With Der Klassiker taking place earlier in the week, the Bundesliga title picture has become clearer. While Bayern Munich have a commanding seven-point lead at the top of the table heading into the business end of the campaign, the race for European slots is starting to heat-up.
Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, RB Leipzig, and Borussia Monchengladbach all dropped points on matchday 28 and need to pull up their socks to finish the season strongly.
At the other end of the table, Dusseldorf beat Schalke to earn three crucial points which could possibly go some way towards keeping them in the German top tier next season.
Without further ado, let’s see what the Bundesliga has in store for us when Matchday 29 kicks off on Friday night:
SC Freiburg vs Bayer Leverkusen (Prediction: 2-1)
After suffering a demoralising 4-1 defeat at home against Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen would be looking to get back to winning ways, with an away trip to Schwarzwald-Stadion next.
Peter Bosz’s men are fifth on the table, level on points with Monchengladbach, and they’ll be hoping to win all three points on Friday night, to keep their momentum going.
Freiburg are winless in the three games since the league’s restart, playing out draws with RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt, sandwiched between a loss to 17th-placed Werder Bremen.
The home side are eighth in the standings, and they could miss out on European football next season if they can’t get a positive result on matchday 29.
Mainz vs Hoffenheim (Prediction: 0-2)
Hoffenheim took a big step towards keeping their European dream alive after beating FC Köln by a comfortable 3-1 margin.
Alfred Schreuder’s men would like to consolidate their presence among the big boys with yet another win on Saturday, over Mainz, who are really struggling to get their act together.
The home side are ranked 15th in the table, one point above the last relegation berth.
It hasn’t been an easy season for the Carnvival club, who are winless in their past four Bundesliga games, but now is the time to wake up, or risk falling down to the second tier of German football.
Wolfsburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt (Prediction: 2-1)
Barring the 2-0 defeat at the hands of Dortmund, Wolfsburg have been in good form lately. They beat Leverkusen comfortably in mid-week and will be hoping for a similar outcome when Eintracht Frankfurt visit the Volkswagen Arena.
The away side are in desperate need of points, having collected a mere tally of 29 from 27 games. As a result, they are 14th on the table, and things aren’t looking pretty for Frankfurt who last won a game in the Bundesliga back in February.
Schalke vs Werder Bremen (Prediction: 1-1)
David Wagner’s side are winless in their last 10 Bundesliga games, with their latest defeat at the hands of relegation-threatened Dusseldorf leaving Schalke ninth in the table.
It’s about time they start picking up points and to salvage some sort of pride towards the end of the season.
Likewise, Werder Bremen haven’t had good fortunes lately, and so their visit to the Veltins-Arena will be of paramount importance as they look to follow Dusseldorf out of the relegation berths.
Hertha Berlin vs Augsburg (Prediction: 2-1)
The side from Olympiastadion have had a resurgence of sorts since the Bundesliga resumed, they’ve won seven points out of a possible nine. As a result, they are 10th on the league table with 35 points.
Hertha Berlin will be hoping to keep the momentum going when they play hosts to Augsburg on Saturday’s penultimate fixture.
The visiting team are a mere four points off from relegation places, and they will hope to snatch at least a point from an in-form Berlin side.
Bayern Munich vs Dusseldorf (Prediction: 3-0)
The reigning Bundesliga champions are on a seven-match winning streak in the league, with their latest victory against Borussia Dortmund giving them some much-needed breathing space at the top of the table.
Hansi Flick’s men will next welcome Dusseldorf to the Allianz Arena as they look to extend their winning run against the minnows. For their part, the away side are undefeated in their past six games, a run that stretches back to February.
Could we have an upset on the cards? Only time will tell.
Borussia Monchengladbach vs Union Berlin (Prediction: 2-1)
Marco Rose oversaw a nil-nil draw in the midweek against Werder Bremen which helped his team leapfrog Leverkusen into fourth place. Monchengladbach will have a chance to put pressure on RB Leipzig with a win at home against Union Berlin.
After heavy defeats against Bayern and Hertha, the away side were able to claim a point against Mainz, but they will have their work cut out at Borussia Park.
Union Berlin are a mere four points away from the relegation spots and are in dire need of some inspiration from their manager Urs Fischer.
Paderborn vs Borussia Dortmund (Prediction: 0-2)
Time and tide are against the Black and Yellows, who will have to win all of their remaining games to keep their title hopes alive after their latest defeat to Bayern Munich.
Lucien Favre’s side has been playing some good football and they will be looking to bounce back against a deflated Paderborn team, who are rooted to the foot of the table.
The home side have drawn each of their past three games and would be happy to walk away with a point in the penultimate fixture of Matchday 29 of the Bundesliga.
FC Koln vs RB Leipzig (Prediction: 2-2)
Winless in their past four matches, Koln will welcome high flyers, RB Leipzig, to the Rhein Energie Stadion hoping to gatecrash the away side’s momentum. The hosts suffered a 1-3 drubbing in midweek, however they did fare well despite the disappointing result.
Elsewhere, Die Roten Bullen missed a chance to cut the gap between themselves and Dortmund after they were held by Hertha Berlin to 2-2 draw, last time out.
Leipzig will be hoping for better fortunes on Tuesday evening to keep the pressure on the league leaders.
All stats courtesy: Bundesliga.com