Bundesliga Match Day 13: Preview and Forecast
The match of the week is certainly one that should deliver some offensive firepower as Borussia Monchengladbach will travel to Leipzig for a battle with Die Roten Bullen.
On paper, this is a matchup of two of the Bundesliga's two most potent offenses, but in reality there is a bigger theme. RB Leipzig has played pretty well, but has not yet had a signature victory this season in the Bundesliga. Leipzig needs a strong victory over the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Monchengladbach, Bayern Munich, or Eintracht Frankfurt to firmly establish itself as a true contender for the league title.
Die Fohlen will not make that easy this week, however. Plagued last season by inconsistency, M'Gladbach has been an enigma this year looking extremely strong in overpowering most Bundesliga teams with a frightening display of offensive aggressiveness.
Led by Thorgan Hazard, who would in the discussion for first half MVP of the league, Die Fohlen has been tremendous this season, but not totally immune to some of its old tendencies. This week should be a true test. Both squads will have much to prove, but I kind of feel like M'Gladbach has the strength to keep its run of success going.
Prediction: Borussia Monchengladbach 3, RB Leipzig 2
Bayern Munich 3, Werder Bremen 0: Bayern shook off its extremely disappointing draw with F95 by smashing Benfica in the Champions League and looks poised to fix what has been ailing it. With the likes of Thomas Muller, Arjen Robben, and Robert Lewandowski all kicking in braces over the past two games, perhaps the Bavarian Giant's offense is finally awake?
Werder Bremen has cooled off in a big way of late after a great start to the season. While still floating in the middle of the Bundesliga pack, Die Werderaner has three losses and one draw in its last four games.
Fortuna Düsseldorf 2, Mainz 2: F95 is riding high coming off of its draw against league power Bayern Munich, while Mainz has had four strong showings (two wins, two losses) in a row. Mainz should be the favorite, but travelling to a great atmosphere in Düsseldorf could be tough on the visitors. No outcome would be shocking in this one, but it feels like a hard-fought draw between two teams who are confident.
Borussia Dortmund 3, SC Freiburg 1: BVB is the king of the Bundesliga this season until proven otherwise this season and I'm not sure Breisgau-Brasilianer has enough in the tank to knock off the league leaders. That said, Christian Streich will surely be cooking up something strategically to try and offset the depth, speed, and talent of Dortmund.
An interesting situation to watch is how the depth and talent on the roster at BVB affects the team over the course of the season. It would be naive to think that some players won't get antsy for more playing time as Lucien Favre tries to navigate the treacherous terrain of a player rotation. Great roster depth can be both a blessing and a curse as there just isn't enough field time to go around with talent like Christian Pulisic, Marius Wolf, Jadon Sancho, Jacob Bruun Larsen, Julian Wiegl, Thomas Delaney, Axel Witsel, Max Philipp, Shinji Kagawa, Paco Alcacer, Mario Gotze, and Mahmoud Dahoud all in a heated battle for playing time between the midfield and forward spots. In addition, the BVB defenders are also duking it out for playing time.
Marco Reus, of course, is a staple in every XI, but heavy is the head that (currently) wears the crown for Lucien Favre as he tried to navigate the course to Bundesliga glory over the next few months.
Hertha Berlin 2, Hannover 96 2: Die Alte Dame will travel to Hannover for yet another tough matchup. While Hertha Berlin showed great resolve in battling back to force a draw with Hoffenheim last week, Hannover 96 will not be an opponent that can be overlooked. Hertha Berlin should have the stronger XI on Saturday, but Hannover has shown the remarkable ability to dig deep and make life hell for its opponents; particularly at home.
It has been a while since Niclas Fullkrug has shown his true goal-scoring form, so perhaps it's time he puts his quality on display. Hertha will counter with the likes of Vedad Ibisevic and Ondrej Duda. Expect a rugged affair in this one...
VfB Stuttgart 2, FC Augsburg 2: Stuttgart is in dire straits and stuck at the bottom of the Bundesliga standings, while Augsburg has been up-and-down in terms of results (albeit with a pretty solid level of play). With Alfred Finnbogason *expected* to be back in the lineup, Die Fuggerstädter should have a little extra jolt to its game. Augsburg just isn't the same threat without the Icelander.
Stuttgart, meanwhile, needs to show some sign of life. The season is slipping away quickly from a squad that was expected to me a middle-of-the-pack team at worst this season Curiously, as Stuttgart's season has floundered, so has the play of prized prospect Benjamin Pavard. The World Cup winner has not achieved the same level of success he had last season and certainly has not played to the level he played to in Russia. While many outlets are already pointing Pavard toward Bayern as a center back, perhaps the Frenchman's €35M buyout fee that Bayern would conceivably spend could be better used on Ajax starlet Mattjis de Ligt, who looks more capable now and seemingly has better long-term potential as a center back.
Ultimately, Pavard's future could be as an outside back where he performed so well for France this past summer.
Hoffenheim 2, Schalke 1: Hoffenheim's collapse against Hertha Berlin last week was a true debacle, but if there is any team who can also frustratingly deliver an uneven performance this season, it's Schalke!! Hoffenheim just has a better offense right now, while Schalke isn't doing much right in the league at all. Call it a win for Julian Nagelsmann and his boys.
Eintracht Frankfurt 3, Wolfsburg 1: Die Adler is soaring and Adi Hutter has had a knack for pushing all of the right buttons with his team of late. Luka Jovic, Sebastian Haller, and Ante Rebic are as formidable a trio as there is in the Bundesliga at this stage of the season. In all, Frankfurt is undefeated in its last seven league games. Make no mistake, Die Adler is dangerous.
The Wolves, meanwhile, have been scuffling. With three losses in its last five games, Wolfsburg is struggling to find the assertiveness it had in the beginning of the season. This week won't help that issue.
Bayer Leverkusen 3, FC Nürnberg 0: Die Werkself out-performed Stuttgart last week behind a brace from Kevin Volland, but we still need to see more form Leverkusen. A convincing win over Der Club might just provide that proof that Bayer Leverkusen is ready to get back on a course to compete with the rest of the league powers.
Last week's record: 5-4
Season record: 47-61
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.
