Bundesliga Match Day 20: Preview and Forecast
- Chuck Smith
- Feb 1, 2019
- 5 min read
The showdown between Bayern Munich has great potential to be an offensive showcase for the glut of attacking talent that resides on both rosters.
The Bavarians have been scorching hot for the better part of two-and-a-half months, while Leverkusen is just starting to get its bearings under Peter Bosz, who took over during the Winterpause.
Die Werkself has plenty of firepower with Kai Havertz, Kevin Volland, Julian Brandt, Leon Bailey, and Karim Bellarabi, but it will have to not only have to hope it can match Bayern’s arsenal of weapons, but must also have faith that its own defenders can somehow slow down the Bayern attack.
I just can’t see that happening. Bayern looks too strong right now and even if Leverkusen can break through Manuel Neuer, it likely won’t have enough ammo to contend with Bayern for the long haul of this game. Surely Leverkusen's attack will test Bayern's back line, which could include any combination of Niklas Sule, Mats Hummels, and Jerome Boateng at center back, but that trio has been much better of late. [Update: After this post was released, it was revealed that Neuer will not play and will be replaced by Sven Ulreich. In addition, Thiago Alcantara will miss the contest for Bayern as will Leverkusen's Sven Bender. I did not change my prediction, though.].
One thing to watch is how disciplined that Joshua Kimmich and David Alaba remain against the likes of Havertz, Brandt, and Bailey. Kimmich came under fire from Niko Kovac last week for venturing too far up field and abandoning his defensive responsibilities. Against Leverkusen, that could be fatal for Bayern's chances of winning.
Given the intelligence that Kimmich and Alaba have on the pitch, I can't see the duo allowing the young guns of Die Werkself to get off in this one. Consider it a lesson learned for Kimmich as he'll likely be looking to have a standout performance against a dangerous attack.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 3, Bayer Leverkusen 1
RB Leipzig 3 Hannover 96 1: Hannover has been abysmal and RB Leipzig has been very, very good. I don’t expect either of those things to change for this one. This feels like a game where Timo Werner is going to get back on track for Die Roten Bullen and find the back of the net a couple of times.
Eintracht Frankfurt 2, Borussia Dortmund 2: Any expectation that BVB will slow down is probably very misguided. Dortmund looks incredibly good at this stage of the season and has gotten excellent performances from nearly all of its top-tier players. The outlier has been future Chelsea man Christian Pulisic, who has been good, but has not seen as much field time as he needs to really showcase his abilities. As Jadon Sancho and Jacob Bruun Larsen have emerged this season, Dortmund will no doubt be looking to feature them as well as Marius Wolf rather than Pulisic, whose time in Germany is running out.
As for Eintracht Frankfurt, Adi Hutter’s squad maybe facing a tall task against BVB, but Die Adler is one of the few Bundesliga squads capable matching Dortmund punch-for-punch. This is absolutely a game for Luka Jovic, Ante Rebic, and Sebastian Haller to put their scoring ability on display. The high-scoring trio has the ability to match Dortmund goal-for-goal, but will be need to be absolutely relentless and keep the Dortmund defenders on their heels to ensure that their own defense does not come under too much fire. As I've said before, Eintracht Frankfurt could be in line for a big Ruckrunde.
While there may not be a sound, viable, or even intelligent reason to think that BVB will drop points here, I feel like Frankfurt is going to make this a lot harder on Dortmund than most think.
Hertha Berlin 2, Wolfsburg 1: Hertha Berlin has been one of the great stories of the Bundesliga this season and will be primed and ready to stay strong against a Wolfsburg side that is reeling a bit. There is no doubt that the Wolves are formidable, but this could just be a case of meeting up with the wrong team at the wrong time. Expect Die Alte Dame to be able to pull away for a hard-fought win in this one.
Hoffenheim 3, Fortuna Dusseldorf 1: F95 has shown vast improvements of late, but Hoffenheim is settling into a bit of a groove. With its offense finally clicking behind Andrej Kramaric, Joelinton, and Reiss Nelson, who has emerged as one of the league's players to watch, Hoffenheim finally has the look and feel of a real contender in the league and does not appear ready to let anyone, especially F95, slow it down just yet.
Werder Bremen 2, FC Nurnberg 1: Nurnberg’s rut isn’t ending this week. Werder Bremen may not be in the league’s upper echelon yet, but it is quickly working its way to getting there. Bremen has been very, very solid and has shown the ability to gut out tough wins when needed. Nurnberg, meanwhile, is extremely in need of a win and won't make things easy for Bremen, but just has not been good of late.
One of the bizarre stories to hit the rumor mill this week was Die Werderaner allegedly looking to unload Max Kruse. Kruse is Werder’s marquee player at this stage, but he also presents a bit of road block to a talent like Josh Sargent. As the American teen pushes for more playing time, Florian Kohfeldt will have to get creative in finding a way to keep his veterans happy while developing his young stars.
Schalke 1, Borussia Monchengadbach 1: Schalke *might* be on the verge of breaking out and a good sign would be to at least force M’Gladbach into a draw this week. Die Fohlen has been excellent, but Schalke is in the midst of a rally to revive its season. As Domenico Tedesco’s offensive arsenal has re-loaded, his defense’s stability has increased and Sebastian Rudy's role has been solidified. Maybe it’s less pressure or maybe Tedesco’s tactics have finally reached the destination in his players’ respective minds, but whatever the case it looks like Schalke might have found a way to turn things around.
FC Augsburg 2, Mainz 1: Augsburg has faltered majorly after entering the season with a promising outlook. Things just have not clicked at all and instead of being one of the competitive squads in the league, Die Fuggerstädter has withered. Mainz, meanwhile, has been solid. Not great, not bad, but just solid. M05 is not an easy out for anyone and should be able to push an Augsburg squad that just doesn’t look confident these days.
All that said, Die Fuggerstädter's roster has some pride and that pride should start to show before the season goes completely in the dumpster for Augsburg. Manuel Baum is going to find himself under fire shortly if he can't get his squad to show signs of life. Augsburg is winless in its last 10 games (seven losses and three draws), is playing at home at Augsburg Arena, and NEEDS this one.
SC Freiburg 2, VfB Stuttgart 1: The Stuttgart-Freiburg duel looked a lot better on paper before the season than it does right now. Both teams desperately need a win and yet neither really looks poised to assert itself in this one.
Freiburg is yet another Bundesliga team that has endured a massive slide and is in need of a victory or will be at risk for venturing into the RELEGATION DANGER ZONE soon enough. This is one of the few games that really look winnable for Breisgau-Brasilianer, which is entering into a treacherous portion of its schedule.
Expect Christian Streich to rally the troops just enough to squeeze out a win. If not, this could be the start of a horrid stretch for Freiburg.
Last match day record: 7-2
Season record: 82-89
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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