Dortmund vs Union Berlin
Signa Iduna Park, Dortmund
Saturday, 01-02-2020 @5:30pm
Ref: Benjamin Courtis
Borussia Dortmund manager Lucien Favre has no fresh injuries to deal with at the moment. But, he will still be missing out on the services of Thomas Delaney. On the bright side, Dan-Axel Zagadou is set to return to the starting lineup, after missing a few games due to injury. The Frenchman’s return could come at the expense of Lukasz Piszczek. That means Manuel Akanji will shift into the right-sided centre-back slot, with Zagadou starting on the other end. The three-man backline will be led by Mats Hummels. Achraf Hakimi and Raphael Guerreiro, meanwhile, are guaranteed to occupy the wing-back slots. Their offensive support could be key as Dortmund look to overwhelm the Union Berlin backline this weekend. Things could remain unchanged in midfield, where the duo of Axel Witsel and Julian Brandt have done quite well in recent weeks. Mahmoud Dahoud and Mario Gotze will serve as an additional option for Favre. And finally, in attack, Marco Reus is tipped to retain his place in the number nine slot. That means Erling Haaland may once again have to wait to make his full debut for his new club. Reus is expected to be partnered by the offensive duo of Thorgan Hazard and Jadon Sancho while Roman Burki is a guaranteed starter in between the sticks.
Union Berlin coach Urs Fischer is expected to deploy a deep defensive line just like they did, in the reverse fixture. The towering back three of Kevin Schlotterbeck, Marvin Friedrich and ex-Dortmund star Neven Subotic will defend deep, almost inviting pressure from the Dortmund attackers. Thats where the two central midfielders in Christian Gentner and Robert Andrich could come in handy. Both of them are known for their excellent work-rate and could easily drop in between the centre-halves, making Union more rigid during defensive phases. Meanwhile, the two wing-backs in Christopher Trimmel and Christopher Lenz could play a key role in minimising the influence of both Guerreiro and Hakimi from the far side. They could also exploit their attacking mentality by initiating counter-attacks with long through balls. The Union Berlin attack will be led by the towering Sebastian Andersson and Anthony Ujah, both of who are capable of making a difference with their scoring prowess. They will, however, be mainly supplied by the lone attacking midfielder in Marcus Ingvartsen.
Union Berlin celebrated their first-ever Bundesliga victory in a 3-1 win over Dortmund on Matchday 3. Dortmund have played two competitive home games against Union, both in the DFB-Pokal. BVB won both meetings. Dortmund have lost just one of their last eight Bundesliga matches. Dortmund are the only Bundesliga team still undefeated at home this season. Last term, BVB suffered their first and only defeat at home in their 16th game of the season at Signal Iduna Park (4-2 against Schalke). Dortmund lost 3-1 in their first meeting against newly-promoted Union this season. They last lost both fixtures within a single season against a promoted side in 1999-2000 season (against SpVgg Unterhaching).
Mainz 05 vs Bayern Munich
OPEL Arena, Mainz
Saturday, 01-02-2020 @5:30pm
Ref: Bastien Dankert
Bayern Munich have won five of their last nine Bundesliga games by a margin of three or more goals. Bayern Munich have scored over 3.5 goals in five of their last nine Bundesliga games. No Bundesliga side have conceded more goals than Mainz this season. Only one Bundesliga side have failed to score in more games than Mainz this season.
Bayern Munich will travel to take on Mainz this weekend in German Bundesliga action. Bayern will hope to stay hot on the heels of league leaders RB Leipzig as they face struggling Mainz. Given their recent form, Bayern will likely prove a difficult force for hosts Mainz to stop in this one.
Bayern Munich have won each of their last five Bundesliga games. Furthermore, Bayern’s form in recent weeks has seen them earn more points than any other Bundesliga side over the past six games. Bayern have earned 15 points over the past six games. This is at least two more points than any other Bundesliga side have earned in that time.
In addition to that, Bayern’s form away from home has been impressive this season. They have earned 17 points in their nine Bundesliga away games. Only two Bundesliga teams have earned more points away from home than Bayern this season. We feel that they will be likely to continue this impressive form this weekend.
In contrast to Bayern, Mainz have fared less impressively in recent weeks. Saturday’s hosts have lost five of their last six Bundesliga games. Their run of form over the last six games has seen them earn just three points. No Bundesliga side have earned fewer points than Mainz in that time period.
In addition to that, Mainz have been poor at home this season. They have lost six of their nine Bundesliga home games this season. They have earned a total of just nine points at home this season. Only two Bundesliga teams have had a worse home record than Mainz going into Saturday’s game.
Mainz have lost each of their last three Bundesliga home games. We feel that they will be unlikely to end this loss-streak in a difficult game versus Bayern Munich.
RB Leipzig vs Borrusia Monchengladbach
Red Bull Arena, Leipzig
Saturday, 01-02-2020 @8:30pm
Ref: Tobias Stieler
RB Leipzig have won six of their nine Bundesliga home games this season. Borussia Monchengladbach have lost four of their last six Bundesliga away games. Borussia Monchengladbach have failed to win each of their last seven games versus RB Leipzig. RB Leipzig have scored at least three goals in each of their last five Bundesliga home games.
RB Leipzig will host Borussia Monchengladbach this Saturday evening in German Bundesliga action. This game will see two of the Bundesliga’s most impressive sides this season go head to head once more. Leipzig will hope to bounce back from last weekend’s loss to Eintracht Frankfurt in Saturday’s tough test versus Monchengladbach.
RB Leipzig have been one of the Bundesliga’s most impressive sides at home this season. They have accumulated a total of 20 points in their nine Bundesliga home games. Only three teams have accumulated more points than them at home this season going into Saturday’s game.
Leipzig have won six of their nine Bundesliga home games, losing just one all season. In addition to that, Leipzig’s recent home form has been particularly impressive. They have won each of their last five Bundesliga home games.
Monchengladbach will have a difficult task overcoming Leipzig at Red Bull Arena this Saturday.
Borussia Monchengladbach will not be encouraged by their recent struggles away from home going into Saturday’s fixture. They have won just four of their nine Bundesliga away games this season.
However, in addition to that, Monchengladbach have failed to win five of their last six Bundesliga away games, including each of their last four. Furthermore, Monchengladbach have lost four of their last six Bundesliga away games. We feel they may be likely to struggle against a strong home side in RB Leipzig.
Monchengladbach have also historically struggled versus RB Leipzig in recent times. They have failed to win any of their last seven fixtures against Saturday’s hosts.
The other fixtures and results
Saturday, 01-02-2020
-Hoffenheim vs Leverkusen @5:30pm
-Dusseldorf vs Frankfurt @5:30pm
-Augsburg vs Bremen @5:30pm
Sunday, 02-02-2020
-Koln vs Freiburg @5:30pm
-Paderborn vs Wolfsburg @8pm
Friday, 31-01-2020
-Hertha Berlin 0-0 Schalke 04