Soccer Germany Bundesliga 12 March 2023

Schalke vs Dortmund - Match Preview

The 100th Bundesliga Revierderby between Schalke and Borussia Dortmund takes place at the Veltins-Arena, with the hosts hoping to close the slight overall H2H deficit (W32, D30, L37). The margin between these two great Bundesliga clubs has been exacerbated in recent years, with Schalke going winless and scoreless in the last five H2Hs (D1, L4), with that ranking as the longest scoring drought in this fixture for either side.

That record doesn’t bode well for the Royal Blues, who are coincidentally the league’s lowest scorers this season with only 18 goals. Despite this, they’ve seen a real uptick in form recently after winning back-to-back top-flight matches for the first time since November 2019, making Thomas Reis’ men one of two Bundesliga teams to remain unbeaten since the halfway point of the season (W2, D4), resuscitating their survival hopes in the process.

Not to be outdone by their Revierderby rivals, visitors Dortmund are subsequently the other unbeaten team over that time frame, which has contributed to the perfect start to 2023 of eight straight Bundesliga wins. That run of victories ties their longest-ever top-flight winning streak, keeping them right on the tail of league leaders Bayern Munich.

Die Schwarzgelben hit the road here with even more history beckoning, as keeping another clean sheet would see them secure four consecutive away shutouts in the Bundesliga for only the second time. Edin Terzić’s men did experience a reality check in midweek though, with their UEFA Champions League campaign coming to an end after a 2-1 aggregate defeat to Chelsea.

📋 Players to watch: Marius Bülter has been Schalke’s chief destroyer recently having scored in his last two matches, contributing to nine of his last 14 Bundesliga goals coming at home. Dortmund icon Marco Reus has four goal contributions in his last three league matches (G2, A2) and his next goal will see him become Dortmund’s all-time leading scorer in the professional era!

⚡ Hot stat: Dortmund has seen a 0-0 scoreline at half-time in only one of their last 14 away matches.

Freiburg vs Hoffenheim - Match Preview

Freiburg couldn’t handle Juventus in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday (L 1-0) as they suffered the first defeat in six competitive matches (W3, D2), while two successive draws in the Bundesliga have put the brakes on their bid to return to Europe next term. However, they haven’t drawn three consecutive Bundesliga games since February 2019, a run that began after a 4-2 home defeat to Hoffenheim!

They’ll expect a better performance here as they haven’t lost a Bundesliga home game since matchday two (W7, D3), although both teams scored in each of the last five of those fixtures (W3, D2), suggesting both defences could be in for a busy afternoon. That seems even more likely when considering Freiburg scored and conceded in eight of the last nine H2Hs they hosted (W3, D4, L2).

Hoffenheim’s miserable run continues as their 1-0 defeat to Mainz was a club-record 13th consecutive Bundesliga game without a win (D2, L11). Having now lost six league games in a row for the first time since December 2012, losing here would create yet more unwelcome history, on the occasion of their 500th Bundesliga game as they’ve never previously lost seven in a row.

As one of four clubs starting the round on 19 points at the foot of the standings, they desperately need to turn things around, but there is hope as they won this H2H 2-1 last term and their last league win was away from home, albeit against fellow strugglers Schalke. With visiting fans heading to Freiburg’s new stadium for the first time, they’ll hope their presence can give the team a much-needed boost.

📋 Players to watch: Four of Michael Gregoritsch’s last five league goals for Freiburg came before half-time, while nobody’s scored more goals in H2Hs in Freiburg than Hoffenheim’s Andrej Kramarić with none of his four goalscoring outings this term resulting in defeats (W2, D2).

⚡ Hot streak: Hoffenheim has lost all nine league games this term in which they trailed at half-time.