Bundesliga Match Day 30: Weekend Preview and Forecast

Chuck Smith
Apr 19, 2019
5 min read

Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen will become quite familiar with each other as they will face-off Saturday in the Bundesliga and Wednesday in the DFB-Pokal. On the surface, Bayern should be a clear favorite in both contest, but some extenuating factors could help Werder Bremen play the role of spoiler.

The health of Manuel Neuer: The world-class goalkeeper will miss both games with a calf injury.

The health of Mats Hummels: The central defender will likely miss Saturday's game as a precautionary measure with a muscle pull, but should be healed in time for Wednesday's DFB-Pokal match.

The suspension of Niklas Sule: Sule's red card against Heidenheim makes him ineligible for the DFB-Pokal semifinal. If Hummels is not available, Bayern have to use Jerome Boateng at one spot and either Javi Martinez or Lar Lukas Mai at the other.

But it is not just the normal slate of injuries that could affect Bayern Munich. Werder Bremen is pretty darn good as well. Milot Rashica, Max Kruse, Davy Klaassen, Max Eggestein, and Johannes Eggestein have formed a very strong core group that has been on a terrific run this season.

Rashica has been phenomenal and has developed into one of the league's most exciting players, while Kruse has embrace his leadership role with this group. Die Werderaner is certainly not a team to be trifled with.

Despite that, I'd expect the talent and depth of Bayern to push through some tough spots and come away with a win in this one.

Prediction: Bayern Munich 3, Werder Bremen 1

FC Augsburg 2, VfB Stuttgart 2: As Stuttgart tumbles perilously closer to relegation, Augsburg has done just enough to create a little bit of breathing room between itself and the bottom three teams in the table.

Three points here for Die Schwaben would be ENORMOUS, but it will not be easy. Martin Schmidt's immediate influence paid dividends last week for Augsburg and the squad figures to have at least a little extra motivation in trying to provide the new coach with a good impression.

I am banking on Stuttgart having just enough fight to earn a draw, but it could completely collapse and get blown out. There is no way to tell just how desperate the team actually despite its horrid standing in the table.

Bayer Leverkusen 4, FC Nurnberg 1: Could this be yet another game where Leverkusen has a let down? Perhaps, but Die Werkself is just close enough to a top six position, which could begin to provide Peter Bosz's group with some extra motivation. With so many whispers surround a potential transfer of Julian Brandt (at an insane cheap price of 25m-30m euros), it will be interesting to see if the youngster rises to the occasion and plays better or if he wilts under the heat of the expectations associated with a move away from his current club.

Mainz 2, Fortuna Dusseldorf 1: This is.....not easy. F95 is still extremely banged up and while Mainz is not exactly brimming with a healthy roster, M05 is a bit more potent at this stage of the season. Die Nullfünfer has proven time and time again this season that it is a royal pain in the back side and I'm expecting that to continue this week.

If Dodi Lukebakio and Benito Raman are able to generate any offense, it could make this game a fun one, but the supporting cast for Fortuna might still be too banged up to really provide much help.

RB Leipzig 3, Borussia Monchengladbach 2: It has been a tough stretch to say the least for M'Gladbach, but here is to hoping that Die Fohlen will embrace a wild and freewheeling style of play for this contest. With Dieter Hecking playing the role of lame duck coach, M'Gladbach is also facing the imminent loss of Thorgan Hazard (likely to Borussia Dortmund) via transfer and a season-ending injury to captain Lars Stindl. Things really could not be much worse for a team that is in the process of plummeting out of a top six position.

Leipzig, meanwhile, has been on fire and is unbeaten (eight wins, three draws) in its last 11 Bundesliga games. Timo Werner put on a master class on attacking last weekend and will surely draw the attention Mathias Ginter and the rest of the M'Gladbach back line. That should open things up a bit for the like of Yussuf Poulsen, Emil Forsberg, and Marcel Sabitzer. Poulsen, however, is battling an illness, which could hamper the offense for Die Roten Bullen.

Either way, I'm expecting Leipzig to come away with three points.

Hoffenheim 3, Schalke 04 1: I am still having a bit of trouble believing that Schalke is so close to relegation, but no one must be happier that Stuttgart, Nurnberg, and Hannover have been so bad than the fans in Gelsenkirchen.

As Julian Nagelsmann winds down his tenure with Hoffenheim, I am thinking this is one beatdown that he will enjoy placing on the opposition.

Borussia Dortmund 3, SC Freiburg 2: Will Christian Streich be able to concoct a game plan to minimize Dortmund's lethal attacking or will this be a case where BVB's talent just overwhelms Breisgau-Brasilianer? I am picking a close game, but I would not be shocked if Dortmund blows the doors off of Freiburg either.

Hertha Berlin 2, Hannover 96 1: This is a match between two teams that are completely staggering to the finish line. It's hard to have any faith in Hertha Berlin (especially after it went on place Pal Dardai into lame duck status by announcing that he is gone after the season), but if any team has been worse than Die Alte Dame of late, it's been Hannover. I'd expect Hertha to be able to squeeze out a tight win despite all of the factors working against it; H96 has just been that bad.

Eintracht Frankfurt 2, Wolfsburg 1: Die Adler is coming off a torturous stretch thanks to its Europa League schedule and could be a bit weary against the Wolves. Just last week, Eintracht Frankfurt proved to be a little susceptible when it was upended by Augsburg last weekend, but what kind of shape will Frankfurt be in after besting SL Benfica on Thursday? Die Adler earned a spot in the Europa League semifinals, but might be a bit weary in this one. I'm still going to make them my pick, but the Wolves are lurking and could be ready to pounce for an upset.

Last match day record: 7-2

Season record: 134-127

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.