Soccer Germany Bundesliga Prediction

Freiburg vs Hertha Berlin - Match Preview

⚽ 1 April 2023 - 17:30 GMT +0

Bundesliga action returns to the Europa Park Stadium on the first day of April, but Freiburg certainly isn’t fooling around this season after posting a club-all-time low of five defeats after 25 top-flight rounds (W13, D7, L5). That incredible return sees Christian Streich’s men battling it out for their maiden Champions League appearance, with Streich and the entire coaching team rewarded with contract extensions during the international break.

A major contributing factor to Freiburg’s success this season has been their proficiency from set pieces, with 42% of their 38 goals (16) being scored in dead-ball situations. That’s not to take any credit away from Freiburg’s tenacious defence, who have kept a joint league-high ten clean sheets, which is crucial considering they’re the joint-lowest scorers in the top half!

On the other end of the spectrum is Hertha Berlin, who finds themselves within a five-team raft separated by just five points at the bottom of the table. Sandro Schwarz’s men were plunged into the bottom three thanks to a 3-1 defeat against Hoffenheim before the international break, so they must improve on a rotten H2H record against Freiburg since the beginning of 2019 if they’re to escape in this round (W2, D1, L5).

That appears unlikely when considering Hertha is enduring the longest losing streak of Bundesliga away defeats amongst current top-flight sides, despite getting on the scoresheet in five of their last six league trips (L8). Even so, Schwarz can take heart from the fact his biggest victory as a manager came against Freiburg whilst at Mainz back in 2019.

📋 Players to watch: Ritsu Dōan earned some valuable minutes with Japan during the break and is returning to Freiburg in search of a third straight Bundesliga game for the first time. For the visitors, Hertha’s Dodi Lukébakio grabbed a pair of assists in Belgium’s 3-0 win over Sweden and has also scored in both of his club’s victories in 2023.

⚡ Hot stat: Freiburg is currently enjoying an all-time club record run of 11 consecutive unbeaten Bundesliga home games (W8, D3).

Union Berlin vs Stuttgart - Match Preview

⚽ 1 April 2023 - 17:30 GMT +0

Unlikely title hopefuls Union Berlin entered the international break on a high after ending their five-game competitive winless run with a 2-0 victory over Frankfurt to remain within five points of the leaders. This is just the Iron Ones’ fourth season in the top flight and despite their recent wobbles, their current tally of 48 points eclipses their previous club record points haul at this stage of a top-flight season, which was 38 set back in 2020/21.

Union’s stadium announcer recently described the club as a “little mouse hiding in the corner” for many years as they struggled financially in the early 2000s before their meteoric rise. They’re looking more like the big cats themselves these days, with only league leaders Borussia Dortmund picking up more than their 21 points in 2023 ahead of this round.

In stark contrast, only Hoffenheim have picked up fewer points than rock-bottom Stuttgart’s six since the turn of the year. Another damning reference point to the polarising moments these clubs find themselves in is the fact that only in Stuttgart’s 2018/19 relegation campaign have they had fewer points than their current haul of 20, an almighty fall from grace for the five-time German champions.

A trip to east Berlin is unlikely to soothe any relegation fears either as Stuttgart have never recorded a Bundesliga win over Union (D3, L2). Ending that run on this particular occasion would be rather poignant as this is Bruno Labaddia’s 100th Bundesliga game in charge of Stuttgart, and Union are one of only two sides he can boast a 100% personal win rate against in the Bundesliga (W2).

📋 Players to watch: Union’s Sheraldo Becker earned some valuable minutes with Suriname during the break, and he could prove crucial here as four of his eight goals this season were decisive in victories. Stuttgart’s Chris Führich should be fresh for this as he had no international duties, although both of his goals this season came in 2-1 away defeats.

⚡ Hot streak: Only Bayern Munich (19) can boast a longer unbeaten run of home league games than Union heading into the round (W12, D6).

