Weekend Preview: Bundesliga Matchday 22
There is plenty to be excited about ahead of matchday 22 in the Bundesliga. European hopefuls are set to battle it out, Borussia Dortmund will look to kick on from their Champions League victory, and then there's the small matter of the top two, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich taking centre stage on Saturday. This is your weekend preview preview for matchday 22 in the Bundesliga.
The late kick-off on Saturday could go a long way in deciding the title. After B04's draw to VfL Wolfsburg last week, they can't afford to lose against league leaders Bayern. If they do, the reigning champions will be 11 points behind Bayern with 12 games to go. Though a lot can happen in 12 games, it would be completely out of Leverkusen's hands.
B04 have the benefit of being rested for the full week. Bayern travelled to Glasgow midweek in their first of two games against Celtic to determine who goes through to the Last 16 in the Champions League. Bayern won the match 2-1 with goals from Micheal Olise and Harry Kane.
Asked if Saturday's game feels like a final to Leverkusen, head coach Xabi Alonso was quick to downplay the occasion:
'No, not a final. Of course after the game we'll see how big the gap is. But it's definitely not a final.'
In the reverse fixture in Munich, B04 played very defensively, rode their luck at times, and came away with a draw. On the face of it, Bayern would have been the more disappointed of the two teams from that particular game.
Alonso isn't blind to Bayern's strength but is also determined to play his own way at the BayArena:
'It's another Bayern. The energy, the intensity, the structure, they're doing very well. They're destroying many opponents, they create many chances and don't concede many. It's going to be a very demanding game for us defensively. But we want to play our football as well and find the right balance.'
As reported by GGFN earlier in January, in-stadium referee announcements could happen for the first time in the Bundesliga this week. The practice has been in place since the last matchday but no incident occurred for it to happen.
The new method is to try to save any possible confusion when it comes to VAR decisions. In the past, the referee has stayed silent and only indicated with their hands as to what the decision is.
This weekend could see a change to this and hopefully make VAR a tiny bit more bearable – Certainly something to watch out for.
VfL Bochum's Myron Boadu has scored as many goals as Harry Kane in the second half of the season – 5 goals in 221 minutes of football.
The striker is in hot form right now as Bochum looks to complete the great escape. They host BVB on Saturday with the hopes of causing another big upset. Boadu will certainly be a player to watch out for during matchday 22.
RB Leipzig are unbeaten against FC Augsburg in their previous 14 matches. In fact, in their last 17 matches in all competitions, FCA have only won once against the Saxons. It's one of the Bundesliga's most one-sided ties right now, however, with FCA playing at home on Friday night, anything is possible.
Friday
FC Augsburg vs RB Leipzig (19:30pm)
Saturday
Union Berlin vs Borussia Monchengladbach (14:30pm)
FC St. Pauli vs SC Freiburg (14:30pm)
VfL Bochum vs Borussia Dortmund (14:30pm)
VfB Stuttgart vs VfL Wolfsburg (14:30pm)
Bayer Leverkusen vs Bayern Munich (17:30pm)
Sunday
Werder Bremen vs Hoffenheim (14:30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Holstein Kiel (16:30pm)
FC Heidenheim vs Mainz 05 (18:30pm)
*All matches are listed in GMT.
GGFN | Jamie Allen
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