By Rich
Bundesliga competition resumes on Saturday following the short winter break. Union Berlin will travel to Bremen, but will be without the services of standout striker Max Kruse, who is sidelined with a thigh injury. Kruse’s 6 goals and 5 assists lifted the club to 6th place going into the winter break, and the club managed to beat Borussia Dortmund and draw with Bayern München in December. Only Bayern and Bayer Leverkusen have scored more goals so far this season than Union Berlin, and a league-high 9 of the club’s 27 goals have come from headers. Kruse will be replaced by Liverpool loanee Taiwo Awoniyi, who has scored 4 goals in 6 games, and will be assisted by Christopher Trimmel (6 assists) and Marvin Friedrich (4 goals). At the other end of the table, Union Berlin’s chief rival, Hertha Berlin, will host FC Schalke 04. Hertha is now within 3 points of the relegation play-off slot, thanks to a 4:1 loss against Freiburg, and are now winless in 4 matches. Captain Dedryck Boyata was injured in the match with Freiburg, but the club is looking forward to the eventual return of striker Jhon Cordoba, who has been out for 6 contests with an injury. Schalke are now 29 league games without a win and since their last victory on January 17, 2020, have been through 3 different head coaches. Christian Gross has now assumed those duties for the Royal Blues, although he last coached in the Bundesliga for VfB Stuttgart in 2009. Later on Saturday, look for a close contest when Stuttgart host Leipzig. Although Stuttgart trail Leipzig by 10 points in the table, the club has benefited from 7 goals by Silas Wamangituka, and from 4 goals and 1 assist from Argentine international Nico Gonzalez. Stuttgart finished last season in the second spot in the 2. Bundesliga and have managed to climb into 7th place in the 1. Bundesliga this season, which is their most successful start since winning the league back in the 2006/7 season. Leipzig, for their part, have conceded a league-low of just 9 goals in 13 matches so far this season, and are just 2 points behind Bayern in the standings. Leipzig have never lost to a newly promoted club, and have had the youngest average age in the league for 4 consecutive seasons. An equally competitive contest comes on Sunday, when Dortmund host Wolfsburg. The 2 clubs occupy the 4th and 5th spots in the table. Dortmund will welcome back striker Erling Haaland from a torn hamstring, and he will face off against Wolfsburg’s Wout Weghorst, who has scored 9 goals this season, although he is without a goal in successive Bundesliga matches for the first time in 2020/1. The top spot on the table, though, will have to await the outcome of the weekend’s last match on Sunday, when Bayern host Mainz.
Bundesliga competition resumes on Saturday following the short winter break. Union Berlin will travel to Bremen, but will be without the services of standout striker Max Kruse, who is sidelined with a thigh injury. Kruse’s 6 goals and 5 assists lifted the club to 6th place going into the winter break, and the club managed to beat Borussia Dortmund and draw with Bayern München in December. Only Bayern and Bayer Leverkusen have scored more goals so far this season than Union Berlin, and a league-high 9 of the club’s 27 goals have come from headers. Kruse will be replaced by Liverpool loanee Taiwo Awoniyi, who has scored 4 goals in 6 games, and will be assisted by Christopher Trimmel (6 assists) and Marvin Friedrich (4 goals). At the other end of the table, Union Berlin’s chief rival, Hertha Berlin, will host FC Schalke 04. Hertha is now within 3 points of the relegation play-off slot, thanks to a 4:1 loss against Freiburg, and are now winless in 4 matches. Captain Dedryck Boyata was injured in the match with Freiburg, but the club is looking forward to the eventual return of striker Jhon Cordoba, who has been out for 6 contests with an injury. Schalke are now 29 league games without a win and since their last victory on January 17, 2020, have been through 3 different head coaches. Christian Gross has now assumed those duties for the Royal Blues, although he last coached in the Bundesliga for VfB Stuttgart in 2009. Later on Saturday, look for a close contest when Stuttgart host Leipzig. Although Stuttgart trail Leipzig by 10 points in the table, the club has benefited from 7 goals by Silas Wamangituka, and from 4 goals and 1 assist from Argentine international Nico Gonzalez. Stuttgart finished last season in the second spot in the 2. Bundesliga and have managed to climb into 7th place in the 1. Bundesliga this season, which is their most successful start since winning the league back in the 2006/7 season. Leipzig, for their part, have conceded a league-low of just 9 goals in 13 matches so far this season, and are just 2 points behind Bayern in the standings. Leipzig have never lost to a newly promoted club, and have had the youngest average age in the league for 4 consecutive seasons. An equally competitive contest comes on Sunday, when Dortmund host Wolfsburg. The 2 clubs occupy the 4th and 5th spots in the table. Dortmund will welcome back striker Erling Haaland from a torn hamstring, and he will face off against Wolfsburg’s Wout Weghorst, who has scored 9 goals this season, although he is without a goal in successive Bundesliga matches for the first time in 2020/1. The top spot on the table, though, will have to await the outcome of the weekend’s last match on Sunday, when Bayern host Mainz.
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