By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GettyImages.
After Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s dominant display against Bayern München took them five points clear at the top, Xabi Alonso’s side are now clear favourites to win a first-ever Bundesliga title.
But there’s still a long way to go this season, and Bayern have proved many times down the years that they can never be written off.
As well as stretching their advantage at the summit, it also extended their unbeaten record in 2023-24 to 31 matches in all competitions. Should Die Werkself made it 32 this matchday, they will equal the longest undefeated streak by a German club, set by Hansi Flick’s treble winners at Bayern.
Leverkusen’s opponents on Saturday, though, are the more than plucky FC Heidenheim 1846. Frank Schmidt’s top-flight debutants are themselves without defeat in eight Bundesliga games and have turned the 15,000-capacity VoithArena – the Bundesliga’s smallest ground – into a fortress as they’ve moved into the top half of the table.
Heidenheim achieving what 31 teams have tried and so far failed to do would obviously be a huge boost to Bayern after their disappointment of last week. The defending champions will look to bounce back as they visit relegation-threatened VfL Bochum 1848 on Sunday, fresh from returning to UEFA Champions League action away at Lazio on Wednesday.
The day before that saw RB Leipzig kick-off the European knockout stages at home to Real Madrid. Marco Rose’s side have fallen three points off the top four after being held to a draw at FC Augsburg but now boast a new front two that is clicking in Loïs Openda and Benjamin Šeško, who have both scored in each of the last three Bundesliga outings. Can they make it four in a row when Borussia Mönchengladbach visit the Red Bull Arena in Saturday’s Topspiel?
The team now occupying fourth spot is Borussia Dortmund after the combination of Niclas Füllkrug and Donyell Malen eased them past SC Freiburg. BVB next go to VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday afternoon, who are without a win in six.
At the same time, VfB Stuttgart, who have cemented their position in third after yet another Deniz Undav-inspired win and also have Serhou Guirassy – still second in the Bundesliga scoring chart with 17 goals – to add to the mix, visit SV Darmstadt 98. The Lilies are bottom of the standings and without a victory since October.
Level with them on 12 points at the foot of the table are 1. FSV Mainz 05. They dismissed coach Jan Siewert after only 12 games in charge following their defeat in Stuttgart. Bo Henriksen, appointed as Siewert’s successor on 13 February, will be in charge at Saturday’s visit of mid-table Augsburg as the 05ers look for fresh impetus in order to make up some of the four-point deficit on 1. FC Köln. However, the gap could be as big as seven by that time after the Billy Goats kick off the weekend’s action at home to SV Werder Bremen.
FC Union Berlin have put a bit of daylight between themselves and the bottom three after picking up eight points from six games this year. They visit a TSG Hoffenheim side that is unbeaten in three but also winless in seven.
Sunday’s early fixture features two teams in European play-off action on Thursday. Freiburg, who visit French side RC Lens in the UEFA Europa League, play host at the Europa-Park Stadion to Eintracht Frankfurt, who were in Belgium for their UEFA Europa Conference League first leg against Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.