayern, Leverkusen, and Werder Bremen in that stretch. Freiburg have been the draw specialists so far this season with five. 

HANNOVER 96 vs. HERTHA BERLIN (Saturday at 8:30am CT, Fox Soccer Plus)

Two teams who have hit a dry patch in recent times play each other. Hannover has amassed just four points in their last five matches and are currently 16th in the table. Their nine points in their first 12 matches is their worst return for 30 years. That was a relegation year for Hannover. Bobby Wood’s goal in 22 seconds last week against Gladbach was the fastest in the Bundesliga this season. It was followed by four from the Foals. 

Hertha were flying high after their win over Bayern in Matchday 6. They have amassed just four points since then. That fourth point was the result of a late rally to draw Hoffenheim at home. Ondrej Duda still leads the captial club with six goals, but none have come in the last four matches. 

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

Stuttgart are looking to Mario Gomez and Benjamin Pavard to help lift the club from the bottom of the Bundesliga. They have won just once at the Mercedes-Benz Arena and have lost their last two home matches by a combined 7-0. Eight goals from their first twelve matches is a historic low for the club. 

Augsburg are winless in their last three matches. Alfred Finnbogason missed the 3-1 loss to Frankfurt with an adductor problem, but it is hoped that he will feature for the visitors. Augsburg, 13th place, are just five points clear of Stuttgart.

TSV 1899 HOFFENHEIM vs. SCHALKE 04 (Saturday at 11:30am, FS2)

Hoffenheim’s Champions League run will be at an end in two weeks at Manchester City after losing to Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday. Reiss Nelson was a substitute in that match and is hoping to feature more against the Royal Blues on Saturday. Nelson has been instrumental in the Sinsheimers’ five-match unbeaten run which has seen them vault to sixth in the table. However, giving up late goals has been a habit as evidence by last week’s concession of two goals to Hertha and then a late-winner to Donetsk. 

Despite defeat at Porto, Schalke are through to the last 16 after Galatasaray fell to Lokomotiv Moscow. In league play, Schalke are just four points clear of the relegation zone despite two wins in the last three matches. US youth international Haji Wright made his debut for the Royal Blues last weekend which was when Schalke scored 35% of their goal total in their 5-2 win against Nürnberg.

RB LEIPZIG vs. BORUSSIA MÖNCHENGLADBACH (Sunday at 8:30am CT, FS1)

A top four matchup at Red Bull Arena in Leipzig awaits on Sunday morning. Last week, Leipzig saw their 10-match unbeaten streak snapped at Wolfsburg. They also lost on Thursday to sister/not sister club Salzburg in Europa League play. However, they are unbeaten at home and will look to derail Gladbach’s marvelous run so far. 

Gladbach are off to their best start in 42 years during their golden age. Thorgan Hazard is just two goals away from his total from last season which led Gladbach. All eight of his goals have come in the last nine matches. While the Foals are unbeaten at home themselves, they have just eight points out of a possible 18 away from Borussia Park. 

EINTRACHT FRANKFURT vs. VfL WOLFSBURG (Sunday at 11:00am, FS1)

Eintracht are another in-form side with four wins from their last five in the league and a berth in the last 32 of the Europa League after a 4-0 thumping of Marseille. Frankfurt have won their last three home match outscoring the opposition 14-2 in that time. The current Pokal holders were expected to struggle after Niko Kovac left to take charge of Bayern, but Frankfurt current sit in third right now with Bayern in fifth. 

Wolfsburg returned to winning ways after victory over RB Leipzig ended a stretch of four losses from their previous five. Despite their recent run of form, Wolfsburg remain in the top half of the table and will look to creep back up the table. It will be a tall task has they look to halt the third best attack in the Bundesliga.

FC NÜRNBERG vs. BAYER LEVERKUSEN (Monday at 1:30pm CT, FS2)

Monday matches were a pain point last season in the Bundesliga as many didn’t like them. Case in point was a half-full Signal Iduna last season for a Monday match. But they are back and FCN will look to keep above the relegation zone. They have their home form to thank as eight of their ten points have come at Max-Morlock Stadion. However, “Der Club” also have allowed a league-worst 29 goals so far this season.

Bayer Leverkusen go from a Friday match last weekend to a Monday match this weekend. Kevin Volland scored both goals in the win last weekend against VfB Stuttgart. Volland, Karim Bellarabi, and Jonathan Tai were rested in the 1-1 draw on Thursday against Ludogorets, though that was enough to claim a place in the last 32 of the Europa League.