18th matchday
Berlin (dpa) – RB Leipzig is happy about the timely return of the difference player, in Leverkusen there is a special reunion.
A very experienced player could celebrate his Bundesliga comeback for Arminia Bielefeld – and the Augsburg fans are longing for the debut of their millionaire man. Six games, six heads.
RB Leipzig – FSV Mainz 05 (all 15.30 / Sky)
Christopher Nkunku: The difference player is there. Christopher Nkunku made it from the French quarantine to Saxony in time after his corona-positive turn of the year. The 24-year-old trained for the first time this year on Thursday, and on Saturday he is expected to score goals against Mainz. Leipzig’s dependence on the midfielder is enormous. In the first half of the season Nkunku scored seven times in 17 games, preparing another seven goals. He was involved in almost half of the 30 RB goals. Across all competitions, the statistics even show 15 goals and 10 assists in 25 games.
Bayer Leverkusen – Union Berlin
Robert Andrich: On August 14th, Robert Andrich was not feeling well. He preferred to sit in the stands when his 1. FC Union played against Bayer Leverkusen (1: 1). Just two days later he moved from the Iron to the Werkself for several million euros. They forgave Andrich for the morally sensitive transfer trick before the second leg at the BayArena. Trainer Urs Fischer is looking forward to seeing you again. It was clear to the Swiss that the 27-year-old would assert himself as a mentally strong midfield clearer with his new employer (19 games / 5 goals). “It didn’t surprise me,” said Fischer. To add smugly: “He also learned it from us.”
SC Freiburg – Arminia Bielefeld
Gonzalo Castro: Several months without a club do not seem to have thrown Gonzalo Castro out of rhythm. “We brought him in so that he could help immediately,” said Frank Kramer, coach of Arminia Bielefeld, who is already planning on Saturday with his new protégé. The 34-year-old midfielder came during the winter break, his former club VfB Stuttgart did not renew his contract last summer. In the meantime, he kept fit in training with third division club Viktoria Köln. The 2009 U21 European champion wants to contribute his experience gained in 409 Bundesliga games.
TSG Hoffenheim – FC Augsburg
Ricardo Pepi: For days there has been practically no other topic on the club channels of FC Augsburg than Ricardo Pepi’s transfer coup. The 18-year-old US boy is considered a storm jewel with a huge goal instinct. Exactly what the relegation-threatened FCA urgently needs at the moment. 17 goals in 17 first round games are in table 15. too little. “I’ve worked all my life for an opportunity like this,” said Pepi, who is about to make his Bundesliga debut, about the move from MLS club FC Dallas to Augsburg. His first German word was “Tor”, he revealed. A good omen for the game against Hoffenheim?
SpVgg Greuther Fürth – VfB Stuttgart
Sasa Kalajdzic: More than four months after his shoulder injury in the away game at RB Leipzig, Stuttgart’s top striker is back in the squad – and possibly even in the starting line-up. “He’s feeling surprisingly good,” said coach Pellegrino Matarazzo on Thursday. “We’ll see if it’ll be enough for 60 minutes.” In the first half of the season, which the VfB as table-16. finished, Kalajdzic was sorely missed. Last season, the Austrian was the Swabians’ best scorer with 16 league goals. Now he should help them to prevent the third Bundesliga relegation in six years.
Eintracht Frankfurt – Borussia Dortmund (6.30 p.m. / Sky)
Oliver Glasner: At the beginning of his involvement with Eintracht Frankfurt, Oliver Glasner found it difficult to find the path to success with a changed squad and new players. Only in the final spurt of the first half of the season did the Hessians turn up with three wins in a row and jump to sixth place. The game against the league runner-up is the indicator for a continuation of the upswing. “We want to show that we are closer to Dortmund than in the first leg,” said Glasner. “A win would be nice.” Especially since it didn’t work out on the 1st matchday with the 2: 5 at BVB. However, the coach emphasized: “Starting well and then sagging is not the right thing to do either.”
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