26th matchday
Robert Lewandowski scored for Bayern during the week in the Champions League against Lazio Rome.
© Sven Hoppe
Bielefeld and Leipzig open the 26th Bundesliga matchday on Friday evening. Like leaders Bayern Munich, the Saxons are in a good position for the Champions League – in the battle for the other places there are interesting long-distance duels at the weekend.
Berlin (dpa) – Will Robert Lewandowski meet again in the Bundesliga? Who will score in the fight for the Champions League places? And who will hold their own in the duel between the crisis clubs between the bottom line Schalke and Mönchengladbach? But other issues are also controversial around the 26th Bundesliga matchday.
ENGLAND LEGIONAIRS CAN ARRIVE: National coach Joachim Löw can plan with his England quintet. For Ilkay Gündogan, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Antonio Rüdiger and Bernd Leno, the health department referred to a special permit for people coming from Great Britain to work. The Icelandic professionals playing in England, who will be opponents of the German national team in Duisburg on March 25, can also enter.
However, the approval of the authorities is tied to extremely strict additional requirements imposed by the German Football Association (DFB). So there has to be a «work quarantine» after entry from England. Outside of the actual game, training and team meetings, the players concerned are not allowed to have any contact with other people. On March 31st, the Löw team will meet North Macedonia again in Duisburg. Before that, the game against Romania is on March 28 in Bucharest.
TORJÄGER IN THE HIGH FLIGHT: Robert Lewandowski’s goal counting continues. After the world footballer has drawn level with Klaus Fischer with his 268th Bundesliga goal, Gerd Müller’s 40-goal record continues this season. Bayern striker Lewandowski currently has 32 hits on the account, VfB Stuttgart is the next opponent on Saturday. In the Champions League, the Pole was still hungry for goals in the 2-1 win against Lazio. He scored a total of 39 competitive goals in 35 games this season.
CRISIS CLUBS IN COMPARISON: Schalke and Mönchengladbach duel in crisis mode. The Revierclub has already started planning the second division after just ten points in 25 games. That is why there was recently more talk about the possible signing of Ralf Rangnick than about the game. That could be an advantage for the guests. If there was another setback, Gladbach coach Marco Rose would set Wolf Werner’s club record with eight competitive defeats in a row from 1989. In addition, the announcement by sports director Max Eberl that he would definitely end the season with Rose, who would move to Dortmund in the summer, would also be subjected to a stress test.
CL-CANDIDATES IN THE FERNDUELL: The fight for the Champions League places remains exciting – also or precisely because defending champions Bayern Munich (58 points) and RB Leipzig (54) have already escaped the pursuers. Fernduellen is about important points on this match day for a place in the premier class: VfL Wolfsburg (3rd / 48 points) must compete at Werder Bremen. The equally ambitious Frankfurter Eintracht (4th / 44th) welcomes 1. FC Union Berlin. Champions League quarter-finalist Borussia Dortmund (5./42) wants to score points at 1. FC Köln, which is in danger of relegation, and not let Bayer Leverkusen (6./40) – who will be visiting Hertha BSC in Berlin on Sunday – overtake them.
DEBATE ABOUT TRAINER: On the Rhine, the coach chairs wobble. In addition to the Cologne football teacher Markus Gisdol, his Leverkusen colleague Peter Bosz also has to worry about his job. After only one point out of five games, the FC is threatened with a fall into the relegation zone if they lose again against the recently up-and-coming BVB – and Gisdol a louder discussion about his future. For Bosz, the mandate from the top of the club to qualify for the Champions League with Bayer could be difficult to achieve in the event of another setback in the duel at Hertha BSC.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210318-99-880199 / 2
–
