Borussia Dortmund v Freiburg

Marco Rose and his Borussia Dortmund side will feel galvanised after their three-goal comeback against Eintracht Frankfurt last Saturday, as they look to get the better of another stubborn foe in Freiburg.

Christian Streich’s side have punched above their weight for much of the season and currently sit fourth in the Bundesliga, with just four defeats from 18 league matches. However, Friday’s clash at the Westfalenstadion may be too tall an ask for the Black Forest side.

For a start, Dortmund have picked up almost all of their good fortune in the league this season at home, where Rose’s side have dropped just three points in this campaign to date. In fact, no team in the German top-flight has amassed more points at home than the Black and Yellows.

Equally, while Freiburg have an equally impressive away record, they have stumbled on the road recently with defeats to Bayern Munich, Bochim and then a drab 0-0 draw in their last away game with Union Berlin.

Couple that with doubts over the fitness of Freiburg’s star central defender Nico Schlotterbeck and it seems certain that Streich’s side are exactly where Dortmund want them at the moment. A home win seems more than certain on Friday night.

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FC Koln v Bayern Munich

Following Friday’s clash between two of the Bundesliga’s top four, all eyes will turn to FC Koln, who will be tasked with taking a bite out of Bayern Munich’s title aspirations at the RheinEnergieStadion.

Steffen Baumgart’s side have made a habit of picking up big scalps in front of their own fans this season, with impressive performances and against the likes of Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Monchengladbach and most recently Stuttgart. And they often come with a heap of goals too.

In fact, so far this season FC Koln have scored 18 goals from nine home games with an average of 3.22 goals scored when they host their Bundesliga rivals. And, perhaps unfortunately for Baumgart’s side, are no strangers to scoring for fun on the road.

Indeed, Julian Nagelsmann should be able to welcome back most of his first-team stars after a COVID-impacted defeat to Gladbach last weekend. And with a fully-strength squad to call upon, we can expect Bayern to get back to scoring goals.

The Bavarian giants have scored no less than 27 goals from eight away games and six of those games have ended up with over 3.5 goals between both sides. Bayern are certainly favourites for this clash, but what’s even more likely is a heap of goals between both sides.

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Mainz v Bochum 

Few sides have offered such contrasting performances in the Bundesliga this season as much as Bo Svensson’s Mainz team. When it comes to results on the road, Mainz are little more than cannon fodder and potential relegation candidates, but when it comes to playing at home they seem to be one of the very best in the division.

Indeed, from nine home games this season, Svensson’s side have lost just one match and have picked up some impressive victories along the way – most notably a 3-0 win over Wolfsburg and a 4-0 win over Hertha Berlin.

Last weekend’s 4-1 defeat to RB Leipzig and a recent run that shows just two wins from five may suggest that Mainz are struggling at the moment, but this side will be relishing the chance to take on recently-promoted Bochum at the Mewa Arena and pick up another important three points in their race for a European spot.

If their recent run of form at home isn’t enough to galvanise Mainz, the hosts can also take confidence from the fact that Bochum have managed just two wins on the road this season and lost a worrying seven from nine to date.

Few would entirely rule out Bochum’s ability to pick up a result this weekend – they have only lost two of their last five league games – but more often than not Thomas Reis’ hard-working team seem to come undone on the road. And Mainz, in stark contrast, often know exactly what they’re doing at home.

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Stuttgart v RB Leipzig

Things seemed to finally click into gear for new manager Domenico Tedesco and his RB Leipzig side last weekend when they handily tore Mainz to shreds. Against a struggling Stuttgart side on Saturday, we should probably expect more of the same.

Pellegrino Matarazzo’s Stuttgart side currently sit 15th in the league and just one point above an automatic relegation place because their team has been decimated by injuries COVID isolations and player departures. This weekend’s clash is unlikely to change that, with key winger Silas Katompa Mvumpa and central defender Konstantinos Mavropanos both unlikely to feature.

