By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The top two both have home advantage on Matchday 32 of the Bundesliga, with England star Jude Bellingham hoping to continue his fine form for Borussia Dortmund as the challengers try to dethrone FC Bayern München.
Last week Bayern got the better of midtable SV Werder Bremen in one of four games they had left in the season. Germany wingers Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane were both on target in the final half hour of a 2-1 victory.
The defending champions stayed one point clear of Dortmund as a result, and on paper Thomas Tuchel’s team should have an easier fixture on Saturday afternoon in Munich against FC Schalke 04.
Schalke, Leipzig and Cologne are the three teams standing between Bayern and the Bundesliga title.
Schalke’s 3-2 over Mainz last week had perhaps the most dramatic finish of any Bundesliga game this season, even Bayern’s stunning collapse in losing 3-1 to Mainz last month. Schalke twice let the lead slip away only to seal the win with a penalty in the 12th minute of stoppage time.
Schalke has been especially hard to beat in recent weeks. With a team packed with free signings and loans, only three of Schalke’s last 14 games have been losses and the club has already dented Dortmund’s title challenge in a dramatic 2-2 draw with its local rival in March.
The Royal Blues, are currently one of the form teams in the division after winning their last two matches and three of their last four to drag themselves out of the relegation zone. Their most recent success came on the road at 1. FSV Mainz 05 and was inspired by Marius Bülter. He struck twice in the 3-2 triumph, with his match-winning second goal of the game – and eleventh of the season – coming from the penalty spot 12 minutes into injury-time.
Dortmund’s Matchday 31 win over VfL Wolfsburg was every bit as important – though nowhere near as tight – with Bellingham and Karim Adeyemi both scoring twice in a 6-0 rout. The England midfielder now has seven goals and four assists this term, while Germany speedster Adeyemi has scored six goals and made five more in 2023.
Dutch attacker Donyell Malen – with seven goals in seven games – could also be key for Dortmund on Saturday evening, when midtable Borussia Mönchengladbach are the visitors.
There’s also a hugely significant game in the capital on Saturday afternoon, when 1. FC Union Berlin play SC Freiburg. Union in fourth are only ahead of Freiburg in fifth on goal difference, with both sides dreaming of a top-four finish that would secure a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League.
Both teams are looking to bounce back from defeats – at FC Augsburg and home to RB Leipzig respectively – and a win for either this week could be decisive.
Matchday 32 kicks off on Friday evening with the meeting of 1. FC Köln and bottom club Hertha Berlin. While the home side are comfortable in 11th, Hertha desperately need a win in their bid to avoid the drop. That suddenly seems a more realistic prospect following Hertha’s much-needed 2-1 home victory over VfB Stuttgart last time out.
There are further important relegation battles on Saturday. Second-from-bottom VFL Bochum 1848 host Augsburg who are 13th, while TSG Hoffenheim – only four points above the relegation zone in 14th – are away to seventh-placed European hopefuls Wolfsburg. Eintracht Frankfut and Mainz – currently ninth and eighth – also meet to complete Saturday’s line-up.
After winning at Freiburg in both the DFB Cup semi-final and the Bundesliga in their last two matches, third-placed RB Leipzig will expect to continue their drive for a top-four finish on Sunday. Christopher Nkunku, Timo Werner & Co. are home to out-of-form Bremen, while third bottom Stuttgart take on Xabi Alonso’s sixth-placed visitors Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
Things are hotting up in Bundesliga 2 as well. SV Darmstadt 98 missed out on promotion after losing 3-0 at home to fourth-placed FC St. Pauli in their last match, but the league leaders will be guaranteed top-flight football if they win at midtable Hannover 96 on Sunday afternoon.
Second-placed 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 play at sixth-placed SC Paderborn 07 at the same time, while stuttering Hamburger SV – occupying the promotion play-off spot in third – are at second bottom SSV Jahn Regensburg. Both Pauli and Fortuna Düsseldorf are four points behind Hamburg with three games to play – they meet on Saturday evening in another crunch encounter.