Bundesliga matchday 13 preview: The Revierderby

This week the European journey ended for some German teams. Both Hoffenheim and Hertha lost their games and have no way of progressing with one game to spare. One team that still has a chance to make it into the next round is Köln. After beating Arsenal they are now 2nd and any win in Belgrad would see them through to the next round where they could be joined by Borussia Dortmund who lost 2-1 against Tottenham and now only have the Europa League left to play for.

The first game this week (8.30 on Friday) is a match between two promoted teams – Hannover and Stuttgart. Both have already put a lot of points between them and the relegation zone so it’s not that sort of match between two promoted teams. However, Hannover’s form curve has been pointing downwards lately and it looks like they are regressing to their level which is probably mid-table.

Saturday afternoon (5.30) features THE game of the matchday – the one and only Revierderby. And the signs couldn’t be much more different. Schalke are in great form (only Bayern is ahead of them in the table of the last five games and in the actual table) and Dortmund have forgot how to win or how to defend. Dortmund have conceded more goals in the last four Bundesliga matches (11) than Schalke have in the whole season (10). Schalke’s head coach Domenico Tedesco is receiving plaudits from everywhere – Dortmund’s head coach Peter Bosz is receiving criticism from everywhere. Should Schalke win in Dortmund – something they haven’t done since 2012 – this could be the sort of game that gets mentioned in a few years when it comes to the game which showed everyone that Schalke has to be on everyone’s radars. The Revierderby overshadows everything but there are four more games: Leipzig are visited by Bremen, Mainz travel to Freiburg, Frankfurt host Leverkusen and last but not least Augsburg and Wolfsburg try to get further away from the relegation zone.

If you’re still in for some Bundesliga football after watching the Revierderby you can watch the league leaders Bayern pay a visit to the Borussia-Park in Mönchengladbach (6.30). Gladbach have traditionally been a bogey team for Bayern and no matter the form Bayern were in, Gladbach usually prove to be a hard test. This game also marks Jupp Heynckes’ return to his birth town and old club and a big chance to run away with the league by beating another top four team.

Sunday starts (3.30) with a match between Hamburg and Hoffenheim. Hamburg are still in deep deep trouble with only two points away from the relegation zone but Hoffenheim’s fom curve hasn’t been great since the rumours about Wagner and Nagelsmann broke loose. The away trip to Hamburg sounds like the best way to bounce back from all of this and from being eliminated in Europe but this game is not going to be as easy as it sounds.

The matchday gets wrapped up (6.00) with Köln’s 13th try to win a Bundesliga match.Spirits are high after the win against Arsenal but Hertha is no easy opponent and Köln were absolutely atrocious after their last win in the Europa League and they are now at the point where 1.5 points per match would not be enough to stay up anymore so they need to start a run right now.