24th matchday
Berlin (AP) – Leader FC Bayern Munich is on the 24th matchday of the Bundesliga today (6.30 p.m. / Sky) at Eintracht Frankfurt.
The German record champions are thinking of revenge for the 1-2 defeat in the first leg in Munich when they are tenth in the table. Bayern are currently six points ahead of Borussia Dortmund. The second in the table only plays at FC Augsburg on Sunday (5:30 p.m. / DAZN) after the Europa League end.
On Saturday afternoon (3.30 p.m. / Sky) there will be games between Bayer Leverkusen and Arminia Bielefeld and between 1. FC Union Berlin and 1. FSV Mainz 05. Borussia Mönchengladbach is also expecting VfL Wolfsburg, who plays SC Freiburg against Hertha BSC, and SpVgg Greuther Fürth welcomes 1. FC Köln. The German Football League has recommended a minute’s silence on the day of the match as a sign of peace and sympathy in the Ukraine crisis.
Bayer Leverkusen – Arminia Bielefeld (3.30 p.m.)
Lucas Alario: Not an easy job for the Argentine to replace 20-goal striker Patrik Schick. Especially since Alario has only made one start in the Bundesliga this season. But the 29-year-old always scored. With his ninth goal as a substitute in the game in Mainz, he is now the sole record joker for the Bayer team. “I have to be ready when the team needs me,” said Alario in the “Bild” interview. The international scored 54 goals in 151 competitive games for Bayer.
1. FC Union Berlin – FSV Mainz 05 (3.30 p.m.)
Taiwo Awoniyi: Union’s top scorer this season has not regained momentum since his return from the Africa Cup of Nations and is representative of the offensive misery of the Irons who have been goalless in three games. “You can tell a little bit that he was away for a long time,” said coach Urs Fischer about the Nigerian. Awoniyi should also be missing the passes and ideas from Max Kruse who had migrated. The interaction with newcomer Sven Michel is still bumpy. In the first leg win in Mainz, Awoniyi scored twice, once after a Kruse assist. Still, a good omen for the Nigerian.
Borussia Mönchengladbach – VfL Wolfsburg (3.30 p.m.)
Max Kruse: Wolfsburg’s striker scored two goals against Gladbach just five weeks ago in Borussia Park – at the time he was still in a Union Berlin jersey. Some ex-players are obviously a particular threat to Borussia. Because Marco Reus was also the outstanding player in Borussia Dortmund’s 6-0 win against the crisis club last week. Kruse played for Gladbach from 2013 to 2015 before going to Wolfsburg for the first time.
SC Freiburg – Hertha BSC (3.30 p.m.)
Dedryck Boyata: Hertha’s coach Tayfun Korkut will probably have to rebuild his central defense again. Marc Oliver Kempf is suspended, Niklas Stark may not be able to test himself free in time after a corona infection. That’s why captain Dedryck Boyata could celebrate his comeback alongside 17-year-old Linus Gechter. It would be the seventh new central defender combination in a competitive game – this year alone. The Belgian was recently injured again and only returned to training this week. Now he may have to show in the important game in Freiburg on Saturday whether he can stabilize the shaky defense of the Berliners (the second most goals conceded in the Bundesliga).
SpVgg Greuther Furth – 1. FC Cologne (3.30 p.m.)
Jonas Hector: Coach Steffen Baumgart honored his captain before the special anniversary. “We like to talk about Tony Modeste and his goals. But Jonas is the most important player at this club,” said the head coach of 1. FC Köln. The 31-year-old Hector will make his 300th official appearance for FC in Fürth on Saturday. “In this day and age it’s probably pretty rare for a player to play 300 games for a club,” said Hector. But that’s no reason for a big celebration. “I’ll probably have a beer at home, but even that depends on the result,” said the left-back.
Eintracht Frankfurt – Bayern Munich (6.30 p.m.)
Kevin Trapp: In the surprising 2-1 victory for Eintracht in Munich at the beginning of October, the national goalkeeper delivered a world-class performance. The Frankfurters are also counting on this this Saturday, after the second half of the season did not go as hoped. A strong performance by Trapp in a duel with the best offensive in the league for top scorer Robert Lewandowski would therefore be important – and could also help the 31-year-old goalkeeper in the fight for World Cup participation. After all, Trapp was demoted to number four among German goalkeepers by national coach Hansi Flick last fall.