Bundesliga Match Day 29: Preview and Forecast
- Chuck Smith
- Apr 12, 2019
- 5 min read
For a team that is mired in a rut, Borussia Monchengladbach sure knows how to keep itself in the news.
In the midst of a collapse that could potentially sabotage the squad's season-long quest to earn a top six position, Die Fohlen made two big announcements this week:
1) M'Gladbach is likely going to part ways with Thorgan Hazard after this season. Hazard's contract runs through 2020, so if M'Gladbach is going to make any money from a sale, it will have to make its move this summer.
2) RB Salzburg coach Marco Rose will take over for outgoing coach (and Ray Liotta's stand in for Chantix commercials) Dieter Hecking.
The Hazard announcement -- odd as it was -- just made public what most already assumed about the talented Belgian: He is ready to move on.
In addition, the recently floundering play of the Foals paved the way for Rose to be the man next season. Rose has done wonders with Salzburg and is clearly ready for a job like M'Gladbach. Still, he'll have his challenges, which will likely include trying to dissect how this season's team started to fall apart.
Die Fohlen is grasping on to a top six position with 48 points and hopes for the Champions League next season are beginning to fade. If M'Gladbach cannot regroup, the Europa League could be out of reach as well.
Luckily for Hecking, Hazard, and the rest of the Foals, Hannover 96 is a mess -- even on its home turf.
Prediction: Borussia Monchengladbach 3, Hannover 96 1
Schalke 04 2, FC Nurnberg 1: If you want to know how confident I am in picking this game, just see below:
RB Leipzig 3, Wolfsburg 2: This has the makings of a terrific game between two teams with a lot to play for. Both squads are in a top six position (Leipzig - 3rd, Wolfsburg - 6th) and fighting to retain their standing during a hectic home stretch to the season.
Leipzig is undefeated in its last 12 games overall (Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal), while the Wolves have only been able to secure five wins (three losses, two draws) in their 10 games. The teams have already exchanged 1-0 wins as Wolfsburg won the first Bundesliga match, while Die Roten Bullen returned the favor in the DFB-Pokal.
The difference here Leipzig's standing as the home team and the electric duo of Timo Werner and Yussuf Poulsen that has been much more sharp upon Emil Forsberg's slow ramp up to his return to the lineup. Forsberg is an indispensable part of the RB Leipzig attack and has slowly been rebuilding his form after missing most of the Hinrunde.
Bayer Leverkusen 4, VfB Stuttgart 2: Leverkusen has been a Jekyll and Hyde team all season. Some weeks they look great, while others they look woefully unprepared for the task at hand. Stuttgart, unfortunately, has mostly been bad in what is a forgettable season for the club.
This should be a game where Leverkusen's young and explosive stars shine, but who knows what team will show up. If Peter Bosz wants to cement himself as the man to lead this core group, he needs to decipher why the roster suffers so many letdowns and lapses in form.
Werder Bremen 2, SC Freiburg 1: Will this be another game in a crazy season where Christian Streich strategizes and wills Breisgau-Brasilianer to a win or will this be another roller coaster ride of a performance for the likes of Nils Petersen and Christian Gunter that results in a btter defeat?
Die Werderaner has just been incredibly solid. This does not appear to be a spot where Werder Bremen will experience a slip up, but Streich has a way of changing that dynamic. Regardless, Werder Bremen will continue to prove itself as one of the up-and-coming squads in the Bundesliga. It may be a slow build for Die Werderaner, but it has been fascinating to watch to develop.
Borussia Dortmund 4, Mainz 3: This won't be a cake walk for Dortmund. BVB is coming off of last week's stunning 5-0 defeat in Der Klassiker, while Mainz is just the team that never quits. If Dortmund shows any signs of looking past Die Nullfünfer, it could be another bad week for the boys in Black and Yellow.
I don't think it will be easy, but I don't expect Dortmund to fold its season after last week's loss either.
Hoffenheim 3, Hertha Berlin 1: Julian Nagelsmann's ride off into the sunset is going pretty well at Hoffenheim. TSG1899 has just two losses in its last 14 games and is in a prime position to force its way into the top six of the league. Andrej Kramaric and Ishak Belfodil have been on fire for Hoffenheim and we don't expect that duo to slow down any time soon.
Die Alte Dame, meanwhile, has fallen off a cliff. Losers of its last five games and six of its last seven, Hertha Berlin is in the midst of a dreadful run of play as it battled numerous injuries to its roster.
Bayern Munich 4, Fortuna Dusseldorf 0: Two teams that appear to headed in the right direction will square off on Sunday. The two biggest questions in this game are:
1) Whether or not Bayern can avoid a letdown against a game competitor. F95 has proven its mettle and shown it deserves its standing as a top flight team.
2) Will Fortuna Dusseldorf have enough players to compete? According to Bild, F95 will be without 9 (!!!!) players against Bayern on Sunday, including captain Oliver Fink.
It may be unwise in some respects, but I feel that Bayern will be primed and ready to finish the season strong. The predicted score is less a knock on F95 than it is a commendation of how efficient and brilliant Bayern looked last Saturday in Der Klassiker.
If Bayern coach Niko Kovac elects to start the front four of Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller, and Robert Lewandowski -- the quartet that created havoc against Dortmund -- it could be a very challenging day for the much-improved Dusseldorf side.
Eintracht Frankfurt 3, FC Augsburg 1: After a crazy Europa League game, which resulted in a 4-2 away loss to SL Benfica, Die Adler will return its focus to the Bundesliga race. Even in defeat on Thursday, Frankfurt was a blast to watch as they were shorthanded for the majority of the game thanks to an early red card to Evan N'Dicka. This squad, however, is nothing if not resilient. I'd expect a great showing from Eintracht Frankfurt as they continue to cement a Champions League position for next season.
As for Augsburg, Die Fuggerstadter hired Martin Schmidt to take the helm and hopefully Schmidt can unlock the cheat code for the talent and fun style of play that this squad has shown -- in brief periods -- over the past two years.
Last match day record: 5-3
Season record: 126-125
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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