Foto: © imago images / Passion2Press
For Bundesliga professionals, it’s about their regular place every week. But sometimes the matter is clear – and sometimes there is an open duel or even three fights! In Leipzig, Munich, Frankfurt and Berlin, the duel is about the first eleven!
Leipzig’s offensive quartet: who will complement the centre-forward?
RB Leipzig has a lot of quality to offer in the offensive positions. While Andre Silva is placed in front of Yussuf Poulsen as a center forward, the personnel situation for the rest of the offensive is a bit shaky. Christopher Nkunku should play relatively safely here. With 19 points (10 goals, 9 assists), Nkunku was the offensive surprise of the first half of the season. He will play!
Three players are currently fighting for second place: Dani Olmo, Emil Forsberg and Dominik Szoboszlai. Most recently, Olmo had his noses when it came to the record champions. But Szoboszlai has also put in some strong performances this season while Olmo was still injured. Olmo isn’t scoring well at Comunio this season, but his 131 points from last season shows where he’s headed if he finds his form again!
What is exciting here is that Kevin Kampl was initially substituted against Bayern when Dominik Szoboszlai came on. For this, Olmo moved back a row. So there is also the possibility that two of the three offensive players will play. While Forsberg will be a bit behind, the regular place duel between Szoboszlai and Olmo is hot – but the Spaniard seems to be just ahead.
Union Berlin on the matter after the Kruse replacement
Kruse replacement? He came from Paderborn! That’s right – Union Berlin have signed Paderborn’s Sven Michel in direct response to the departure of Max Kruse. However, it does not look as if he would be a starting eleven candidate right away. With Andreas Voglsammer, the summer newcomer from Bielefeld was initially given preference and should have the edge for the time being.
However, Sven Michel now has the best chance of profiting from Voglsammer’s corona disease, because this will make his competitor miss the game against Dortmund. Michel now has to deliver against Dortmund.
It would also be possible for Sheraldo Becker to move up a row from midfield, but since the direct reaction to Kruse’s departure was not called Becker, it can be assumed that he will play a little more defensively for the time being. In the long term, however, he could also be involved at the front again – especially if winter newcomer Andras Schäfer is pushing for second midfield place.
Frankfurt’s right side: Chandler, da Costa or Knauff?
Frankfurt’s right-back has become an inconstant for years. That didn’t change after the change of coach last summer. Danny da Costa brought the last consistently good performances – but in the 2018/19 season. Even today, Costa would still be a candidate for the right wing. He flashed his 18/19 performances against Leverkusen, but seemed insecure in the following game against Gladbach. If he can bite into it, he might get his chance again – but at the moment he also seems to be a candidate for central defence.
Competitor Timothy Chandler impresses above all with experience and consistency. He rarely has outliers to the top. You don’t expect big football highlights here. But he plays with a consistency that his opponents have not been able to prove so far. With this quality, he is currently the first choice and will probably be in the starting eleven next weekend. The other trained right-backs Almamy Toure and Erik Durm do not appear to play a role in the starting XI.
But winter newcomer Ansgar Knauff could be exciting! The loan player from Dortmund impresses above all with his pace. Similar to the first choice on the left – Filip Kostic – Knauff is an offensive player and is therefore more often involved in attacks than his opponents in the duel on the regular pitch. The winger is on loan for 1.5 years so Eintracht will be keen to give him match practice if possible. Bets on changes are almost guaranteed.
Munich: Ex-Leipziger competes with Bald-Dortmunder
After the announced departure of Niklas Süle, the question at Bayern arises: To what extent do you still want to build on him when he no longer builds on the club? Coach Julian Nagelsmann has a clear attitude: “We all have to be aware that the player can also play until June 30th. gets money from us and we should make use of his qualities. And I also expect that his character fulfills the obligation to throw everything in and to have this absolute greed until the last day that we are successful and win the titles.” But who is playing now – the past or the future?
Because Dayot Upamecano should organize the defensive chain in the long term and shape Bayern’s build-up game, but this season he was conspicuous by his high error rate. However, his qualities in general are undisputed and he showed at Leipzig that he has what it takes. While Nagelsmann will definitely keep an eye on not letting Upamecano fall completely, Süle should be given preference at the moment – and also in the duel with VfL Bochum at the weekend.
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