Soccer Germany Bundesliga Prediction

Bayern Munich vs Schalke - Match Preview

⚽ 13 May 2023 - 13:30 GMT +0

After defeating Werder Bremen 2-1 in the previous round, Bayern Munich kept their slender one-point advantage at the top of the Bundesliga intact with just three rounds remaining. This is the tightest title race at this stage of the season since Bayern were level on points with Wolfsburg back in 2008/09 before ultimately failing to lift the Meisterschale, but they’ll hope to hang on for a record-extending 11th-straight Bundesliga crown this time around!

That’s certainly not guaranteed despite the short odds of Bayern doing so, particularly as they have shown vulnerability in their home games against sides ranked 14th or lower, dropping crucial points in two of them (W2, D2). But perhaps Die Roten’s formidable record across their last 21 league games against promoted opponents (W17, D3, L1) could inspire confidence ahead of 15th-placed Schalke’s visit.

The only stain on that imperious record against promoted sides was a defeat to a Bochum team managed by current Schalke boss, Thomas Reis. He’ll be hoping to upset the odds once again as his resurgent Royal Blues clawed their way out of the bottom three with a run of three victories across the past four rounds, the most recent of which, a 3-2 win at Mainz, saw them start the day as rank outsiders.

Their work is far from done as with just five points separating the bottom-four sides ahead of round 32, ending a five-game losing streak at the Allianz Arena may be crucial in strengthening the unlikeliest of great escapes. Recent history indicates it’s hard to see them improving on that H2H record, especially as Schalke have conceded 15 consecutive goals without a reply at this venue!

📋 Players to watch: Serge Gnabry was the scorer of five of those 15 consecutive home H2H goals for Bayern - four of them beyond half-time - and he could hit the net yet again after scoring in back-to-back games ahead of this. Dortmund fans will be uncharacteristically rooting for their Revierderby rivals and in particular their top league scorer Marius Bülter (G11). His goals have contributed to 35% of Schalke’s strikes, a league-high contribution to any team’s total!

⚡ Hot stat: Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel has a lower managerial win rate against Schalke (14%) than against any other Bundesliga side (W2, D7, L5).

Union Berlin vs Freiburg - Match Preview

⚽ 13 May 2023 - 13:30 GMT +0

Despite both losing 1-0 at the weekend, Union Berlin and Freiburg are now guaranteed some kind of European action in 2023/24, but they may not be happy to settle for anything less than an inaugural UEFA Champions League (UCL) appearance to cap off their momentous campaigns. Starting this round level on points (fourth and fifth respectively at the time), this meeting could be decisive in determining which side (if not both) will take one of Germany’s four UCL group stage spots.

Union Berlin has been susceptible to some patchy periods throughout the season - understandably so in their fourth-ever top-flight campaign - and the woes of winning just one of their last five Bundesliga games (W1, D2, L2) are not new. They can probably bank on at least one point courtesy of their unbeaten Bundesliga home record (W9, D6), but flipping their 4-1 loss away to Freiburg in November appears unlikely, having not scored 4+ goals in any of their last 27 league outings.

Despite proudly declaring his players “left it all on the field”, Freiburg manager Christian Streich suffered the bitter taste of defeat at home to Leipzig twice in five days, the first of which (5-1) knocked them out of the DFB-Pokal, whilst the second propelled Leipzig into third place in the standings. After losing all six league contests against the current top-three teams, Freiburg can’t claim to be deserving of anything better than fourth.

But their W16, D8, and L1 Bundesliga record against the remainder of the league should serve them well in this do-or-die affair, particularly when that includes the Bundesliga’s second-longest active undefeated run in away trips (W3, D2). Freiburg’s defending has been the bedrock of their success, and their current streak of 12 league games with no more than one goal conceded will further add to Union’s challenge.

📋 Players to watch: Union’s last league goal came from the right boot of Sheraldo Becker, who has an unbeaten W7, D2 record in all 2022/23 competitions when scoring. Eclipsing that is Freiburg striker Vincenzo Grifo (W9, D2 when scoring in any competition), who blew Union out of the water with a first-half hat-trick in the reverse H2H.

⚡ Hot streak: The visiting side on the day has not scored before half-time in any of the last 21 Bundesliga games involving either team.

Dortmund vs B. Monchengladbach - Match Preview

⚽ 13 May 2023 - 16:30 GMT +0

The rollercoaster that is the 2022/23 Bundesliga title race rumbled along with little drama in the previous round as both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund won to maintain the pecking order for now. Dortmund head coach Edin Terzić will know if they have an opportunity to go back to here by kick-off, with Bayern playing against their rivals Schalke earlier in the afternoon.

Regardless of what happens at the Allianz, Dortmund are aware that they’ll have to pick up maximum points to stay in the race. Luckily for them, Die Schwarzgelben have scored 11 straight goals here without reply as part of their longest competitive home winning streak since way back in 1994 (W10), and that’s not to mention their current nine-game winning run in home encounters with opponents Borussia Mönchengladbach!

Daniel Farke’s Foals appear unlikely to change that rotten form here if their middling results across the past ten rounds are anything to go by (W2, D4, L4). Granted, the latest of those games was a 2-0 victory over another Ruhr side in the form of Bochum, though their season has already faded into obscurity with virtually no chance of European involvement or relegation heading into this round.

Casting further doubt on Gladbach’s chances is the fact that they’re yet to record back-to-back league wins all season. The visitors have made some sort of impact on the title race by defeating the top three sides at home, yet the Foals are yet to taste victory away from home against any side ranked 13th or higher at the end of the last round (D5, L5).

📋 Players to watch: Dortmund’s Donyell Malen has scored seven goals in his last seven league appearances and he is now searching for a sixth successive home league appearance. As for Gladbach, Jonas Hofmann set a new personal record for goal contributions in a Bundesliga campaign with his decisive first-half strike against Bochum last weekend (G10, A8).

⚡ Hot stat: Ahead of the weekend, Dortmund had scored more league goals in the 2023 calendar year (48) than any side in Europe’s big five leagues.