By Rich

Competition in the 1. Bundesliga resumed on Friday with a 1:1 draw between hosts RB Leipzig and visitors FC Bayern München. Bayern’s goal was the first of the match, in the 37th minute, and came when Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored off a cross from Serge Gnabry. Leipzig equaled the match in the 52nd minute, when defender Marcel Halstenberg prodded the ball past ex-Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano, with the assist awarded to Dominik Szoboszlai. The draw means that Leipzig are now unbeaten in 14 competitive matches, even though the club has won only 1 of 16 meetings with Bayern to date. Many Bundesliga fans will be watching Saturday’s contest between hosts Eintracht Frankfurt and visitors FC Schalke 04 to see whether Eintracht’s Randal Kolo Muani can pick up where he left off at the end of 2022. Muani joined Frankfurt from Nantes last summer, and has accumulated 5 goals in his first 14 appearances for the club. His contributions have helped the club steadily climb the rankings to a commendable 4th place, just 7 points behind Bayern. The club’s attack, which has also included Daichi Kamada, Mario Götze, and Jesper Lindstrom has struck 32 times so far this term, including 4 goals against RB Leipzig. Frankfurt’s opponents have suffered a dismal return to the top flight, having lost 10 of their first 15 matches. The remaining club in the league’s top 4, SC Freiburg, will travel to Wolfsburg on Saturday. Wolfsburg had a tough start to the season, having won only once in 7 matches, but are now unbeaten in 9 matches across all competitions, and managed to defeat Borussia Dortmund 2:0. Freiburg, however, are enjoying a stellar season, with only 3 defeats across 23 competitive matches, and now trail Bayern by just 4 points. Freiburg won both of their matches against Wolfsburg last season. The 2 Borussias will play their matches on Sunday, when Borussia Dortmund host Augsburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach host nearby Bayer Leverkusen. While Dortmund’s Marco Reus is still questionable for Sunday, the club should see Sebastian Haller make his competitive debut after recovering from cancer and scoring a hat trick in a friendly against Basel earlier this month. The match between rivals Gladbach and Leverkusen will feature the return of Florian Wirtz for Leverkusen, who has been recovering from a cruciate ligament injury. Gladbach, meanwhile, have seen off star goaltender Yann Sommer to Bayern, who was quickly replaced by Jonas Omlin from Montepellier.

By Rich

Jonas Hofmann picked up a goal and 2 assists against his former club when hosts Borussia Mönchengladbach defeated visitors Borussia Dortmund on Friday by a final score of 4:2. Hofmann’s goal was the first of the match and came just 4 minutes in, off an assist from Lars Stindl. Dortmund tied the match in the 19th minute, when Julian Brandt capitalized on a volley from Jude Bellingham. However, Gladbach pulled ahead again in the 26th minute, when Ramy Bensebaini headed in a free kick from Hofmann. Gladbach then extended their lead in the 30th minute with a goal from Marcus Thuram, and Dortmund closed the lead in the 40th minute, thanks to a goal from Nico Schlotterbeck. The game’s final goal came just moments into the second half, when Kouadio Kone collected a pass from Hofmann and rifled in a low drive from the edge of the box. Bensebaini’s goal was his fifth of the season, making him the league’s highest-scoring defender. Perhaps one of the most intriguing matches of the weekend will be Saturday’s between league leaders FC Bayern München and the league’s last-place club, FC Schalke 04. Schalke collected just their second win of the season on Wednesday, with a 1:0 home victory over visitors Mainz. The club is currently 5 points distant from safety, and desperately needs wins to avoid relegation. Their opponents, however, have slowly recovered from a surprisingly weak start to the season, and are now on a streak of 12 consecutive wins in all competitions. Bayern have also been averaging more than 4 goals per game, and have benefited from the services of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who has established himself in the starting lineup by regularly finding the net. Leroy Sane is expected to start in the place of Sadio Mane, who is sidelined with a leg injury. Bayern’s Jamal Musiala is set to make his 100th competitive appearance for the club. The record for this fixture is heavily in Bayern’s favor: Schalke are winless in their last 21 matches against Bayern, and Bayern’s combined goal differential in their past 4 encounters with Schalke is 20:0 in Bayern’s favor. At the other end of the table, Freiburg and Union Berlin will finish 2022’s competitions when they meet in Freiburg on Sunday. The clubs are tied on points at the top of the table, 4 points behind Bayern. League competition will then resume in January after the World Cup, when Leipzig host Bayern on Friday, January 20.

