Bundesliga Preview Matchday 29

Augsburg v Köln

A defeat against Hertha Berlin in their last game means the pressure has been piled on to Augsburg in their next home game. Ingolstadt came from behind to win 3-2 at home to Darmstadt, which meant that Ingolstadt move to just 1 point off the relegation play-off place which Augsburg currently occupy.

Köln, on the other hand, lost the Rhine derby last matchday, thanks to a late goal from Lars Stindl in the 81st minute, despite Köln leveling from behind twice during the game, in a 3-2 defeat.

What can we expect to see this week? I think with the backing of their own fans and in their own back garden, Augsburg will be very up for this game to help distance themselves between the automatic relegation spots. But, Köln lost a lot of ground in the standings to

Mönchengladbach, who are fighting to qualify for the Europa league places after a terrible start to the season. I feel a 1-1 draw and a point would be a fair result for this fixture and one point could be huge at the end of the season for Augsburg if they’re to survive.

Mainz v Hertha Berlin

Mainz have also been pulled right into the relegation mixer, along with Augsburg, after a poor run of form since their magical away win at Leverkusen. It will be interesting to see what happens in this affair when they face a Hertha side that has lost every league away game they’ve played in 2017.

Hertha Berlin come into this game after bouncing back from their latest home to defeat to Hoffenheim on Matchday 26, with a 2-0 home win against Augsburg. A sporadic goal from John Anthony Brooks gave Hertha the lead, with Valentin Stocker doubling their lead in the first half to give Hertha the win.

For this game, I can see a Mainz win as they have been unlucky in recent games such as against RB Leipzig. I feel a 2-1 win for Mainz is a justifiable result to help them cement their place in the Bundesliga next season.

Wolfsburg v Ingolstadt

Wolfsburg have now suffered back to back defeats after their heavy 4-1 away defeat to Schalke last time out. Wolfsburg are currently sat in 14th position at the moment and are only floating 2 points outside the relegation zone, which is still crazy for a side that has spent a lot of money and had a change of management halfway through the season, especially for a club with a high reputation like Wolfsburg.

Ingolstadt on the other hand, have won their last 3 games on the bounce and showed great resilience last time out against Darmstadt after coming from 2-1 down to win 3-2, giving themselves a glimmer of hope for survival.

This game should be one with lots of twists and turns, and I can see this being very entertaining from two very attacking sides. I will even go as far to say as I believe that Ingolstadt have the momentum to carry themselves to survival and will win the game 2-1.

Hoffenheim v Mönchengladbach

Hoffenheim have a formidable home record this season all thanks to the manager of the year Julian Nagelsmann, which has even included an unlikely victory against Bayern Munich. Nagelsmann deserves a lot of credit for the job he has done at Hoffenheim, having taken them from being relegation contenders to like Champions League challengers in the space of just over a year.

Mönchengladbach are in a fine run of form at the moment, with no team taking more points in the second half of the season, and a victory in the Rhine derby means that they are full of confidence at the moment, so this could be a huge factor in deciding whether they have enough momentum to take them into the European spots at the end of the season.

For this game, I think that a 3-1 win in favour of Hoffenheim would be a fair result, as Hoffenheim are too solid at home to fall to a defeat and I can see Mönchengladbach suffering a defeat that has been long overdue to really test their credentials on how much they want the Europa league.

Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt

It’s been a difficult week for Borussia Dortmund. They were on the end of a very heavy defeat to Bayern Munich last weekend and a 3-2 defeat in the champions league against Monaco to dent their hopes of making the semi-finals plus, the bomb that attacked the team bus on Tuesday.

Eintracht Frankfurt have fallen down the table big time and are without a win since the start of February but, kudos to them, as they fought back from 2-0 down at home to Werder Bremen to snatch a 2-2 draw. But, they have slipped to 9th place, with Niko Kovac wondering where it all went wrong.

For this game it can only be a Dortmund win but, after the recent attack on them, it all depends on how shaken the Dortmund side is now, I predict a 4-0 win to really to give them confidence ahead of the tie.

RB Leipzig v Freiburg

Leipzig are still fit and firing at the moment but, look like they’ll have to settle for 2nd place this season and mount a better challenge for the title next campaign, especially once they’ve been allowed to make transfers too and bring in some big names. However, Leipzig always look way too open for me and I feel that this is what let’s them down, the same problem they had when they faced Hamburg at home.

Freiburg, on the other hand, managed to snatch a solid 1-0 win against Mainz at home last time out to put them in 6th place and the European places, which means that both promoted sides are currently sitting in European spots.

For this game, I predict nothing but a Leipzig win to extend their formidable home record against a high flying Freiburg side but, despite this, the likes of Yussuf Poulsen and Naby Keita should come good again for Leipzig and carry on what has already been an unbelievable season for the east Germany side. I think a 3-1 win is the outcome of this game.

Leverkusen v Bayern

Leverkusen came close to securing a very respectable draw away at Leipzig last time out and are starting to get into their groove under Tayfun Korkut, but still fell short after a dramatic winner 94th minute scored by Yussuf Poulsen. Leverkusen come into matchday 29 against a Bayern side that are close to wrapping up the title once again this season

However, after suffering a blow to their Champions League hopes, following a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid, Bayern heads will be swinging a little low this weekend and this is something that Leverkusen should be looking to take full advantage of.

A tricky one to call in terms of the result as both teams will feel a bit deflated coming into this game but, I think a 2-0 Bayern win will be the case as Bayern look to bounce back ahead of the second leg fixture in Madrid.

Werder Bremen v Hamburg

Werder Bremen are in a fine run of form at the moment and are yet to lose in eight games in the league and have proven all the doubters, who tipped them for relegation this season, wrong.

Hamburg, on the other hand, are still finding their away games a tricky task and Aaron Hunt’s brace last time out against a Hoffenheim side that fell to only their third defeat, so it is a victory that should be applauded by all in the Bundesliga.

I do feel that due to Hamburg’s poor run of form in games away from home that a Bremen win is the most likely result on the cards. Bremen’s last three home games see them scoring eight and conceding none. So I believe a 3-0 win will be the result of this game.

Darmstadt v Schalke

Such a shame for Darmstadt that they can be relegated if results don’t go their way this weekend. They came close to securing their first away points of the season last time out, when they took a trip to Bavaria to play Ingolstadt and were leading up until Almog Cohen managed to equalise and Markus Suttner’s stunning free-kick gave them the lead. Despite Vrancic’s brace, they were unable to pick up any points at all.

Schalke won in their last game, 4-1 against Wolfsburg at home, which took them up to 10th in the table in a very tight spot which could see them drop as low as 12th, or move as high as 8th, depending on the results around them.

A win for Schalke is so important in this game if they’re to have any chance of playing in Europe next season after a defeat away at Ajax this week which means it’s all to play for in Gelsenkirchen next time out if they hope to win the Europa league. I believe a 2-1 win to Schalke is going to happen in a tight affair that will see Darmstadt fighting for their lives to stay in the division.