There are two top games in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Record champions Bayern meet SC Freiburg away in the afternoon, currently fifth in the Bundesliga. Dortmund has to play RB Leipzig at home in the evening.
Six points separate the FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund currently in the table of Bundesliga. The record champions have the lead on their side, but of course they’re not quite through as far as the championship is concerned. The direct duel is still pending and there is definitely potential for a blunder on Saturday as well. Because the opponent of FC Bayern, who presents at 3:30 p.m., is called SC Freiburg. Bayern had a hard time in the first leg, and there have been some tricky games against this opponent in recent years.
If the record champions made a mistake, BVB would have the chance to get closer again. The game against RB Leipzig can also be described as a top game and in recent years Dortmund has often looked good against this opponent, especially at home. So Saturday definitely has the potential to bring about a change in the table in terms of the gap between the top two teams. In any case, it is clear beforehand that both have to go to their limits in order to defeat their respective opponents.
Dortmund wins and takes advantage of Bayern’s blunder
Almost full squad, return of long-term absences Alphonso Davies and Leon Goretzka, all coupled with quite convincing performances in the past international break and the attractive task of Villarreal next week. At FC Bayern there was every reason for a spirit of optimism at the beginning of April.
Alone, that was often the case in the current season. Whenever it was a question of distancing oneself from the closest pursuer in the table, or leaving it behind for good, he too made a mess FC Bayern. At the beginning of October there was a 1-2 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt, allowing Bayer Leverkusen to draw level on points. A good month and a half later they could have been seven points ahead of Borussia Dortmund, but lost again in Augsburg 1:2. When Robert Lewandowski gave Munich a virtual twelve-point lead in Bochum, they imploded within six minutes and were 4-1 behind at the break. After the two draws against Leverkusen (1-1) and in Sinsheim (1-1), nine points were reduced to four.
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A title race, which could have been decided at this point, maybe even had to, remained exciting to some extent. Borussia Dortmund didn’t do everything right this season, but they did it at the right times: in Frankfurt (3-2), Sinsheim (3-2), against Bielefeld (1-0) or in Mainz (1-0) .
The coming matchday promises to be one again. The record champion was able to play two of the last three games in Freiburg not to win. It was 1-1 in 2018/19 and 2-2 last season. Even with the only win in this period, the 3-1 at the end of 2019, the decision was only made in injury time. The sports club has not necessarily deteriorated since then, recently wrestling RB Leipzig – despite 120 cup minutes during the week – a 1-1.
In addition, Leipzig’s record against the two alpha animals in the Bundesliga is still extremely manageable. Of 26 games across all competitions, you could only win four, with 15 defeats. Haaland was injured in a duel with RB last season, but Dortmund still won 3-2.
So it would certainly fit into the course of the season so far if there were only four – or even three – points between FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund on Saturday evening.
Bayern submits and benefits from Dortmund slip-up
Of course the task in Freiburg, with a very stable, balanced team in Freiburg, will be a very difficult one for the record champions. But there are some aspects that suggest that the favorite will prevail. Coach’s team has improved in recent weeks Julian Nagelsman noticeably. Services improved and problems were gradually eliminated. It was no longer possible to speak of a pile of chickens on the defensive, even if mistakes were still made. It seems as if the slack of the industry leader has been shelved.
In addition, there was now a break that FC Bayern was able to use extremely well. Joshua Kimmich stayed in Munich and did not travel to the DFB team, Benjamin Pavard was able to train fully after suffering from Corona, Niklas Süle is on the way back to squad fitness after his muscle fiber tear, Leon Goretzkaalready in the squad before the break, got the last percentage points to be used and himself Alphonso Davies is back after a protracted myocarditis. Almost all of these players can be used in Freiburg.
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That gives a boost that the league leaders will use. It will be a narrow win in Freiburg, like in the first leg, but it will be enough. Dortmund is different. Here, too, there is one or the other positive personal message, but goalscorers Erling Haaland came back from the international matches already exhausted, will very probably not be able to play or at least not over the full distance. That limits Dortmund a bit on the offensive, especially since Leipzig is a very difficult team to play on.
Of course, this has a significant impact Domenico Tedesco, the new coach. Under him, RB found the right balance and defended more disciplined and compact. That’s a big advantage, especially considering that Leipzig likes to concede a few goals in Dortmund. Whether it will be enough for a win at BVB remains to be seen. A draw is definitely possible due to the constellation – then the gap between FC Bayern and BVB would have increased again to eight points.
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