Bundesliga Match Day 31: Preview and Forecast
Bayer Leverkusen may have gotten its doors blown off in the end against Bayern Munich in the DFB Pokal semifinals on Tuesday, but they showed every bit of why they should be one of the most feared teams in the league next season.
Die Werkself will now find itself up against another traditionally-strong, Bundesliga behemoth in Borussia Dortmund; only this time BVB is more of a sinking ship that is taking on copious amounts of water.
As discussed here, Dortmund’s roster is reportedly being fully incinerated with some big and unexpected names caught up in the mix. That “report” being released surely will not help morale on the SS Dortmund, but the squad - IF MOTIVATED - has more than enough talent to disrupt Leverkusen.
That is not what is going to happen, however. As much as we would like to see Marco Reus will BVB to its potential, it would appear that there is too much turmoil, not enough discipline, and nowhere near the amount of professionalism needed for Dortmund to get itself back on track.
The shaky BVB defensive unit will have a nightmarish time trying to defend Julian Brandt, Kevin Volland, Leon Bailey, Karim Bellarabi, or whoever else Heiko Herrlich rolls out. That said, expect some of the BVB veterans to display some of the pride and professionalism that their younger teammates may not have yet. It won’t be a blow out.
Prediction: Bayer Leverkusen 3, Borussia Dortmund 2.
Borussia Monchengladbach 2, Wolfsburg 1: The Foals are coming off a destruction at the hands of Bayern Munich, while the Wolves are probably playing at their best quality of the season. Nothing about this games is telling me I should pick M’Gladbach, but I’m an idiot, so I will.
Bayern Munich 3, Hannover 96 1: It is impossible to guess who and how Jupp Heynckes will roll out in this one (though I took my best guess here), but it doesn’t seem to matter anyway these days. Die Roten is rolling and their backups include the likes of Sebastian Rudy, Rafinha, Niklas Süle, and Corentin Tolisso; a quartet that could likely start for any team in the Bundesliga. Bayern will shove away a game Hannover side for another 'W'.
SC Freiburg 2, Hamburger SV 1: Like how most girls probably rated me in college, this one has little to no appeal when just looking at a glance. If you examine how this could possibly effect which teams will get relegated, though, it becomes far more interesting. Freiburg has really fallen off a cliff over the past two months, essentially ruining what was once a promising season. Der Dinosaur, meanwhile, has been a trainwreck from start to finish. We will predict Nils Petersen makes the difference in this one.
Eintracht Frankfurt 2, Hertha Berlin 1: Frankfurt’s massive win over a Schalke 04 in the DFB Pokal was the highlight of a rough week for the Eagles. With the reality sinking in that Niko Kovac is leaving after the season to join Bayern, the squad seems to have come to the conclusion that they need to move on and finish the season strong. Hertha has been up and down and hasn’t really made any strong movement one way or the other. Expect Frankfurt to keep the good times rolling.
Werder Bremen 2, VfB Stuttgart 1: Bremen has been one of the more consistent and stronger teams of the bottom half of the Bundesliga over the past two months, while Stuttgart has really under-performed of late. We like how Bremen has been playing and they just seem to be the hungrier team right now.
Hoffenheim 3, RB Leipzig 2: In one of the two marquee match-ups of the weekend, we think Hoffenheim will continue its torrid play and outpace consistently inconsistent Leipzig squad. With a win, Hoffenheim will absolutely create some havoc in the race for a European slot. After an uneven start to the season, Julian Nagelsmann has Hoffenheim playing at its best when it absolutely needs wins. Leipzig, meanwhile, has been disappointing on a number of levels. Ralph Hasenhüttl cannot seem to find a lineup that can produce to the level of talent the squad has. This has not been his best coaching performance and this weekend won’t make it any better.
FC Augsburg 1, Mainz 1: Mainz has been better. Augsburg has been, well, Augsburg. This one is bound to be one that I get incorrect.
Schalke 04 4, FC Koln 1: Schalke will need to shake off the cobwebs after being blindsided in the 75th minute of the DFB Pokal semifinals on Wednesday against Frankfurt. We feel like they will. They are a resilient bunch with an eye on a Champions League berth. Koln had a nice run at returning to respectability, but has, once again, fallen apart. Relegation is inevitable.
Last week's (horrid) record: 3-6
This season's (terrible) record: 44-46
Note: Predicted ties count as a win if correct and as a loss if there is a winner; conversely if a game is predicted to have a winner but ends in a tie, it will count as a loss.
