By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@BlackYellow.
Matchday 15 of the 2025-26 Bundesliga season brings with it the final set of fixtures before the winter break, with the table finely poised as teams look to sign off for 2025 on a positive note.
The year’s final weekend gets underway on Friday evening as Borussia Dortmund welcome Borussia Mönchengladbach to the Signal Iduna Park. Dortmund are unbeaten in seven Bundesliga matches and their title-bid has been gathering momentum in recent weeks, but head coach Niko Kovač will have to make do without the services of Jobe Bellingham after his red card in the 1-1 draw at SC
Freiburg last time out.
As for Gladbach, they arrive keen to disrupt their hosts’ rhythm and close out a difficult year with three more points of their own as the Foals look to position themselves for an assault on the European places in the new year.
There are no fewer than six festive fixtures for fans to sink their teeth into on Saturday, with the day headlined by the meeting between second-place RB Leipzig and fourth-place Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the Topspiel.
Leipzig missed the opportunity to apply further pressure on league-leading FC Bayern München on Matchday 14, falling to a 3-1 loss at 1. FC Union Berlin. Bayer 04, meanwhile, are also firmly in the title mix and responded to back-to back league defeats by beating 1. FC Köln 2-0 in the Rhine derby at the weekend. Martin Terrier’s spectacular scorpion kick broke the deadlock there and both sides will be looking for more moments of brilliance as they aim to remain within touching distance of Bayern.
Two games round out 2025 in style on Sunday, with defending champions Bayern travelling to 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 in the final outing of the year.
Vincent Kompany’s men remain unbeaten in the Bundesliga this season but were pushed to the limit at home by 1. FSV Mainz 05 last weekend. They needed Harry Kane’s late penalty – his 18th goal of the season – to rescue a 2-2 draw against the Bundesliga’s basement side. Heidenheim are just one place ahead of the 05ers in the second automatic relegation spot and, having seen Mainz come so close to an upset, they will fancy their own chances of an upset.
Whether it is the title race, the European places or the relegation battle, the final weekend of 2025 offers one last chance for teams to place themselves in the best position possible before the German top flight swings back into action on 9 January 2026.