21st matchday
Berlin (AP) – Ninth home win for Bayern – or can RB Leipzig score points with the leaders? The top game in Munich on Saturday (6.30 p.m.) is the eye-catcher of the 21st match day of the Bundesliga.
But the West duel of the second against the third has it all: Dortmund receives Leverkusen.
TOP MATCH IN MUNICH: After the Bundesliga break due to the World Cup qualifiers on other continents, FC Bayern and RB Leipzig are well rested and well prepared for the top game on Saturday evening. “I’m expecting a good game. We’re in a good mood, Leipzig too,” said Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann. In the 4-1 first leg against his ex-club, the coach on the RB bench was still called Jesse Marsch. Now Domenico Tedesco is Leipzig’s coach, Nagelsmann knows him well from the times we spent together in Hoffenheim and at the football teacher’s course. “The team has become more stable again, both defensively and offensively,” Nagelsmann praised Tedesco’s work: “We are extremely challenged.” Tedesco does not classify the trip to Munich as a “bonus game”. The task against the Munich team is extremely challenging: “Finding weak points is very tough.”
PURSUANT DUEL IN THE WEST: Strictly speaking, it’s just a light chasing duel, but it’s the game between second and third in the table. However, before the west duel with Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday, Borussia Dortmund is already six points behind leaders FC Bayern and even eight points ahead of Leverkusen. BVB can’t afford to slip up if they want to at least keep a small chance of winning the title. And Bayer has no points to give away either. Because the table in the fight for the Champions League is closely staggered directly behind the Werkself.
COLOGNE WITHOUT BAUMGART: Cologne’s head coach Steffen Baumgart tested positive for Corona on Wednesday. His assistant André Pawlak replaces him in the game against Freiburg. He wants to solve the problem in his own way. “I won’t put on a flat cap,” said the 50-year-old with a smile: “And I certainly won’t either t shirt Stand there.” Baumgart’s flat cap became a bestseller in the FC fan shop, and he recently stood at the edge of the field with three degrees in a polo shirt and fishing vest.
GLADBACH AFTER EBERL-AUS: For coach Adi Hütter, the situation is not getting any easier after Max Eberl’s withdrawal and Denis Zakaria’s sale. After six defeats from the last eight games, Gladbach urgently need a sense of achievement in the relegation battle on Saturday. “I think the team coped well, too. I have the feeling that there is a mentality that’s even better now,” said the coach before the game at Arminia Bielefeld, adding that they wanted to look for a successor to Eberl in peace , explained Vice President Rainer Bonhof.
WOLFSBURG TRANSFER OFFENSIVE: Three new players for around 23.5 million euros: No other Bundesliga club spent more money on the transfer market in winter than VfL Wolfsburg. In the relegation battle and before the important home game against SpVgg Greuther Fürth, there are particularly high hopes on Max Kruse: the returnee from Union Berlin should lead the way and improve the poor exploitation of chances as a striker. For the entire 2021/22 season, Wolfsburg have already invested more than 70 million euros in new players, because professionals like Luca Waldschmidt and Sebastiaan Bornauw came for double-digit million amounts in the summer. Only the sale of Wout Weghorst, who went to Burnley FC for around 14.5 million, brought comparable income.
SPECTATORS AND CORONA: After the relaxation by the state and senate chanceries, up to 10,000 fans will be allowed in the stadiums again in the future. However, not all clubs are yet to benefit from the new regulations. In Lower Saxony, there will be a limit of 500 people for the time being. In Berlin, the changes will not be discussed until next week. Hertha BSC will welcome only 3,000 people to the large Olympic Stadium against VfL Bochum on Friday, while VfB Stuttgart can again let in up to 10,000 fans against Eintracht Frankfurt. For organizational reasons, FSV Mainz 05 is leaving it at 6800 people for the time being.