By Rich M.
Leipzig advanced to 4th place in the table on Friday with a 5:1 win over hosts 1. FC Köln. Leipzig’s goals came from Xavi Simons in the 15th minute, Loïs Openda in the 63rd and 67th minutes, Amadou Haidara in the 70th minute, and Yussuf Poulsen in the 82nd minute. Köln’s only goal came in the 18th minute, from Sargis Adamyan, and it was his first league goal in a year and a half. The fight for the league title continues on Saturday when FC Bayern München visit SV Darmstadt 98. The hosts are facing relegation to the 2. Bundesliga, as they are 6 points behind the relegation play-off spot and 12 points out of safety, thanks to a run of 18 games without a win. That winless streak includes a 6:0 loss to Augsburg in Darmstadt’s last home game and an 8:0 loss in the reverse fixture at Bayern. Darmstadt have conceded a league-leading 60 goals this season. Bayern are coming off an 8:1 victory over Mainz last weekend, which allowed them to briefly close the gap on first-place Leverkusen to 7 points. Although Darmstadt drew their first league meeting with Bayern 1:1 way back in 1978, but have lost the next 7, and can at least hope to extend Bayern’s current streak of 4 away matches without a win in all competitions. The late game on Saturday is a derby between hosts TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and nearby VfB Stuttgart. Stuttgart continue to enjoy an unexpectedly successful season, and are closing in on a UEFA Champions League qualification. Stuttgart have long been the leading football club of Baden-Württemberg, including before the Bundesliga’s inaugural season, of which they were a part. Although the club has experienced the highs of 2 German championships and 2 DFB Pokals, they have also experienced the low of relegation. The current campaign began with a 5:0 win over Bochum, and the club went on to win 7 matches by Matchday 9 and at the time were in 2nd place behind Leverkusen. The hosts are also enjoying a respectable season, including a 7th-place berth going into Saturday’s match, and were the winners in the reverse fixture earlier this season. Several of the other clubs in the top half of the table will sort out the table when they compete on Sunday. Eighth-place Freiburg will host first-place Leverkusen, while fifth-place Dortmund will host sixth-place Frankfurt. Leverkusen need to collect 18 points from their final 9 games to take the title, regardless of Bayern’s results, and the Werkself have collected 23 points from the last 9 matches of the Hinrunde. Dortmund are winless in their last 5 league fixtures and have yet to beat a top-6 club this season.
Leipzig advanced to 4th place in the table on Friday with a 5:1 win over hosts 1. FC Köln. Leipzig’s goals came from Xavi Simons in the 15th minute, Loïs Openda in the 63rd and 67th minutes, Amadou Haidara in the 70th minute, and Yussuf Poulsen in the 82nd minute. Köln’s only goal came in the 18th minute, from Sargis Adamyan, and it was his first league goal in a year and a half. The fight for the league title continues on Saturday when FC Bayern München visit SV Darmstadt 98. The hosts are facing relegation to the 2. Bundesliga, as they are 6 points behind the relegation play-off spot and 12 points out of safety, thanks to a run of 18 games without a win. That winless streak includes a 6:0 loss to Augsburg in Darmstadt’s last home game and an 8:0 loss in the reverse fixture at Bayern. Darmstadt have conceded a league-leading 60 goals this season. Bayern are coming off an 8:1 victory over Mainz last weekend, which allowed them to briefly close the gap on first-place Leverkusen to 7 points. Although Darmstadt drew their first league meeting with Bayern 1:1 way back in 1978, but have lost the next 7, and can at least hope to extend Bayern’s current streak of 4 away matches without a win in all competitions. The late game on Saturday is a derby between hosts TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and nearby VfB Stuttgart. Stuttgart continue to enjoy an unexpectedly successful season, and are closing in on a UEFA Champions League qualification. Stuttgart have long been the leading football club of Baden-Württemberg, including before the Bundesliga’s inaugural season, of which they were a part. Although the club has experienced the highs of 2 German championships and 2 DFB Pokals, they have also experienced the low of relegation. The current campaign began with a 5:0 win over Bochum, and the club went on to win 7 matches by Matchday 9 and at the time were in 2nd place behind Leverkusen. The hosts are also enjoying a respectable season, including a 7th-place berth going into Saturday’s match, and were the winners in the reverse fixture earlier this season. Several of the other clubs in the top half of the table will sort out the table when they compete on Sunday. Eighth-place Freiburg will host first-place Leverkusen, while fifth-place Dortmund will host sixth-place Frankfurt. Leverkusen need to collect 18 points from their final 9 games to take the title, regardless of Bayern’s results, and the Werkself have collected 23 points from the last 9 matches of the Hinrunde. Dortmund are winless in their last 5 league fixtures and have yet to beat a top-6 club this season.
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