A One-Sided Title Race?
FC Bayern München heads into this weekend to take on Borussia Dortmund. They have an eleven point lead on the German double winners and a ten point lead on second placed Leverkusen. According to many viewers, a win over Borussia Dortmund will see Bayern across the line. In other words, they could virtually be crowned Champions on Match-day Fifteen.
However, Borussia Dortmund did beat them five times in a row up until the German Supercup which Bayern took home, 2-1. Neither side looked convincing in midweek as BVB drew 1-1 against Fortuna without Mario Götze, Ilkay Gündogan and Mats Hummels while Bayern beat ten men Freiburg 0-2 without Arjen Robben and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
A second title challenger has emerged nonetheless who can take the place of Bayern provided that Dortmund fails to win on Saturday. The challenger happens, historically, to be one of the biggest chokers football has ever seen, Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Leverkusen, as of Wednesday, is ten points behind Bayern.
Bayer 04 was extremely clinical against Bremen as they beat Werder at the Weser, 1-4 on Wednesday. They take on Bayern’s Bavarian neighbours, Nürnberg, on Saturday. Nürnberg beat Hoffenheim 4-2 on Wednesday. They will be a tough opponent as always. If Nürnberg does win, they might actually be helping out their Bavarian enemies, Bayern.
Reality Sinks in
Another choker in the Bundesliga is Schalke 04. A tonne of second and third placed finishes has never been backed by a Bundesliga title in this Ruhr club. They have a UEFA Cup to their name but not a Bundesliga title. Second place looked to be theirs this season until they started ‘choking’. A loss to Bayer Leverkusen was backed up by a loss to HSV 2-0 in midweek.
This week, they play Borussia Mönchengladbach. Gladbach has been inconsistent this season but is coming into this one on the back of a 2-0 win over a Wolfsburg side which has improved a lot under interim manager Lorenz Günther Köstner. Wolfsburg this week takes on HSV. The loss of Rafael Van der Vaart to injury doesn’t seem to have caused HSV as much harm as expected.
Frankfurt was challenging for the title too until recently. While they are only three points behind second placed Bayer 04, results really haven’t gone their way recently. They are coming into this one on the back of yet another loss. This week, they were beaten 1-3 by Thomas Tuchel’s Mainz. Their next opponent is Düsseldorf. Buoyed by their draw against BVB, Fortuna just might take something from this one.
Europa League Battle
Mainz takes on Hannover in a battle of extreme importance as far as the Europa League spots are concerned. Both are coming into this one on the back of good wins. Hannover consigned Fürth to defeat, 2-0. Both teams lost to title challengers in the previous weekend. Mainz lost 1-2 to BVB while Hannover was thrashed 5-0 by Bayern.
Relegation Battle
Augsburg is struggling this season without their smart coach Jos Luhukay. Markus Weinzierl’s side hasn’t played badly this season. Their lack of a proper striker has really hurt them. Sascha Mölders hasn’t been able to score on a consistent basis. This week, they take on a side which was supposed to be battling for relegation, Freiburg. Freiburg, despite being a man down, managed to make a good impression against Bayern. Expect them to take all three points from this one.
Greuther Fürth takes on inconsistent Stuttgart. Stuttgart backed up a loss with a win on Wednesday over Augsburg 2-1. They are not fighting for survival but they are not fighting for a European spot either. Fürth however is having a nightmarish season. They are fighting what is already looking like a losing battle.
Hoffenheim is the third of the sides in trouble. They play Bremen in the weekend. Hoffenheim’s results have been poor to say the least. Bremen is coming into this one on the back of an average performance. They were beaten 1-4 but were never really overrun in the game. It was Leverkusen’s clinical finishing which ended up consigning them to defeat.
Make sure to catch the games this weekend! You might just miss the crowning of a champion if you don’t join the action!