By Rich

Borussia Mönchengladbach picked up a 3:1 victory on Friday over visitors VfB Stuttgart. Gladbach’s first goal came just 4 minutes into the match, when Jonas Hofmann, back from a 3-week absence with a shoulder injury, swept in Alassane Plea’s cross. Gladbach then extended their lead to 2:0 in the 25th minute, when Marcus Thuram finished yet another assist from Plea. Stuttgart finally closed the lead in the 35th minute, when Thiago Tomas curled the ball in at the far post. The game’s final goal came just moments before the final whistle, when substitute Patrick Hermann drilled in the ball on the counter from Kouadio Kone’s pass. All 5 of Gladbach’s wins under coach Daniel Farke have come on home soil, and the club is now momentarily in 7th place in the league, level on points with RB Leipzig. Leipzig will travel to Hoffenheim on Saturday, in what could be a tightly contested match between 2 clubs who are separated by just 1 point. While the hosts have enjoyed a good start to the season under Andre Breitenreiter, they have won just 1 of their last 6 league contests. Leipzig, on the other hand, are currently enjoying a 10-game unbeaten streak across all competitions, thanks in part to striker Christopher Nkunku, who is tied with Bremen’s Niclas Füllkrug and Gladbach’s Marcus Thuram with 9 goals. The club will be without Timo Werner, who suffered ankle ligament damage that will keep him sidelined until next year. Also on Saturday, Bochum will look to get out of the relegation zone when they travel to nearby Dortmund. Bochum have won just twice all season, and have lost 7 away matches in a row. Dortmund, conversely, are unbeaten in their last 4 home matches. The club is anticipating the return of captain Marco Reus, who was out with an ankle problem. Reus has scored against 17 of the 18 current Bundesliga clubs – Bochum is the only exception. Looking ahead to Sunday, Freiburg will host Köln in the weekend’s final contest. The hosts are in third place after 12 matches, just 2 points behind league leaders Union Berlin, and have lost just twice this term: to Bayern and to Dortmund. While Köln are in the middle of the table, they are just 2 points adrift of the top 6 clubs. The Billy Goats collected 4 points from Freiburg last season, but it’s been almost 20 years since they completed 3 Bundesliga matches undefeated against Die Breisgauer. Freiburg’s 24 points at this stage of a season is a club record, and only Eintracht Frankfurt have scored more goals from set pieces (9) than Freiburg’s 8.

By Rich

​A single goal late in the match gave hosts SV Werder Bremen a victory on Friday over visitors Hertha Berlin. It was Bremen’s Niclas Füllkrug, the league’s top scorer, who found the net in the 85th minute, ending his club’s 2-game winless streak. The win was Bremen’s second home win of the season, and their first clean sheet at home since May 2021. The biggest match on Saturday will likely be the late game between hosts Eintracht Frankfurt and visitors Borussia Dortmund, who are separated by just 1 point in the top half of the table. The hosts have picked up more points (12) than any other Bundesliga team in their last 5 outings, and last week’s 3:1 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach drove them into the table’s 4th spot. The club is also coming off a 2:1 UEFA Champions League win over Marseille on Tuesday. Their opponents are coming off a midweek draw with Champions League opponents Manchester City, which extended their unbeaten streak to 3 matches in all competitions. Dortmund striker Anthony Modeste is in line to make his 200th Bundesliga appearance, while captain Marco Reus is still doubtful following an ankle problem. Dortmund have defeated Frankfurt more often (47 times) than they have beaten any other Bundesliga team, and Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner has lost all 6 games his teams have contested against Dortmund. The positions at the top of the table will not be settled until Sunday, however, when Union Berlin host Gladbach and Freiburg travel to Gelsenkirchen. Union Berlin forward Sheraldo Becker is surely keen to end a 4-game Bundesliga goal drought, and his odds of doing so are even higher in the absence of Gladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer. Union were shocked by a 2:1 loss last weekend at Bochum, but remain 1 point clear of Bayern at the top of the table, depending on the outcome of Saturday’s Bayern - Mainz match. Union are on an 11-game unbeaten streak at home, while Gladbach are winless in their last 3 competitive games. Freiburg are currently 3rd in the league, only 2 points behind Union, and are coming off a 1:1 draw in the UEFA Europa League against Olympiacos. Schalke’s new coach, Thomas Reis, is meanwhile looking for a first win, and his club has only picked up 1 win since their return to the top flight this season. Reis has, however, lost 3 of the 4 games he has overseen against Freiburg while overseeing a club. Freiburg have won more Bundesliga games against Schalke (17) than against any other top-flight team..