Contrastingly, RB Leipzig should be able to call upon an entire host of exciting, attacking players to break down their troubled foes. Emile Forsberg remains out with a thigh injury, but Dominik Szoboszlai, Christopher Nkunku and Andre Sila are all fit and will fancy their chances against Saturday’s hosts.

The Saxony side don’t have the most impressive away record in the Bundesliga this season – in fact, they haven’t won a single away game yet – but Saturday’s clash seems like the perfect opportunity for Tedesco’s team to finally turn a corner and start marching back up the Bundesliga table.

And Stuttgart, who have just one win in their last six home games, seem relatively powerless to stop them.

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Union Berlin v Hoffenheim

espite having one of the smallest budgets in the Bundesliga, Union Berlin continue to upset the odds and punch above their weight in the German top-flight. Especially when they get to wrestle teams to the ground in low-scoring affairs at their old ground in South Eastern Berlin.

Indeed, Urs Fischer’s side have a remarkable and entirely enviable record at home that now stands at 24 undefeated games from their last 25 in the Bundesliga. And, crucially, Union have conceded just eight games from nine home games so far this season.

That’s unlikely to change when Hoffenheim travel to the capital on Saturday with high hopes of picking up at least one point. From those nine games, Union have seen just one go beyond 3.5 goals and that was due to the side enduring a 5-2 hammering at the hands of Bayern Munich in late October.

Similarly, while Hoffenheim have enjoyed some high-scoring games on the road this season – with a notably 6-3 win over Greuther Furth coming to mind in November – Sebastian Hoeneß’s side have also struggled for consistency along the way too, with just three wins from nine thus far.

Union will go into this game fancying their chances of imposing their tactics on an unconvincing opponent and that will likely mean a lack of goals and a win for the capital side.

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Wolfsburg v Hertha Berlin

Wolfsburg will be desperate to take anything from Saturday’s clash with Hertha Berlin, as (relatively) new head coach Florian Kohfeldt and his side peer worryingly at the Bundesliga relegation spots edging towards them with every passing week.

Indeed, the Wolves are currently only a truly remarkable six-game losing streak that has seen the Volkswagen club score just three goals along the way. And with star striker Lukas Nmecha still out of action with an ankle injury, that’s unlikely to change when they host Hertha on Saturday.

However, Kohfeldt’s side aren’t the only team in trouble at this moment in time. Hertha are currently taking orders from a caretaker head coach in Tayfun Korkut after dismissing their last manager and have managed just three wins from their last 10 games.

Like Wolfsburg, the capital side have also struggled for goals this season. In their last 10 league games, Hertha have managed just 13 goals. And in nine away games this season, the club have managed just eight goals. Which is certainly better than Wolfsburg’s return but still nowhere near good enough.

Saturday’s clash is likely to be a desperate and perhaps even entertaining affair between two teams in real need of a win, but it’s highly unlikely that either team will figure out how to stick the ball in the back of the net with ease.

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Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen are, on their day, one of the most talented teams in the Bundesliga. Whether it be wonderkid Florian Wirtz in midfield, Moussa Diaby on the wings or all-round target man Patrik Schick in the box, Gerardo Seoane’s side rarely struggle to score goals.

Indeed, that’s exactly why Leverkusen have bagged no less than 42 goals in 18 games this season – a record only bested by Bayern and Dortmund. However, that’s often entirely undermined by the club’s woeful defending, which has also seen the club concede 30 goals too. Which is the fifth poorest record in the Bundesliga.

As such, Leverkusen games are currently averaging no less than four goals per game this season and that’s unlikely to change when they make the short trip over the Rhine to take on Borussia Monchengladbach.

Adi Hutter’s team may be buoyed after their somewhat unexpected victory over Bayern last weekend, but that shouldn’t mask a terrible campaign which has seen the Foals pick up just six wins from 18 games. Which has been largely down to the fact that Gladbach simply can’t defend and are currently shipping 1.8 goals per game.

The late kick off game on Saturday should entertain and showcase the Bundesliga for all the dramatic and end-to-end football that it is famous for. And along the way we should expect both of these troubled sides to do very little in the way of stopping the other one from scoring. This match should have plenty of goals to pick from.

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