25th match day of the Bundesliga
Berlin (AP) – Is FC Bayern Munich still further ahead? Bayer Leverkusen is only too happy to prevent the top game in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Borussia Dortmund is likely to miss top striker Erling Haaland on Matchday 25, while Max Kruse will see his ex-club again quickly.
Haaland:At Borussia Dortmund, the long wait for Erling Haaland to make a comeback will probably continue. In the game on Sunday (3.30 p.m.) at FSV Mainz 05, the goalscorer who has been missing for six weeks should not be in the second-place squad. The muscle injury in the adductor area is more persistent than expected. Any hopes that the Norwegian would return after his first team training session a week and a half ago with the reservists turned out to be wishful thinking. Most recently, Haaland trained individually again.
Top game in Munich:First against third. The offensive spirit of both teams promises the best football entertainment in the top game on Saturday (3:30 p.m.). Both FC Bayern (75) and Bayer Leverkusen (63) have never scored so many goals after 24 match days. With the best start to the second half of their Bundesliga history, the Werkself travel confidently south – even though the first leg ended disastrously 5-1. Thomas Müller will probably return to FCB after surviving the coronavirus infection. A use of Manuel Neuer, however, seems questionable.
Kruse vs Union:Only five weeks ago, Max Kruse surprisingly switched from 1. FC Union Berlin to VfL Wolfsburg. We’ll see you again this Saturday. The 33-year-old striker played a major role in the fact that the Berliners qualified for international competition last season and are in the semi-finals of the DFB Cup again this year. Nevertheless, when he left, it became clear that Kruse’s relationship with coach Urs Fischer in particular was strained in the end. “I had a very intense and great time at Union, no question. But for me the second year wasn’t like the first. I wasn’t as satisfied as in the first year,” Kruse said in the ZDF “Sportstudio”. .
Bielefeld vs Augsburg:Losing prohibited! The game between the table neighbors who are only two points apart on Friday (8.30 p.m.) could have a signal effect for the further course of the season. With a win, the Bundesliga-14. from Bielefeld for the time being set off from the relegation zone. After the 1-1 draw against BVB last matchday, the guests are no longer in one of the last three places for the first time since matchday 19. Explosive: With only two wins, Arminia is one of the weakest teams in the league at home. Augsburg won only one of their twelve away games. Most recently there were three defeats in a row abroad.
Mintzlaff’s emotions:Oliver Mintzlaff should get emotional again against SC Freiburg. But this time purely sporty. After all, it is against a direct competitor in the fight for qualification for the Champions League. Or rather: a lot of money. During the week, the normally cool club boss complained with tears of “emotional holes” when commenting on the criticism of RB Leipzig with the later canceled European Cup game against Spartak Moscow. Shortly thereafter, he shared his thoughts on the new debate about how to deal with UEFA’s bonus for reaching the quarter-finals without a fight: “This discussion really pisses me off. Everyone should start with themselves first.” A win against Freiburg could positively influence Mintzlaff’s mood and choice of words.
Crisis Duel:VfB Stuttgart has now been without a win for nine games. Longer than any other Bundesliga club. There were only two points in this period, the third relegation in six years is becoming more and more likely. The Swabians recently suffered heavy setbacks against Bochum (1-1) and Hoffenheim (1-2). Coach Pellegrino Matarazzo is still public but not up for discussion. “The will to win should outweigh the fear of losing,” he says as a credo for the final spurt of the season, in which the mental state of his players is likely to become increasingly important. It is becoming more and more exciting to see how long the people of Stuttgart will remain calm and when the fear of being relegated outweighs the belief that they will stay in the class.