Bobadilla Could Lead Gladbach To A Win Over Mainz.

With no Friday match this week, Saturday is busier than ever. Dortmund will look to continue their domination of the Bundesliga with an away win at Freiburg, Bayern Munich will be hoping to continue their resurgence at Bayer Leverkusen, and Schalke will be looking to dig themselves out of the relegation zone with an away game at Werder Bremen. Here are the games.

Borussia Monchengladbach v Mainz

Thomas Tuchel’s Mainz will be hoping to turn this bad patch they’ve hit around with a win at Gladbach. Gladbach, though, will be high on confidence after their 4-0 thrashing away at Koln last weekend. Raul Bobadilla will be hoping to continue his hot streak in front of goal, and he’ll pose the main threat going forward for the home side. Marco Reus, Juan Arango and Mohamadou Idrissou will play supporting roles in behind Bobadilla, which gives Gladbach a dangerous edge when going forward. With neither side defending particularly well at the moment, this game could be full of goals. Mainz have a formidable attack as well, so we could see an absolute goal-fest here.

Eintracht Frankfurt v TSG Hoffenheim

Hoffenheim will be incredibly disappointed that they lost out to Freiburg at the death last weekend, and they’ve got another tough fixture here away to Frankfurt. The hosts have done themselves a world of good lately, and have hoisted themselves all the way up into European contention. They’ll want to stay up there, so they’ve got to remain consistent. I see them winning this one, but I don’t think they’ll be able to sustain their incredible run throughout the season.

Hannover 96 v Hamburg SV

Eljero Elia and Ruud van Nistelrooy are back in the side after injuries, and that’ll be a huge boost for the visitors if they can get them back on form. Despite that, Hamburg’s away form is dodgy, so they’ll really need to play well here if they want to get the result. Fourth and tenth place in the Bundesliga table are just three points away from eachother, and both these sides are in that mix, which means they’ll both be looking for a positive result here. I can see a draw!

Nurnberg v Kaiserslautern

Nurnberg were thumped at Bayern Munich last weekend, but they’re still in contention for a European place after some good results earlier in the season. Kaiserslautern are teetering on the relegation zone, and without a result here they could be on the losing end of a relegation dogfight. It’s going to be a tight contest, but I hope Kaiserslautern get the win here. It’d be incredible if they could keep Schalke in the relegation zone for just another week or two!

SC Freiburg v Borussia Dortmund

Can they be stopped? No side has accumulated this many points after twelve games in Bundesliga history before, and I think that certainly counts for something. Dortmund have been ruthless, they’ve been efficient, and they’ve been incredibly exciting. Jurgen Klopp’s men are definitely the team to beat at the moment, and I think Freiburg will really be up against it despite their surprise win last weekend over Hoffenheim. Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic should have Papiss Cisse in their back pocket despite his off the ball movement, which means Freiburg could be out of luck going forward here. Dortmund will wear their opponents out in the midfield, and then they’ll finish them off with some quick passing moves and the electric right boot of Lucas Barrios. I can’t see any other result here except a convincing Dortmund win.

Schalke 04 v Werder Bremen

This is a big one! Felix Magath’s side are still in the relegation zone, but a win here will take them out of it and hopefully kickstart their season. Werder Bremen have been nothing short of woeful, but they’ve got all the tools in their side to be successful. If Bremen can keep their back-line shielded with an effective anchorman, then they’ve got a chance of keeping possession and chipping away at their opponents. Otherwise, Schalke’s fluent attack could be too much for the visitors and it could all be over by half-time if Schaaf’s boys aren’t careful! It’s going to be a fantastic match.

Bayer Leverkusen v Bayern Munich

If anyone can stop this resurgent Bayern Munich side, it’s Leverkusen – and Leverkusen at home no less. Leverkusen currently occupy second place in the Bundesliga table, and they’ll know that a win is a must if they want to keep the pressure on first-placed Dortmund who are a whole seven points away. Bayern Munich will be confident in knowing that the mercurial Franck Ribery has returned, and his presence and skill could be enough to win them this game. A win for Bayern means they’ve got one over their rivals, and they’ve continued their impressive run. For Leverkusen, it means another week in Champions League contention. It’s another big one, and it could really go either way for me.

Enjoy!