Four out of Europe's "Big 5" Leagues - the Premier League, Serie A, Ligue 1, and La Liga, are already underway. In fact, the Premier League never took a break for the Christmas holiday. And finally, the Bundesliga, who always enjoys the longest hiatus, resumes action this Friday. What surprises will the second half have in store for German football fans?
Facts and Stats ahead of Bundesliga Matchday 17
Here are five things you may or may not know ahead of the upcoming round of fixtures starting today:
Bundesliga Matchday 17 - U.S. viewing schedule
Below is the full U.S. schedule for round 17 of Bundesliga action starting today:
Jan. 20: Freiburg vs Bayern München on Fox Sports GO, GOLTV USA, Fox Sports 1 USA, Fox Soccer 2GO USA, GolTV Espanol at 11:30 AM PST/2:30 PM EST
Jan. 21: Augsburg vs Hoffenheim on Fox Sports GO, Fox Soccer 2GO USA, Fox Sports 2 USA, Fox Deportes at 6:30 AM PST/9:30 AM EST
Jan. 21: Darmstadt 98 vs Borussia M'gladbach on Fox Soccer 2GO USA at 6:30 AM PST/9:30 AM EST
Jan. 21: Schalke 04 vs Ingolstadt on Fox Soccer 2GO USA at 6:30 AM PST/9:30 AM EST
Jan. 21: Werder Bremen vs Borussia Dortmund on Fox Sports 1 USA, GOLTV USA, Fox Soccer 2GO USA, Fox Sports GO, GolTV Espanol at 6:30 AM PST/9:30 AM EST
Jan. 21: Wolfsburg vs Hamburger SV on Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Soccer 2GO USA, Fox Sports GO at 6:30 AM PST/9:30 AM EST
Jan. 21: RB Leipzig vs Eintracht Frankfurt on Fox Soccer 2GO USA, Fox Sports 2 USA, Fox Sports GO, Fox Deportes at 9:30 AM PST/12:30 AM EST
Jan. 22: Bayer Leverkusen vs Hertha BSC on Fox Sports GO, Fox Soccer 2GO USA, Fox Sports 1 USA, Fox Deportes at 6:30 AM PST/9:30 AM EST
Jan. 22: Mainz 05 vs Köln on Fox Sports 2 USA, Fox Sports GO, Fox Soccer 2GO USA, Fox Deportes at 6:30 AM PST/9:30 AM EST
*For more information, please navigate to each match's specific page
Bundesliga - Matchday 17 overview
As things stand, reigning champs Bayern Munich have finally been able to wrest away top spot from RB Leipzig. If reading that made one sit up and take pause, one is not alone. Die Bullen, who were founded in 2009 - yes, 2009 - actually were leading the league table for 13 rounds. That set a league record for a newly promoted side. However, they finally were taken down when they met die Roten, who thrashed them 3-0 to hand them their first loss of the season.
It will be very interesting to see how they get back on track as they take on Eintracht Frankfurt, another team who have been quite solid, on Sunday. Meanwhile, Bayern face Freiburg later today, and their hosts, who were relegated back in the 2014/2015 term have been enjoying a surprisingly good campaign. Hoffenheim still continue to be unbeaten; in fact, they now are the only unbeaten side in Europe's "Big 5" leagues. They will try to extend this against Augusburg on Saturday.
How will Borussia Dortmund manage to cope without star man Pierre Emerick Aubameyang? Die Schwarzgelben have drawn their past three games and really need to get up and running if they want to make a serious push for a Champions League spot. They're in action against Werder Bremen, a team who will be desperate to put some distance between themselves and the play-off/relegation spots as quickly as possible, on Saturday.
Wolfsburg said Auf Wiedersehen to Julian Draxler during this January's transfer window, and the struggling side will be locking horns with Hamburg this weekend. How will they fare in their first competitive fixture of 2017?
Bundesliga - Matchday 17 standings
Here's how things stand so far after 16 rounds in the 2016/2017 Bundesliga season. How will it look after matchday 17 concludes?
| Pos. | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | P | Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayer Leverkusen | 33 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 87 | 23 | +64 | 87 | WWDDW | |
| 2 | Bayern München | 33 | 23 | 3 | 7 | 92 | 41 | +51 | 72 | WLWWW | |
| 3 | Stuttgart | 33 | 22 | 4 | 7 | 74 | 39 | +35 | 70 | WWDLW | |
| 4 | RB Leipzig | 33 | 19 | 7 | 7 | 75 | 37 | +38 | 64 | DDWWW | |
| 5 | Borussia Dortmund | 33 | 17 | 9 | 7 | 64 | 43 | +21 | 60 | LWLDW | |
| 6 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 33 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 49 | 48 | +1 | 46 | DLLWL | |
| 7 | Hoffenheim | 33 | 12 | 7 | 14 | 62 | 64 | -2 | 43 | WDLWL | |
| 8 | Freiburg | 33 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 44 | 56 | -12 | 42 | DDLDW | |
| 9 | Heidenheim | 33 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 46 | 54 | -8 | 39 | DDWLD | |
| 10 | Augsburg | 33 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 49 | 58 | -9 | 39 | LLLLW | |
| 11 | Werder Bremen | 33 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 44 | 53 | -9 | 39 | DDWWL | |
| 12 | Wolfsburg | 33 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 40 | 53 | -13 | 37 | LWWWL | |
| 13 | Borussia M'gladbach | 33 | 7 | 13 | 13 | 56 | 63 | -7 | 34 | DDDLL | |
| 14 | Bochum | 33 | 7 | 12 | 14 | 41 | 70 | -29 | 33 | LWWLD | |
| 15 | Mainz 05 | 33 | 6 | 14 | 13 | 36 | 50 | -14 | 32 | WDDDW | |
| 16 | Union Berlin | 33 | 8 | 6 | 19 | 31 | 57 | -26 | 30 | LLDLL | |
| 17 | Köln | 33 | 5 | 12 | 16 | 27 | 56 | -29 | 27 | WDDLL | |
| 18 | Darmstadt 98 | 33 | 3 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 82 | -52 | 17 | LLLWL |
