Bundesliga Match Day 13: Weekend Wrap-Up
- Chuck Smith
- Dec 4, 2018
- 3 min read
Timo Werner continued his resurgence with another brace to lead RB Leipzig to an impressive 2-0 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach.
Die Fohlen entered the match on a very strong run of three straight wins, but Leipzig let its pacey, dynamic forward propel it to victory. After a somewhat down 2017/2018 season (including an uneven World Cup showing), Werner is proving himself in the Bundesliga once again.
With the ability to produce centrally or our wide, Werner is being given a little ore freedom to find the pockets of space on the pitch, utilize his speed, and attack at will.
Werner's production is an absolutely vital cog in the Leipzig machine. If the speedster can continue to be a consistent scoring presence, the squad should be able to push itself into true contention with Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich (yes, we know they are currently fourth in the table) for the league crown.
Die Roten Bullen surely is loving the effort by Werner, along with the rest of the squad, which is now sitting in a good position at third in the table.
M'Gladbach, meanwhile, suffered a hiccup after three straight wins of its own. The Foals have been on fire this season, however, and should be able to get back on the winning track against Stuttgart thus weekend. It was a disappointing performance from M'Gladbach, but the key - as always - will be how it responds this weekend.
Prediction: Borussia Monchengladbach 3, RB Leipzig 2 (L)
Mainz 1, Fortuna Dusseldorf 0: Jean-Philippe Mateta registered the only goal of this contest as Mainz buried F95 deeper into the RELEGATION DANGER ZONE.
Prediction: Fortuna Düsseldorf 2, Mainz 2 (L)
Bayern Munich 2, Werder Bremen 1: Bayern did what it was supposed to do behind a brace from Serge Gnabry, but was pressed once again by another Bundesliga squad. The miscommunication and positional awareness issues that have plagued Bayern over the past month were still there on the goal by Werder Bremen's Yuya Osako, but on the whole it was a much better and more complete effort from Die Roten.
An interesting development in Bavaria has been Niko Kovac's shift to a double pivot featuring Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka. The duo has been quite successful thus far, but it remains to be seen of Kimmich will move back to an outside position with the return of Thiago Alcantara to the lineup.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 3, Werder Bremen 0 (W)
VfB Stuttgart 1, FC Augsburg 0: After missing six consecutive games due to injury Anastasios Donis came back to Die Schwaben and scored the game's loan goal. This was a HUGE and much needed win for Stuttgart.
Prediction: VfB Stuttgart 2, FC Augsburg 2 (L)
Hertha Berlin 2, Hannover 96 0: Hertha Berlin went into a tough place to play and produced a clean sheet. With goals from Jordan Torunarigha and Vedad Ibisevic, Hertha Berlin ended a four-games winless streak.
Prediction: Hertha Berlin 2, Hannover 96 2 (L)
Borussia Dortmund 2, SC Freiburg 0: Behind a converted PK from Marco Reus and yet another goal from super sub Paco Alcacer, BVB kept its stronghold on the top of the table firmly in place. Dortmund is not showing any signs of weakness within the league and unless it has a series of slip-ups or a prolonged slump, BVB will be a very tough team to catch for the likes of Bayern Munich.
Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 3, SC Freiburg 1 (W)
Hoffenheim 1, Schalke 04 1: Andrej Kramaric (59') gave Hoffenheim a temporary lead before Nabil Bentaleb's PK in the 73rd minute to force a draw. While it must have felt disappointing for Hoffenheim to blow yet another lead, Schalke is probably ecstatic to leave Wirsol Rhein-Neckar Arena with a point.
Prediction: Hoffenheim 2, Schalke 1 (L)
Wolfsburg 2, Eintracht Frankfurt 1: Admir Mehmedi gave Wolfsburg a first half lead before Daniel Ginczek tremendous volley powered the Wolves to a surprising victory. Luka Jovic provided the scoring for Die Adler, but it was not enough to offset a strong effort from Wolfsburg.
Prediction: Eintracht Frankfurt 3, Wolfsburg 1 (L)
Bayer Leverkusen 1, FC Nurnberg 1: In forcing a shocking draw, Der Club nudged itself just outside the RELEGATION DANGER ZONE, but the result was more of a reflection of Leverkusen's wildly inconsistent play this season. Kai Havertz have Die Werkself the lead with a 30th minute goal, but Georg Margreitter knotted the game in the 56th minute to give Der Club a much needed point.
At some point, Leverkusen is going t have to be accountable for its underachieving performance.
Prediction: Bayer Leverkusen 3, FC Nürnberg 0 (L)
Last week's record: 2-7
Season record: 49-68
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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