Wolfsburg vs Augsburg - Match Preview

⚽ 1 April 2023 - 17:30 GMT +0

The international break came at a poor time for Wolfsburg, who had strung together a four-match unbeaten run to close the gap to the European places (W2, D2). Niko Kovač’s men trail the top-six by just two points ahead of the Bundesliga’s return, and closing that gap likely depends on improving their form at the Volkswagen Arena, where they’ve failed to win any of their last four matches (D2, L2) conceding ten goals in the process.

The Wolves have struggled at home all season, collecting just 17 of their 38 points on their turf (W4, D5, L3), a total better than just five other teams in the division before this round. An area they usually excel in is keeping things tight though, with their ten clean sheets the joint-most in the Bundesliga, something they’ll be hoping to continue if they’re to return to the European stage.

Augsburg is likely to be confident of getting a result having avoided defeat in each of their last two H2H meetings with Wolfsburg (W1, D1), although they’re winless in five trips to the Volkswagen Arena (D3, L2). They ended their Bundesliga programme before the international break with a disappointing 1-1 draw with strugglers Schalke, although Enrico Maaßen’s men were clinging onto that result after being reduced to ten men.

Seven points clear of the drop zone ahead of the round thanks mostly to a decent run of home form, Augsburg are subsequently in desperate need of improvement on their travels. They’ve failed to win any of their last eight league road trips (D1, L7), a sequence that includes five consecutive defeats which saw them concede a whopping 17 goals!

📋 Players to watch: Wolfsburg midfielder Yannick Gerhardt has directly contributed to four goals in as many Bundesliga appearances (G2, A2), while Augsburg’s Mërgim Berisha has scored his side’s first goal in each of his seven Bundesliga goalscoring appearances this term.

⚡ Hot stat: Three of the last five H2Hs at the Volkswagen Arena have ended 0-0 (WOL: W2, D3, L0).

Bayern Munich vs Dortmund - Match Preview

⚽ 1 April 2023 - 20:30 GMT +0

A return of just five wins for Bayern Munich from ten Bundesliga games in 2023 simply wasn’t good enough for Julian Nagelsmann to keep the manager’s job beyond the international break. Thomas Tuchel was swiftly appointed as his successor, with the former Borussia Dortmund boss proclaiming that he wants to win “all the titles”, as the Bavarian giants are still in the battle to lift a Bundesliga, Champions League and DfB Pokal treble.

Tuchel showed great respect to his former club and the current league leaders as he stated that “there is no bigger challenge” than beginning his Bayern tenure in Der Klassiker. A winning start is crucial for Tuchel then, as Bayern’s current 52-point haul is their worst return at this stage of a Bundesliga season since they last failed to lift the famous trophy way back in 2011/12!

Of course, it was Dortmund who lifted the Bundesliga title that year and they’ll be hoping to at least maintain their slender lead at the top by making this a baptism of fire for Tuchel, yet they’ve lost each of their last eight Bundesliga trips to the Allianz Arena. Even so, Dortmund boss Edin Terzić has been boosted by the return of key players such as Julian Brandt and Youssoufa Moukoko from injury and will “travel to Munich with confidence and a full squad”.

They’ll need all the confidence they can get against their bitter rivals, and a 6-1 rout of Cologne ahead of the international break was a positive sign. However, it’s difficult to compare Dortmund’s form against the rest of the division as this specific game is always a much tougher proposition, although their solid league record as pre-match betting outsiders hints that they won’t give up a top spot without a fight (W2, D1, L1).

📋 Players to watch: Bayern legend Thomas Müller said that it’s “not nice being the hunters” ahead of this, but he has hunted Dortmund to great success over the years, featuring in a career-high 40 games against them and contributing to 21 goals in the process (G12, A9). Dortmund has their own elder statesman in the form of Marco Reus - he has contributed to six goals across his last four league appearances (G4, A2) and has made 20 goal contributions in 33 personal meetings with Bayern (G12, A8)!

⚡ Hot stat: There’s been an incredible 346 goals scored across the 107 Bundesliga Der Klassiker, that’s 3.28 goals per match on average!