Bundesliga Match Day 27: Preview and Forecast
After a hiatus for international break, we are BACK!
The lead game for this week's preview is the match-up between Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen. The game itself should provide some entertainment as Peter Bosz's rejuvenated Bayer Leverkusen squad will square off with Julian Nagelsmann's hard-edged TSG1899 roster.
We would expect some conservative play to start as the teams jab each other, but a transition into a bit more freewheeling of a contest that should give us some fireworks. It might be difficult for Hoffenheim to keep up with Leverkusen's relentless attacking style, but Bosz's boys have also struggled with consistency at times. With Andrej Kramaric and Reiss Nelson both banged up and listed as questionable, Hoffenheim had better hope that Leverkusen has trouble finding its footing early.
Hoffenheim's Nico Schulz, who will miss this game due to yellow card accumulation, was one of the stars for Germany over the international break and is earning fans for his strong play as a true, two-way outside back. Schulz has shown a great ability to push forward offensively and be a productive part of the offense, while not totally abandoning his defensive responsibilities. It will be interesting to see if Hoffenheim receives any substantial offers for the 25-year-old talent.
Meanwhile, Leverkusen's revival has come with a bit of a cost. For whatever reason, 22-year-old Julian Brandt has been linked to a move away from Die Werkself despite having been phenomenal over the past two months. In addition, 19-year-old Kai Havertz has started to see his name linked to Bayern Munich more and more. The strong, speedy, and youthful core of Leverkusen is going to come under attack from deep-pocketed suitors.
It would be fun to see what another year under Bosz for Brandt, Havertz, Leon Bailey, Kevin Volland, and the rest of the Leverkusen squad might look like, but as those players keep performing -- AND producing -- keeping the foundation of the squad will be incredibly tough.
Prediction: Bayer Leverkusen 3, Hoffenheim 2
Borussia Dortmund 2, Wolfsburg 1: Dortmund's second half slide was short-lived, but it did allow Bayern Munich to jump back into a tie for the league lead. BVB can no longer afford a slip-up of any sort. The Wolves have proven to be a very formidable side and will no doubt be looking to knock-off the Black and Yellows.
How BVB handles Marco Reus will be interesting. The 29-year-old star is a bit banged up and wasn't used to his fullest extent during international play. Will Dortmund be conservative with its straw that stirs the drink or will it push Reus into the lineup risking additional injury? This will be a key decision for Lucien Favre, but also once again shows why Reus is the most important player in the league to his squad.
Borussia Monchengladbach 3, Fortuna Dusseldorf 1: Die Fohlen should be poised and ready to resume action. F95 won't be an easy draw right off the bat after the international break, but we would expect Thorgan Hazard to put on a show against a banged up Dusseldorf side in this one.
Bayern Munich 4, SC Freiburg 0: Freiburg is hosting Bayern at the wrong time. Niko Kovac's squad is looking extremely dangerous right now and finally appears to have itself sorted under the coach. Since December, Bayern has looked excellent (bar its conservative play against Liverpool in the Champions League). The really scary thing with Bayern is that the Bavarians are getting contributions from just about everyone at this stage. No longer is the squad reliant on just feeding Robert Lewandowski.
Breisgau-Brasilianer's recent surge (one loss in its last seven games) is helping push it away from the threat of relegation, but this game is likely not going to go well for Christian Streich and his team.
FC Augsburg 3, FC Nurnberg 1: In a match-up of two desperate teams, I think Augsburg is better-positioned to walk away with three points, but trying to figure out which Die Fuggerstädter squad will show up on a week-to-week basis is extremely difficult. On paper, Augsburg is certainly the more talented and capable side with such talent as Philipp Max, Alfred Finnbogason, and Michael Gregoritsch, but has not always played to its potential.
The squads battled to a 2-2 draw back in November, so Der Club is fully capable of asserting itself, but Nurnberg has really struggled of late. Augsburg, itself, is fully capable of a meltdown, but this should be a good opportunity for Die Fuggerstädter to put a little distance between itself and 16th place.
Werder Bremen 2, Mainz 1: As one of the great stories of the Bundesliga season, Werder Bremen has shown the type of growth that has made them one of the most exciting teams to watch week-over-week. Max Kruse has been a stabilizing veteran presence on a roster full of young talent and the formula that 36-year-old coach Florian Kohfeldt has used has led to much success on the pitch for Die Werderaner.
The emergence of Max Eggestein, who joined the Germany senior team over the international break, has been a key to Werder Bremen's revitalization. Milot Rashica has been a total enigma and has developed into a must see player. I would also like to see Josh Sargent gain his footing a bit more as well. The young American is exciting and talented and gaining valuable experience against top-tier competition. It will fun to see if Sargent can continue to have his game evolve in the coming weeks.
RB Leipzig 2, Hertha Berlin 2: Die Alte Dame has had a phenomenal habit of making life hell on everyone this season and Leipzig will be the next team to feel that pain. Die Roten Bullen should be the conventional pick here, but Hertha Berlin has shown some excellent qualities, including grit this season. The biggest question is if Hertha BSC can muster enough firepower to match up with the likes of Yussuf Poulsen and Timo Werner.
One of the things to watch is the performance of Werner. The 23-year-old had a very uneventuful international break and has come under a bit of fire of late. Werner had been repeatedly linked to Bayern Munich over the past few weeks, despite having a standing offer on a contract extension from Leipzig. Just yesterday it was leaked that Bayern's interest in the Die Mannschaft dynamo could be waning.
Could Werner's recent dip in production have caused Bayern to take a step back and re-assess its interest?
Schalke 04 2, Hannover 96 1: Wow....yeah, so this one could be ugly. Schalke has more talent (even with Weston McKennie out injured), so I guess we'll lean that way, but these two teams are far from where they were last season.
Eintracht Frankfurt 3, VfB Stuttgart 1: The Bundesliga's most exciting team should keep things rolling against Die Schwaben. Luka Jovic, Sebastien Haller, Ante Rebic and the rest of the crew in Frankfurt have given the league a young and energetic squad to follow as the season winds down. The constant rumors surrounding Jovic's potential departure to FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, or Bayern make most assume that the talented 20-year-old is entering his last days with Die Adler. It would be be a sad -- but likely inevitable -- ending to a fun trio.
As the season winds down, Benjamin Pavard is fighting hard to help Stuttgart avoid relegation, but he also has to put together some quality film for Bayern Munich. Pavard was once considered Bayern's marquee transfer target, but things have changed a bit. With the announcement that Atletico Madrid star Lucas Hernandez is moving to Bayern in July, Pavard is making the move to Munich without the guarantee of a starting position. Given how crowded center back is with Bayern (Niklas Sule, Mats Hummels, and Jerome Boateng, along with Lars Lukas Mai and Chris Richards in the youth ranks), Pavard could have trouble seeing playing time if there is minimal roster movement from this point forward. Granted Pavard can also play right back (should Joshua Kimmich make his rumored move to defensive midfield) and Hernandez can play left back (though David Alaba rarely rests), but depending on what other decision regarding the Bayern roster follow, Pavard had better be ready to battle for a spot in the lineup.
Last match day record: 5-4
Season record: 117-117
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.
