By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
After a three-week winter break, the Bundesliga returns with a revitalized Bayer Leverkusen, sitting second and four points behind leaders Bayern Munich.
They kick off the 16th matchday on Friday against Borussia Dortmund (6th), who are far from the title race.
Last season, Leverkusen was the dominant force in German football, clinching a double with the league and cup titles. Though they struggled initially to find their rhythm, they have now strung together eight consecutive wins across all competitions, heading into the Christmas break full of confidence that they can replicate their success in the second half of the season.
Vincent Kompany’s side are four points clear at the top, but Leverkusen are one of the most in-form teams in Europe currently as they try to defend their 2023-24 title.
In addition, Saturday sees the return of one of Germany’s classic rivalries, as Borussia Mönchengladbach host Bayern. Though not the super power they were in the 70’s, Gladbach have a great record against Bayern and are themselves on the hunt for a European place.
Looking to take advantage of any slip-ups from the duo above them in the standings will be Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday afternoon. They sit third, nine points off top spot, and travel to FC St. Pauli hoping to return to form after failing to win any of the past five matches in all competitions.
Despite occupying a lowly 14th place, Die Kiezkicker have pushed Bayern, Dortmund and Leverkusen close before eventually losing, and recently beat VfB Stuttgart away from home. Frankfurt, therefore, will need to be at their best to break their recent disappointing streak, with 13-goal Omar Marmoush expected to lead the line.
Leipzig and SV Werder Bremen will start Sunday’s action at the Red Bull Arena. The hosts have had three weeks to mull over that heavy Bayern loss and welcome a Bremen outfit who are sitting pretty in the table in seventh place and trail them by just two points. A Werder win could therefore see Ole Werner’s men climb as high as third, if other results also go their way.
Also flying high, 1. FSV Mainz 05 play struggling VfL Bochum 1848 on their home turf on Saturday afternoon.This has been an impressive campaign for the 05ers so far after climbing to fifth, but Bochum are themselves in desperate need, still rooted to the foot of the table, having picked up their first three-point haul of the campaign at the 15th attempt last time out against 1. FC Heidenheim 1846.
That defeat for Heidenheim left them in 16th place and just two points ahead of the automatic relegation spots, meaning a triumph over 1. FC Union Berlin, also on Saturday, would be greatly appreciated. Die Eisernen begin the year with a new head coach in Steffen Baumgart, who featured for the club as a player, so Heidenheim under the division’s longest-serving coach in Frank Schmidt will need to be wary of any potential new manager bounce.
Amongst the other Saturday afternoon fixtures, SC Freiburg host Holstein Kiel still very much in the hunt for a European place under new boss Julian Schuster. Kiel, meanwhile, are second-bottom and in need of points, fast.
TSG Hoffenheim and VfL Wolfsburg also meet on Saturday, with both teams eager to move up the table. Hoffenheim are currently in the worse predicament, just four points above the bottom three, while the Wolves have lost their last two after an earlier spell of good form and must be careful not to allow any complacency to settle in.
Rounding off the weekend’s action, Stuttgart make the journey to FC Augsburg where they will try to bounce back from the year-ending 1-0 loss to St. Pauli. The return of top scorer Deniz Undav is much-needed, but they face a challenging match-up against the usually resolute Fuggerstädter, who themselves must recover from their 5-1 loss against Kiel before the winter break.