Stuttgart v Borussia Dortmund

There’s undoubtedly a growing sense in Germany that Friday night’s Bundesliga clash between Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund could prove to be a consequential encounter for both clubs. 

On the one hand, you have a home side that have been growing in confidence in recent weeks and have dragged themselves out of the bottom three with two wins and two draws in their last four games. In no small part thanks to the return of star striker Sasa Kalajdzic, who has bagged three goals and an assist in that time. 

On the other hand, you have a Dortmund side that are well and truly battered and bruised, following a humiliating 4-1 defeat to RB Leipzig in front of the first full house at the Westfalenstadion in almost three years. The result cut so deep that reports in Germany have begun to suggest that head coach Marco Rose could face the chop if his side can’t beat Stuttgart on Friday. 

Fortunately for the Dortmund coach, he should be able to welcome Julian Brandt and Mahmoud Dahoud to the starting XI and another week of training should see Erling Haaland finally return to his typical form for the club. Dortmund are desperate and will likely fight tooth and nail for the win on Friday. 

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Bayern Munich v Augsburg

Ahead of this Bavarian derby, Augsburg will undoubtedly be buoyed by a midweek win over Mainz that saw Markus Weinzierl’s side put six points between themselves and a relegation spot. An achievement made all the more impressive ahead of the truly difficult task facing them at the Allianz Arena on Saturday. 

Indeed, Augsburg have only won two away games this season and they’re unlikely to cause too much bother for a Bayern Munich side that are undoubtedly in the process of trying to iron out some issues of their own. 

Julian Nagelsmann’s side looked far from at their sharpest in a 1-0 defeat to Villarreal on Wednesday night and much of that is down to a dip in form from forward duo Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski. The former was pulled off in the second half on Wednesday and the latter looked just as useless, after also being subbed off in the previous weekend’s win over Freiburg.  

Whispers in Germany suggest that Lewandowski is nursing a knee and rib injury from the international break that has severely limited his effectiveness upfront. As such, while Bayern should still win this clash comfortably, don’t expect a thumping from the Munich giants and I am not anticipating too many goals in this matchup.

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Koln v Mainz

Like a number of teams in the Bundesliga this season, Koln have seen their form drop off in recent months after the club accepted the warm embrace of mid-table safety but there’s little doubt that Steffen Baumgart’s side will be looking to pick up their first league win since mid-March when they host Mainz on Saturday. 

The main advantage for the home side will be the return of star striker Anthony Modeste, who has bagged no less than 40 percent of Koln’s goals in the league this season. When he isn’t fit or able to play, Baumgart’s team look really ordinary, as shown from the 1-0 defeat to Union Berlin last weekend. 

Another factor that plays in Koln’s favour is the simple fact that Mainz were forced to squeeze in a previously abandoned clash with Augsburg in midweek and will have just two days between games to get over yet another defeat on the road. Fatigue is sure to play a part for the visitors here.

Bo Svensson’s side have picked up just two points from their last nine away games in the Bundesliga and they look just as unlikely to add to that tally on Saturday.

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Greuther Furth v Borussia Monchengladbach

There’s certainly a growing sense that luck has returned to Borussia Monchengladbach, as Adi Hutter’s side sit relatively comfortably in twelfth place and undefeated in their last three games. 

Their last, a 1-1 draw with Mainz, would have undoubtedly ended in defeat a few months ago, but this time around goalkeeper Yann Sommer kept his side in the tie with a performance that club captain Lars Stindl described as “extraterrestrial” after the game. 

Indeed, there is now a confidence in this Foals side that has been sorely lacking for much of the season, with Stindl returning from injury and the likes of Breel Embolo, Florian Neuhaus and Alassane Plea returning to form and firing.

As such, when they come up against a Greuther Furth side on Saturday that have conceded 24 goals in 14 home games and won only three, there’s a very good chance that Gladbach will be able to continue their roll and keep on climbing back up the league table to mid-table safety. 

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Wolfsburg v Arminia Bielefeld

Wolfsburg continue to be plagued by inconsistency and go into Saturday’s clash with Arminia Bielefeld knowing that anything but all three points could spell disaster for the Volkswagen club. 

Three defeats on the bounce have set the alarm bells off at the club, with a notable absence of goals up front causing real issues for the team. After last weekend’s 3-0 defeat to fellow relegation batters Augsburg, assistant coach Jörg Schmadtke made it painfully clear what the issue is: “In the relegation battle you have to show a lot more presence.” Wolfsburg need to score goals. 

However, that’s an issue for the side. Young talent Luckas Nmecha has struggled for fitness after an injury at the end of last year, while January signings Jonas Wind and Max Kruse have managed just four for their new club since arriving a few months ago. 

As such, Wolfsburg can’t exactly put much faith in a high-scoring win on Saturday and when coupled with the fact that Bielefeld have managed just 10 goals in 14 away games this season, it’s safe to say that this clash will be a tight one but certainly not one blessed with goals.

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Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin

If there were any hopes of Hertha Berlin turning around their season under new head coach Felix Magath, they were quickly put to rest when a relatively under-performing Bayer Leverkusen beat them rather comfortably 2-1 last weekend. 

A shock 3-0 win over Hoffenheim the week before had hinted at something special but in truth it seems unlikely that anything will be able to pull Hertha out of the relegation spots anytime soon. Even if their cross-city rivals Union have looked just as poor in recent weeks. 

Indeed, between them, the Berlin clubs have managed just three wins and a draw from 12 games, as both sides go into the derby on Saturday night hoping that they can turn things around. 

Who will win? It’s anyone’s guess when both teams are performing this poorly but we can certainly expect very few goals. Both teams have managed to score just nine goals in their last 10 league games and those tallies are unlikely to improve much on Saturday. 

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