By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Teams will be jostling for position in a number of fascinating match-ups on Matchday 14 as the winter break looms on the horizon in the penultimate weekend of Bundesliga action for 2024.
VfL Wolfsburg are one of the form teams in the league, having gone unbeaten in eight matches in all competitions and winning four in a row in the Bundesliga. Summer strike signing Mohamed Amoura has been particularly impressive in the Wolves’ strong run of form, with five goals and six assists in 11 appearances, while Jonas Wind has matched Amoura’s goal tally with two late strikes securing a dramatic 4-3 win over 1. FSV Mainz 05
last Sunday.
Ralph Hasenhüttl leads his Wolfsburg side into the opening fixture of Matchday 14 on Friday evening fifth in the table, but they face a tough task in extending their good form away at SC Freiburg, who are level on points and seventh in the table.
The dramatic defeat in Wolfsburg last Sunday brought an end to a run of three wins in a row for Mainz. They remain inside the top half of the table in ninth, with their striker Jonathan Burkardt becoming the third man after Harry Kane and Omar Marmoush to reach 10 goals this season.
The 05ers host FC Bayern München on Saturday afternoon in what may prove to be a difficult test for the league leaders, who are without Kane and now also Manuel Neuer due to injury. Jamal Musiala did continue his fine scoring form, however, with two goals in a 4- 2 win over 1. FC Heidenheim 1846.
Should Bayern slip up, the clash between RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday evening would become even more important. Eintracht remain in second place six points behind Bayern heading into the matchday but will be keen to win again after being held 2-2 at home to FC Augsburg on Saturday.
Leipzig, for their part, are hoping a 2-0 win at Holstein Kiel can be a platform for regaining their strong early-season form after going four Bundesliga matches without a win in November. They are fourth in the table coming into the weekend.
Third-place Bayer 04 Leverkusen are targeting a strong end to an incredible year – in which they won their first Bundesliga title and also lifted the DFB Cup – and could make it four Bundesliga wins in a row at Augsburg on Saturday afternoon.
Borussia Dortmund have some catching up to do in the table as they approach the matchday in sixth, but will hope that their excellent home record – they have dropped points only once in seven Bundesliga games at Signal Iduna Park this season – can help them to three more points against TSG Hoffenheim, who are down in 14th after drawing 1-1 with Freiburg last Sunday.
Hoffenheim could be looking nervously over their shoulders by the time the meeting in Dortmund kicks off on Sunday afternoon. FC St. Pauli would have overtaken them by then if they beat SV Werder Bremen in the Saturday evening clash, and a battling performance in a 2-1 defeat at Leverkusen can give the Hamburg outfit confidence.
Heidenheim are three points behind Hoffenheim going into the matchday but have a chance to erase that gap when they host regional rivals VfB Stuttgart – who are fresh off a dramatic 3-2 win over 1. FC Union Berlin – in the first game on Sunday.
Kiel are a further five points behind Heidenheim but face a difficult trip to Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday. VfL Bochum 1848 are the only side below Kiel with just two points taken so far this season – the second-worst start to a season by any team – and have to visit an Union Berlin side that have found real home strength under new coach Bo Svensson.