Bayer Leverkusen v Koln

Ahead of Sunday’s derby between Bayer Leverkusen and their rivals across the Rhine, there’s little doubt that the hosts go into this match with form, history and confidence on their side. 

Gerardo Seoane’s side have been in decent form recently, after wrestling a point off of Bayern Munich last weekend and keeping pace with a tremendous Atalanta side in the Europa League on Thursday, via a 3-2 defeat in Italy. 

Indeed, Leverkusen undoubtedly have their faults – most evidently in defence where Jonathan Tah continues to stumble through games – but it seems as though their young, confident attacking duo of Florian Wirtz and Moussa Diaby are simply refusing to stop scoring goals. Even with star striker Patrik Schick still out of action. 

Not only have Koln failed to beat Leverkusen in four attempts since their last victory in 2019, but Steffen Baumgart’s side have also amassed just 12 points from 12 away games this season. Which is their worst return on the road since they were promoted to the German top flight. 

Koln have picked up some impressive scalps this season but when it comes to Leverkusen, Effzeh always seem to encounter some sort of mental block. And it seems as though this weekend’s clash will be another match in which the hosts will take full advantage of it. 

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Borussia Dortmund v Arminia Bielefeld

There have been huge doubts over this game going ahead, following a COVID outbreak in Arminia Bielefeld’s camp, which looks to have ruled out a number of players for the visiting side. Most notably key central defender Joakim Nilsson, as well as head coach Frank Kramer. 

When we add that to the likelihood of young winger Patrick Wimmer – who is the club’s leading playmaker this season – also being sidelined through illness, it seems almost certain that the visitors will struggle with a task that already looked far too big for them to handle. 

However, that’s not to say that Dortmund don’t also have their own issues. Despite having a week off due to their last game being cancelled due to a COVID outbreak at Mainz, Marco Rose will have to make due without a number of key players too due to his own players catching the virus and some unfortunate injuries. 

Most notably, Dortmund will be without both wingbacks, Raphael Gurerreio and Thomas Meunier, who provide so much vital width to this team. As well as Marco Reus, who has often had to drag this team to victory this season, especially when Erling Haaland has been out of action. 

Haaland may return, but he’ll likely come off the bench if at all necessary. But with a likely front line of Donyel Malen, Thorgan Hazard and Julian Brandt, Dortmund will struggle to provide the kind of goalscoring that their fans have come to expect from this team.

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Eintracht Frankfurt v Bochum

There’s no doubt that under Oliver Glasner this season, Eintracht Frankfurt have been one of the most inconsistent sides in the Bundesliga and tend to dip in and out of form with no prior warning. 

Fortunately for the Eagles, they seem to be in the midst of an upturn in form, with a 4-1 victory over Hertha Berlin last weekend followed by a really impressive performance over Betis in the Europa League in midweek. 

Glasner’s side haven’t actually won a home game since December, but the manner in which the team’s front three of Filip Kostic, Daichi Kamada and Jesper Lindstrom have come to life in the past week to bag three goals and three assists between them would suggest Frankfurt are back in full swing. 

What should also play in Frankfurt’s favour is the fact that they’re playing a Bochum side that continue to struggle when tasked with playing on the road and out from the comforts of the Ruhrstadion. Thomas Reis’s side have the third worst away record in the division this season and the past four away games have shown little to suggest that will change soon, with defeat to Arminia Bielefeld and Mainz, as well as hapless draws against struggling Hertha and Stuttgart. 

This should be an entertaining match but one in which Frankfurt will surely be able to claim all three points with some comfort. 

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Greuther Furth v RB Leipzig

Domenico Tedesco’s RB Leipzig side continue to go from strength to strength under the new head coach, with just one defeat from 12 games in all competitions since the start of the year. 

Although the Saxony side were held to a 1-1 draw with Freiburg last weekend, Tedesco’s team thumped their guests with no less than 14 shots and six on target. Which is becoming of an attacking style that fans of the club have come to expect under the new head coach. 

Indeed, since Tedesco started calling the shots, Leipzig’s goals per game have shot up to 2.47 and that’s in no small part due to the continued brilliance of Christopher Nkunku but also the new head coach’s ability to get the best out of poacher Andre Silva. Eight of the Portuguese striker’s 14 goals for the entire season have come in the past two and a half months thanks to Tedesco’s more coherent tactics. 

As such, when Leipzig make the trip to Greuther Furth on Sunday they’ll not only be expected to win the game comfortably but to also rack up a relatively high scoreline too. 

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