Bundesliga Match Day 21: Preview and Forecast
- Chuck Smith
- Feb 8, 2019
- 6 min read
This is the hard part for Borussia Dortmund.
BVB is supremely talented and has earned everything it has gotten so far this season, but now it has to come to the realization that it is going to get everyone's best shot. Last week, it was Eintracht Frankfurt giving Dortmund all it could handle. On Tuesday, it was Werder Bremen pulling off a stunner over BVB in the DFB-Pokal.
In making the shift from being considered among the league hunters to the Bundesliga's hunted, Dortmund will now face the task of receiving everyone's best shot. The Black and Yellows will be absorbing haymaker after haymaker from the competition and this week will be no different against Hoffenheim.
Julian Nagelsmann is keenly aware of what a victory over Dortmund means at this stage of the season and the 31-year-old manager will be looking to enhance his own reputation by taking his best shot at knocking off the league leaders.
With Andrej Kramaric regaining his form and Joelinton and Reiss Nelson also viable offensive threats Hoffenheim has enough of an attack to threaten BVB. Also, a rugged cast featuring Florian Grillitsch, Nico Schulz, Kevin Vogt, Pavel Kaderabek, and Kerem Demirbay will be looking to steal three points on the road.
In the end, though, BVB still has Marco Reus and that has proven to be more than enough in most fixtures this season. Reus' leadership and overall excellence won't allow for any type of Dortmund collapse, but it also can't always be counted on to rescue the squad either. This should be a tough match for BVB and we expect Hoffenhem to at least earn a draw in its visit to Westfalenstadion.
UPDATE: Marco Rues will NOT play due to a muscle injury. The prediction has not changed. [1:30PM EST]
Prediction: Hoffenheim 2, Borussia Dortmund 2
Bayer Leverkusen 3, Mainz 1: What a roller coaster of a week it was for Die Werkself. After a thoroughly impressive victory over Bayern Munich last weekend, Leverkusen was upended by 2.Bundesliga side Heidenheim in the DFB-Pokal. This was surely not the kind of consistency that Peter Bosz had hoped to see, but perhaps it was a needed reminder that even a win over the Bavarian Giants guarantees nothing.
Leverkusen will likely heed that lesson and come back strong against an ever-pesky Mainz squad. Leverkusen needs to find a way to consistently muster the effort and energy that it showed against Bayern last week. If not, that seemingly season-altering win could just be an anomaly in an otherwise disappointing season.
Borussia Monchengladbach 2, Hertha Berlin 1: M'Gladbach has found a terrific rhythm for this season and has been excellent. The Foals have won three consecutive games since ending the Hinrunde with a 2-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund, but even that streak doesn't really tell the tale of the significant strides M'Gladbach has made this season.
Thorgan Hazard has been one of the Bundesliga's top players and his quality has drawn some significant interest within the league (Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich) and abroad (Chelsea, Liverpool). Hazard is the engine for Die Fohlen and has driven the squad to excellence. With every passing game, he seems to push his own value up even more.
Die Alte Dame, meanwhile, is coming off of two losses this week as it dropped last weekend's fixture against Wolfsburg (1-0) before losing a heartbreaker to Bayern (3-2) in the DFB-Pokal. Hertha Berlin has proven itself against the league's best this season, but may be facing an uphill battle against the high-flying Foals on M'Gladbach's home turf.
Wolfsburg 2, SC Freiburg 1: Both teams are in a tough spot. The Wolves are grasping to hang on to contention for a top six position, while Freiburg is in the midst of an incredibly rugged portion of its schedule. This is one of the few winnable games on Freiburg's upcoming slate, but the Wolves have proven to be both opportunistic and a tough match-up for anyone. I just kind of feel like Wolfsburg will pull this one out on the road.
FC Nurnberg 1, Hannover 96 1: This is not a good game, but has big ramifications for two teams looking to stay in the top flight. Hannover is winless in its last nine games (two draws), while Der Club in winless in its last 14 games (four draws). Nurnberg has been awful on the road, but Hannover is the worst team in the league at the moment.
I need a beer just thinking about this game.
RB Leipzig 2, Eintracht Frankfurt 2: As opposed to the previous game, this one has great to potential to be a barnburner. Die Adler will travel to Leipzig in hopes of continuing to take its Big 3 and putting it up against whoever the opposition has to offer. Leipzig should have a healthy Timo Werner to leads its attack, while Frankfurt's big three of Luka Jovic, Ante Rebic, and Sebastian Haller will absolutely be ready to wreak havoc. The trio has been nothing short of magnificent this season.
It will be a huge test for the Leipzig defenders, including Willi Orban and alleged Bayern Munich target Dayot Upamecano. Right now, Die Adler is the stronger of the two teams, but Die Roten Bullen has shown much greater resilience this season than last 2017/2018. RB Leipzig will be ready to trade punches with Eintracht Frankfurt, but ultimately this feels like the teams will settle into a draw.
Bayern Munich 3, Schalke 1: Bayern will be looking to shake off last week's disappointment against Bayer Leverkusen. Prior to the Leverkusen match, Bayern was riding high and confident, but a 3-1 loss — and a chance to pick points on BVB — was a major blow to Die Roten. Given how Dortmund has looked this season, the chances that Bayern can catch the table toppers is growing slimmer by the day.
One of the key aspects to watch for this contest is what lineup Niko Kovac unveils. Will he continue to prep for Bayern’s upcoming Champions League showdown with Liverpool (i.e., no Thomas Muller thanks to his suspension) or will be use his Raumdeuter while he can? As has been the case all season, how Kovac manages his personnel is the major key to his success.
As for Schalke, Die Königsblauen was in a great spot to turn its season around, but suffered a late collapse last week against M’Gladbach. Bayern won’t be a great option for a rebound game.
Werder Bremen 2, FC Augsburg 2: This game is actually a pretty fascinating match-up. Werder continues to open eyes with its performance, while Augsburg is still looking to find its legs a bit after a horrendous stretch to end 2018. Die Fuggerstädter seems like it could be starting to realize the importance of its upcoming schedule and it could be waking up at the right time to handle a very challenging and crucial stretch.
It will be interesting to see the energy level and focus of Werder Bremen after its midweek upset special win over Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal, where Die Werderaner won on PKs. American Josh Sargent was not in the squad against BVB after a non-impactful performance last weekend, so it will be interesting to see if the future star gets any field time this week. He has a bright future for sure and hopefully this is a week where he can come back and show his talent this week in a game that could evolve into an offensive shootout.
VfB Stuttgart 2, Fortuna Dusseldorf 1: Die Schwaben is in dire straits and this could be a good opportunity for the squad to grab three points despite being on the road. Stuttgart is winless in its last five games (one draw), but has enough talent to climb out of the league's bottom three spots. Currently sitting at 16th, Stuttgart cannot let opportunities for a "W" like this slip by.
F95 has been very solid of late and is the home team, but this sort of just feels like a game where Stuttgart walks with a victory.
Last match day record: 3-6
Season record: 85-95
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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