Bundesliga Match Day 25: Preview and Forecast
- Chuck Smith
- Mar 8, 2019
- 6 min read
Eintracht Frankfurt's may be coming off a bit a let down in the Europa League , where it earned a draw against Inter Milan in a game that most felt like Die Adler should have won. That likely won't stop Adi Hutter's boys from getting back on the winning track in the Bundesliga this weekend.
Eintracht Frankfurt is undefeated in its last seven Bundesliga matches (three wins, four draws) and has shown no signs of slowing down in the league. Led by a dangerous and talented core group of offensive players, the Eagles are looking like a very difficult match-up for anyone in Germany.
Luka Jovic has 21 goals and seven assists in 33 games across all competition, while Sebastien Haller (17 goals and 12 assists in 34 games) and Ante Rebic (nine goals and three assists in 26 games) have also been excellent this season. The threesome makes every contest for Die Adler a must see event.
This weekend against F95, the resolve of the trio will be tested. They'll be a bit disappointed and perhaps distracted after the the result against Inter Milan. They'll also likely be a little tired, but that won't stop this Frankfurt train from rolling forward and getting another Bundesliga victory.
It is certainly an interesting time to watch Eintracht Frankfurt. With such a talented trio, the eyes of many big clubs are focused on procuring the three stalwarts. It's a possibility one, two, or all three of the players will not be with Frankfurt at this time next season, but that is fodder for the summer transfer market.
For now, we should be watching how this team plays with reckless abandon and pushes it Bundesliga opponents to the limit each and every week.
Prediction: Eintracht Frankfurt 3, Fortuna Dusseldorf 1
(standings courtesy of @Bundesliga_EN)
Werder Bremen 2, Schalke 1: Schalke's dramatic and consistently awful play within the league hit rock bottom in last week's 4-0 shellacking at the hands of Fortuna Dusseldorf. Frankly, I had been waiting for Die Königsblauen to turn the season around at one juncture or another several times. It has never happened. In fact, it has only gotten worse...far worse. Coach Domenico Tedesco has to be on the hottest of all hot seats as he has seemingly lost the locker room (the players seem to have tuned him out) and has tactically failed to find a way to changed Schalke's brutal performance this season.
As for Werder Bremen, this is a match where Die Werderaner just needs to take care of business. The Green and Whites have had no trouble re-establishing themselves as a contender in the league and have received excellent performances this season from Max Kruse, the always angry-looking Davy Klaassen, and Borussia Dortmund transfer target Max Eggestein among others. It won't be easy, but it's hard to pick Schalke for anything other than a meltdown these days.
Bayern Munich 4, Wolfsburg 1: The news that Thomas Muller, Mats Hummels, and Jerome Boateng were unceremoniously axed from Die Mannschaft by the ever-arrogant (and increasingly less effective) Jogi Low, was the bombshell of the week that landed in Munich. Not only was the news itself shocking on every level, but it was the sniper-job manner in which Low just appeared at Sabener Strasse unannounced to deliver the death knell to the international careers of the three players. If Bayern needed any motivation or is there is any love in the locker room (there is!), I would expect Die Roten to come out swinging and motivated against the Wolves.
Wolfsburg has been been extremely good this season and normally this would be a game that I would look closer at because it's entirely possible that Bayern could be looking ahead to next week's game against Liverpool...but Low may have re-inserted any focus that was needed for the Bavarians this week.
Borussia Dortmund 2, VfB Stuttgart 1: BVB has not had a good run. In fact, it's been quite putrid. Dortmund has just one win in its last eight games across the Bundesliga, Champions League, and DFB-Pokal. Even with the return of Marco Reus to the lineup, the Black and Yellows have sputtered mightily.
Stuttgart, meanwhile, has improved its play a bit. Granted, Die Schwaben really had no where to go, but upward. Regardless, Stuttgart won't be looking to be the rebound game for BVB and should make this one tough on the table-toppers. I would think that a failure here by Dortmund, could cause a complete unraveling now that the squad is no longer in the DFB-Pokal or Champions League.
Hertha Berlin 3, SC Freiburg 2: I cant really hide that admire the way that Christian Streich approaches coaching his Freiburg squad. The 53-year-old understands where his team is strong, where is team is weak, and how to best try and survive each week against teams that are usually deeper and more talented. More often than not, Streich is unsuccessful in securing a victory, but that does not mean the man doesn't have some seriously good ideas and intuitive strategies to try and slow down the opposition.
This week against Hertha Berlin, Streich will need to lean on the likes of Nils Petersen, Luca Waldschmidt, and Christian Gunter to provide a counter-balance to Die Alte Dame's strengths. It won't be easy; in fact it likely won't be successful, but Freiburg will absolutely make Hertha Berlin earn three points in this one.
We covered the astounding rise of Niklas Stark yesterday on the site, but Jordan Torunarigha is also opening some eyes at center back for Die Alte Dame. Personally, I think Stark is more of a sure thing, but the presence of both players has contributed to the success that Hertha Berlin has had this season. This Hertha BSC squad plays tough defense and features enough offense to be a threat to any Bundesliga side.
RB Leipzig 4, FC Augsburg 2: Every time I expect some offensive fireworks, I am always let down. This game --- on paper --- looks like it has great potential for an offensive slugfest. Die Roten Bullen will be looking to (hopefully?) get a healthy Timo Werner on the field, while also featuring the likes of Yussuf Poulsen (five braces this season),
Augsburg, meanwhile, is a medical mess. With three players already declared out and 10 more considered questionable, who knows who will actually suit up for Die Fuggerstädter? One key player than is always on the injured, but is phenomenal when he's available is Alfred Finnbogason. If the Icelander is healthy, he could provide a spark to Augsburg, but a spark won't be enough to get by Leipzig this weekend.
Borussia Monchengladbach 3, Mainz 2: At some point M'Gladbach has to get it together, right? Die Fohlen is winless in its last four Bundesliga games with three losses and a draw mixed in. Last week's 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich would seem to be the time for the squad to awaken and right itself.
As always, Mainz will be a tough draw and won't make a turnaround easy on Borussia Monchengladbach. I just kind of feel like Thorgan Hazard has seen enough of mediocrity and poor play and is in line to absolutely impose his will on this game.
Hoffenheim 3, FC Nurnberg 1: As Julian Nagelsmann winds down his time with Hoffenheim, his team seems to be displaying the necessary amount of fight to give the young coach a quality send off. Despite last week's collapse against Eintracht Frankfurt, Hoffenheim is a big favorite in this game and should be in line to bounce back against Der Club.
Bayer Leverkusen 4, Hannover 96 1: Hannover 96 is banged up, decimated, and looks like it plays with no confidence, but H96 is also fighting for its Bundesliga life. Despite all of that, this should be a chance for Die Werkself to get off a bit offensively. Kai Havertz, Julian Brandt, Kevin Volland, and Leon Bailey have all shown their form of late and it won't make things easy on Hannover in this one. Expect a focused Bayer Leverkusen squad to win big.
Last match day record: 7-2
Season record: 105-111
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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