By Lehlohonolo Lehana
With just six rounds of fixtures left,the 2020–21 Bundesliga season is approaching its climax–but there is still a lot to play for. With another action packed weekend, competition remains fierce for the top spot, Champions League places and battle to avoid relegation.
The action kicks off on Friday with second place RB Leipzig looking to close the gap on league leaders FC Bayern München to just two points. Standing in Julian Nagelsmann’s way is his former side TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. A win for TSG will be a big step to avoiding an end–of–season relegation battle, so both teams clearly have a lot at stake.
The league leaders must wait until Saturday afternoon to respond as Hansi Flick’s side travel to the Volkswagen Arena to face VfL Wolfsburg,one of only three sides unbeaten at home in the Bundesliga this season. The Wolves, however, will be looking to avenge themselves, fresh off the back of a thrilling4–3 defeat at the hands of Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend.
With Robert Lewandowski still sidelined, Bayern will be looking to utilise their other options to try and unlock the league’s second–best defence. Wout Weghorst, however,will be keen to extend what is already a personal–best,single–season scoring record,hitting 18 goals so far in the Bundesliga.
Elsewhere, the match at Borussia–Park between Borussia Mönchengladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt has become must–watch action. This follows the announcement earlier this week that Die Adler’shead coach Adi Hütter, will take the reigns at the Foals at the end of this season. In one of his final games as Frankfurt coach, Hütter will be hoping to show his value to his new team ahead of his move in the summer.
Three more games take place on Saturday afternoon with potentially massive consequences in the relegation battle. SC Freiburg welcome FC Schalke 04 to the Black Forest with the Royal Blues knowing they must win all their remaining games this season to stand any chance of survival, as they look to claw back a 13–point deficit at the bottom of the table.
With just one point between 1.FC Union Berlin and VfB Stuttgart, the two sides will be battling it out to secure European football next season. Additionally, FC Augsburg host DSC Arminia Bielefeld,with the away side sitting in the relegation play–off spot and looking secure a well needed three points.
Saturday evening’s Topspiel comes from the Bay Arena where local rivals Bayer 04 Leverkusen and 1.FC Köln will meet to go head–to–head not just for three points,but also bragging rights. Leverkusen’s form has seen them drop out of the top four in recent weeks, while Köln are sandwiched between Schalke and Bielefeld at the bottom of the table.
Sunday’s double–header is another unmissable day of games with Borussia Dortmund chasing UEFA Champions League qualification against SV Werder Bremen, pitting USMNT stars Gio Reyna and Josh Sargent against one another. Later, 1.FSV Mainz 05 and Hertha Berlin meet in a relegation six–pointer,with the Old Lady level on points with Köln in the relegation play–off spot, and Mainz just two ahead of them.
