After a break, the Bundesliga is back in action this Friday! There's an interesting battle for the coveted Torjägerkanone between Dortmund's Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, who has 23 goals and Koln's Anthony Modeste, who is just one behind. Aubameyang is hoping to become the first African striker in over 20 years to clinch the top scorer prize as Dortmund prepare to take on Schalke on Saturday.
Facts and Stats ahead of Bundesliga Matchday 26
Here are five things you may or may not know ahead of the upcoming round of fixtures starting Friday:
Bundesliga Matchday 26 - U.S. viewing schedule
Below is the full U.S. schedule for round 26 of Bundesliga action starting Friday:
Mar. 31: Hertha BSC vs Hoffenheim on Fox Soccer 2GO USA, Fox Sports GO, SiriusXM FC, GOLTV USA, Fox Sports 2 USA, GolTV Espanol at 11:30 AM PST/2:30 PM EST
April 1: Bayern München vs Augsburg on Fox Sports GO, Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Soccer 2GO USA at 6:30 AM PST/9:30 AM EST
April 1: Freiburg vs Werder Bremen on Fox Soccer 2GO USA at 6:30 AM PST/9:30 AM EST
April 1: Hamburger SV vs Köln on Fox Soccer 2GO USA at 6:30 AM PST/9:30 AM EST
April 1: RB Leipzig vs Darmstadt 98 on Fox Soccer 2GO USA, FOX Deportes at 6:30 AM PST/9:30 AM EST
April 1: Schalke 04 vs Borussia Dortmund on Fox Sports 2 USA, Fox Soccer 2GO USA, Fox Sports GO, GOLTV USA, GolTV Espanol at 6:30 AM PST/9:30 AM EST
April 1: Eintracht Frankfurt vs Borussia M'gladbach on Fox Soccer 2GO USA, Fox Sports 2 USA, Fox Sports GO, FOX Deportes at 9:30 AM PST/12:30 PM EST
April 2: Ingolstadt vs Mainz 05 on Fox Sports GO, Fox Sports 1 USA, Fox Soccer 2GO USA, FOX Deportes at 6:30 AM PST/9:30 AM EST
April 2: Bayer Leverkusen vs Wolfsburg on Fox Sports GO, Fox Soccer 2GO USA, Fox Sports 2 USA, FOX Deportes at 8:30 AM PST/11:30 AM EST
*For more information, please navigate to each match's specific page
Bundesliga - Matchday 26 overview
Although they are nowhere near each other in the league table, the Revierderby is arguably one of the more interesting games of this round. Schalke currently sit in ninth on 33 points, whilst Borussia Dortmund are in third with 46 points. Die Schwarzgelben have won four out of their last five games and could pull level with RB Leipzig if they can beat their regional rivals on Saturday. It's vital Thomas Tuchel's side pick up all three points as Hoffenheim are just one point behind thanks to a very impressive campaign.
As for Leipzig, things have gone awry for the debutants. They are winless in their last three and have slipped a whopping 13 points behind Bayern Munich, who might as well start celebrating clinching a fifth straight Bundesliga crown. Bar a shocking collapse, die Roten will ensure that the league title remain in Munich, but Carlo Ancelotti certainly will want more than just the domestic title in his debut campaign in Germany. They take on Augsburg on Saturday as they aim to make it a fifth straight win on the trot in what will be a very busy April for the Bavarian titans.
Bundesliga - Matchday 26 standings
Here's how things stand so far after 25 rounds in the 2016/2017 Bundesliga season. How will it look after matchday 26 concludes?
| Pos. | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | P | Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayer Leverkusen | 32 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 82 | 23 | +59 | 84 | WDDWW | |
| 2 | Stuttgart | 33 | 22 | 4 | 7 | 74 | 39 | +35 | 70 | WWDLW | |
| 3 | Bayern München | 32 | 22 | 3 | 7 | 90 | 41 | +49 | 69 | LWWWL | |
| 4 | RB Leipzig | 32 | 19 | 6 | 7 | 74 | 36 | +38 | 63 | DWWWW | |
| 5 | Borussia Dortmund | 32 | 17 | 9 | 6 | 64 | 40 | +24 | 60 | WLDWL | |
| 6 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 32 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 48 | 47 | +1 | 45 | LLWLD | |
| 7 | Freiburg | 32 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 43 | 55 | -12 | 41 | DLDWL | |
| 8 | Hoffenheim | 32 | 11 | 7 | 14 | 56 | 64 | -8 | 40 | DLWLW | |
| 9 | Augsburg | 33 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 49 | 58 | -9 | 39 | LLLLW | |
| 10 | Heidenheim | 32 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 45 | 53 | -8 | 38 | DWLDW | |
| 11 | Werder Bremen | 32 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 43 | 52 | -9 | 38 | DWWLD | |
| 12 | Wolfsburg | 32 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 40 | 51 | -11 | 37 | WWWLL | |
| 13 | Borussia M'gladbach | 32 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 55 | 62 | -7 | 33 | DDLLW | |
| 14 | Bochum | 32 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 41 | 65 | -24 | 33 | WWLDL | |
| 15 | Union Berlin | 32 | 8 | 6 | 18 | 29 | 54 | -25 | 30 | LDLLL | |
| 16 | Mainz 05 | 32 | 5 | 14 | 13 | 33 | 50 | -17 | 29 | DDDWW | |
| 17 | Köln | 32 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 24 | 54 | -30 | 24 | DDLLW | |
| 18 | Darmstadt 98 | 32 | 3 | 8 | 21 | 30 | 76 | -46 | 17 | LLWLL |
