By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
After two matchdays without a single home win in the Bundesliga, can any team buck the trend as the battles for European qualification and top-flight survival hot up with some key fixtures on Matchday 26?
The likes of FC Bayern München, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund were all beaten on their own patch last weekend – the first time in Bundesliga history that all three lost at home on the same matchday. As a result, there was no movement at the summit, with the gap between Bayern and Leverkusen staying at eight points.
Both are on their travels again this weekend on the back of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg against each other on Tuesday. The Bavarians head to the capital looking to put their 3-2 defeat to VfL Bochum 1848 behind them and take a step closer to regaining the Meisterschale as we go into the final nine games.
Their opponents, 1. FC Union Berlin, boosted their survival hopes by triumphing 2-1 over Eintracht Frankfurt – one of five away Bundesliga victories this past weekend. The Eisernen, though, have not picked up all three points at the Stadion an der Alten Försterei in any of their past three matches, even though their home ground has previously been a fortress.
Meanwhile, Leverkusen suffered only their second loss at home in the Bundesliga since May 2023 as a much changed side went down 2-0 against SV Werder Bremen. Xabi Alonso’s team also lost Florian Wirtz to an ankle injury for the coming weeks. The defending champions now put their 29-game unbeaten away run in the German top flight on the line with a Sunday evening trip to VfB Stuttgart.
Sebastian Hoeneß’s Swabians have produced some thrilling encounters with Leverkusen over the past two seasons, even finishing runners-up behind the Bundesliga’s Invincibles in 2023-24. This season has been much tougher for them, though. They were held to a 2 – 2 draw at Holstein Kiel last time out, albeit after being reduced to 10 men at the start of the second half, meaning they are five points adrift of the top four and have not won on any of their past four outings.
‘Dortmund travel to RB Leipzig on Saturday evening as they continue their quest for European qualification. Die Schwarzgelben were also on the losing side in familiar surroundings against FC Augsburg in their previous fixture to leave Niko Kovač’s men in the bottom half of the table and seven points shy of fourth.
Fellow Champions League hopefuls Leipzig, on the other hand, played out a goalless draw at SC Freiburg, making it four consecutive games without a Bundesliga win. With both sides currently at risk of missing out on their European goals, neither can afford to drop more points, which should make this a mouth-watering contest.
Earlier on Saturday, 1. FSV Mainz 05 host Freiburg in another intriguing battle towards the top of the table. The third-placed 05ers have been the Bundesliga’s surprise package this campaign as they go in search of a maiden participation in Europe’s premier club competition. Nevertheless, in Julian Schuster’s Freiburg, they host a team just three points behind them in the table and who are still in the hunt themselves on the back of six straight clean sheets.
On Sunday, Frankfurt travel to Bochum in a bid to recover from their disappointing domestic run. Die Adler have prevailed in just two of their past eight matches to drop down to fourth in the table, having previously looked comfortable behind FC Bayern and Bayer 04, and they will need to be at their best to get the better of a Bochum outfit that has edged past Dortmund and the league leaders in recent weeks.
Kicking off the action on Friday are St. Pauli, who host TSG Hoffenheim. The two teams areseparated by just four points in the table, with relegation still a realistic possibility for both. Still, the visitors may have the psychological edge following a four-match unbeaten streak.
Elsewhere, Borussia Mönchengladbach make the trip to Bremen on Saturday. The latter’s fantastic result against Leverkusen was just their second win in 11 games in all competitions, while Gladbach were no match for high-flying Mainz at the weekend.
In a real relegation six-pointer, 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 and Holstein Kiel meet at the former’s Voith-Arena on Sunday afternoon. The two teams occupy positions 18th and 17th in the table respectively, giving both the opportunity to put some breathing space between them.
Finally, Augsburg host VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday afternoon. Jess Thorup’s men, now unbeaten in nine, have not conceded in any of their past five Bundesliga matches; but they will have their work cut in keeping out a Wolves attack that has only been outscored by Bayern, Leverkusen and Frankfurt this term.