Bundesliga Match Day 10: Preview and Forecast
- Chuck Smith
- Nov 2, 2018
- 6 min read
So far this season Hertha Berlin has managed to defeat Bayern Munich and earn a draw with league leader Borussia Dortmund. Can Die Alte Dame keep its "big game" performance record in tact? RB Leipzig will be looking to end that trend and climb to greater heights in the league table.
Hertha Berlin has show that it is a "for real, for real" contender with its top end showings, but it has had let downs against the likes of SC Freiburg (draw) and Mainz (draw). Surely, Ondrej Duda, Vedad Ibisevic, Salomon Kalou, Arne Maier and the rest of Hertha Berlin will be looking forward to going toe-to-toe with the high-powered offense of Leipzig in hopes of throttling them down, while also outscoring Die Roten Bullen..
Leipzig, however, will not make things easy on Die Alte Dame. With two goals in Leipzig's DFB-Pokal match against Hoffenheim, Timo Werner looks a bit ready to get loose now in the Bundesliga, but can he maintain that scoring threat or will he fall back into the malaise of inconsistency that has plagued him over the past two seasons?
We expect this one to be tightly contested between the 5th and 6th placed teams in the table, but ultimately neither squad will come out the victor.
Prediction: Hertha Berlin 2, RB Leipzig 2
Bundesliga Predictions
Eintracht Frankfurt 2 VfB Stuttgart 1: Frankfurt's disappointing effort last week against FC Nürnberg will likely have Die Adler a bit more focused as it takes on Die Schwaben. Stuttgart is trapped in a downward spiral that does not leave much room for hope.
Stuttgart is also easily the most disappointing team in the league this season. The squad should not really be this bad. Even with Mario Gomez at an advanced age, Stuttgart should be generating more offense than it has and Benjamin Pavard has not lived up to the billing he received after a stellar World Cup showing for France. Even with a coaching change, Die Schwaben does not appear like it has gained any new life or direction.
FC Augsburg 3, FC Nürnberg 1: Augsburg's offensive attack should be able to get back on track a bit this week against Der Club. Augsburg has looked and felt like a solid, middle of the table squad all season, but if it wants to improve on that standing, it will have to ensure that it takes care of business in games like this against a lesser side. Oddly, this is a big test for Die Fuggerstädter as it seeks to make itself a competitor for a top six position. Nürnberg, meanwhile, has just one win (and two draws) in its last five games. Der Club has shown to be just good enough to keep things competitive (for the most part), but will have trouble maintaining that kind of effort.
Bayer Leverkusen 2, Hoffenheim 2: Leverkusen is coming off of two straight punishing victories where Die Werkself got to show off all of its offensive potential as it outscored Werder Bremen (Bundesliga) and M'Gladbach (DFB-Pokal) by a combined 11-2. We have been waiting for Leverkusen to breakout offensively all year...there is just too much skill, talent, and pace for that squad to be held down as consistently as it has been. This game, however, should present a different type of challenge, as Hoffenheim will eagerly look to slow down Leverkusen.
While Die Werkself should be an easy pick on its home pitch, we suspect that Julian Nagelsmann is going to look to really make this an ugly game.
Bayern Munich 4, SC Freiburg 0: The boys from Bavaria are starting to hit their stride after a rocky patch and Breisgau-Brasiliane is probably meeting Die Roten just a few weeks too late. No longer does Bayern look vulnerable and confused on the pitch. Bayern still doesn't look like its normal self, but much better than the rut it had been in.
For its part, Freiburg took care of business last week in its 3-1 upset win over Borussia Monchengladbach. It will not be nearly as favorable this week, however. Christian Streich is a very effective coach, but does have a limited arsenal to manage. One of the bright spots on the roster has been Gian-Luca Waldschmidt, who has emerged and is showing why he is considered one of Germany's great, young talents. If Streich can coax more from the rest of his battalion and also get Nils Petersen to return to a consistent goal scoring threat, Freiburg could be a difficult draw as the season goes on. Right now, however, Breisgau-Brasiliane is struggling to find its form consistently as a squad.
Schalke 1, Hannover 96 0: This game has potential to be the ugliest, most physical game of the week as both teams have struggled to put together much offense this season. Hannover is always making an effort to bog down its opponents enough to make the game a street fight. With Niclas Fullkrug and Bobby Wood being counted on to provide most of the scoring, the Hannover lineup is just potent enough to make its opponents show some respect. This game has all the makings of battle where one goal will make the difference.
Schalke has been a bit of a mess overall. Die Königsblauen has had no offensive threat to speak of even with the addition of German international Mark Uth. Uth should be the cornerstone of the Schalke offense and the scoring lynchpin. Unfortunately for Schalke, it has not worked out that way and it is time to start looking at Uth to perform. Granted, the squad surrounding Uth has not capably provided him service, but the time is now for Uth to start using his creativity to power Schalke to a win.
Borussia Dortmund 4, Wolfsburg 3: BVB is in a stretch where it really can't do much wrong even when they spend a game scuffling. Dortmund is still undefeated in the league (and in all competitions actually) and should be able to keep that run going against the Wolves. Lucien Favre has a wealth of forwards he can use, which makes him go into Mad Scientist mode as he mixes and matches pieces - yet still has gotten excellent results. On a game to game basis it is even hard to predict which BVB player will provide a standout performance because so many have taken turns excelling this season; whether it is Marco Reus, Jadon Sancho, Christian Pulisic, Jacob Bruun Larsen, and even a resurgent (when used) Mario Gotze. Gone are the days of waiting for the likes of Alexander Isak (demoted) or Andriy Yarmolenko (transferred) to show potential or consistency.
For Wolfsburg, the squad has only won one of its last five games. That likely won't get any better this week, but we expect the Wolves to at least keep the pressure on Dortmund and make it interesting.
Borussia Monchengladbach 3, Fortuna Düsseldorf 1: M'Gladbach is probably a bit confused. After impressively shutting out Bayern Munich, Die Fohlen has found itself losing 3-1 to Freiburg last weekend and then taking a 5-0 beating from Leverkusen in the DFB-Pokal. Which team will show up for the Foals this weekend?
Against the likes of F95, Borussia Monchengladbach should be able to get back on the winning track. We'd expect Thorgan Hazard and Lars Stindl to lead the way, but the lineup would be dealt a blow if Alassane Plea cannot play (thigh injury). For its part, Düsseldorf has lost five Bundesliga matches in a row. This one should be a good opportunity for M'Gladbach to right the ship.
Werder Bremen 2, Mainz 1: Werder Bremen is going to be looking to shake off the shellacking it took at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen last week. It's odd, but this is a big test for Die Werderaner in terms of proving whether the squad has the mettle to pick itself off the ground. After showing its talent for much of the first half, Werder Bremen must now deal with being one of the hunted.
Mainz, while not exactly being a huge threat, does have the ability to at least make things a little difficult for its opponents. I'd expect Mainz to try and be physical with Werder Bremen, but ultimately I'm not sure M05 has quite enough to hold off
Last week's record: 5-4 Season record: 36-45
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.
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