MY ACCOUNT
Borussia Dortmund are in red-hot form and remain within three points of top spot as they host the Bundesliga’s third-bottom side Hertha Berlin.
League leaders Bayern Munich, meanwhile, will look to stave off BVB’s advances on their trip to Borussia Monchengladbach.
And second-placed Union Berlin can maintain their own strong run as they welcome rock-bottom Schalke to the capital.
Elsewhere, European hopefuls RB Leipzig and Freiburg travel to Wolfsburg and Bochum, respectively.
Game of the weekend: Borussia Dortmund vs Hertha Berlin (Sunday, 4.30pm)
Dortmund are on a hot streak and their history in this fixture suggests they are likely to record another positive result.
BVB have won seven of the last eight Bundesliga meetings with Hertha and have scored in each of their previous 31 meetings at home in the competition.
Die Borussen have won all seven of their games in 2023 — including a 1-0 victory over Chelsea in Wednesday’s Champions League tie — and their success has been built on the foundations of a dominant defence.
Edin Terzic’s men have kept the joint-most clean sheets in the division this term (eight).
Dortmund forward Karim Adeyemi has scored in three consecutive games, netting more in those three outings than he managed in his first 20 appearances for the club since his move from FC Salzburg.
Borussia Monchengladbach vs Bayern Munich (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Bundesliga leaders Munich have suffered just one defeat in the competition this season — but Monchengladbach could well add to that tally.
Die Fohlen have won three of their last four competitive home games with FCB, drawing the other. They have also beaten the Bavarian giants more often in the Bundesliga than any other side (27).
Julian Nagelsmann’s record against BMG is similarly poor — since joining Bayern in July 2021, he has failed to claim victory in four attempts across all competitions (two draws, two defeats).
In fact, the 35-year-old suffered his joint-worst professional defeat as a manager against Saturday’s opponents, losing 5-0 in the DFB-Pokal in October 2021.
Though Die Roten should be buoyed by a 1-0 midweek Champions League triumph at Paris Saint-Germain, they could be brought crashing down to earth in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Union Berlin vs Schalke (Sunday, 2.30pm)
Union are just one point behind Bayern heading into Matchday 21 and will be hoping for a repeat of the reverse fixture against Schalke.
That game ended 6-1 in favour of the capital club, when they recorded their joint-highest Bundesliga win in August. Schalke, meanwhile, have never conceded more goals at home in their professional history.
The hosts are on a five-game winning streak in the league and have reached their lofty position in the table by demonstrating a never-say-die attitude — they have claimed more points from losing positions than any other club in Europe’s top five leagues in 2023 (nine).
These sides have recorded the joint-fewest clear-cut chances in the division this term (26), though Union have faced the fewest in the league (23).
Wolfsburg vs RB Leipzig (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Seventh-placed Wolfsburg and fifth-placed Leipzig will be keen to finish the season at least one position higher than they sit at present.
Both sides have suffered a dip in their previously excellent form of late — Wolfsburg are winless in four matches in all competitions after winning six in a row, while Leipzig lost 2-1 to Union Berlin last time out, their first defeat since September 17.
The pair boast the joint-third best defensive record in the Bundesliga, with only Bayern (18) and Union (24) conceding fewer goals than these two sides (26) going into Matchday 21.
Saturday’s hosts have scored the third-most goals from set-pieces in the division (14), while Leipzig have conceded the highest proportion of their goals from such situations (50%).
Bochum vs Freiburg (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Bochum are, miraculously, not in the relegation zone ahead of their Matchday 21 clash with fourth-placed Freiburg.
Thomas Letsch’s men have lost a whopping 13 of their 20 league games so far this term — the club have only suffered more at this stage of a season once, in 1994-95 (14), when they were relegated.
Additionally, Saturday’s hosts have the division’s worst defensive record, conceding a remarkable 49 times in just 20 outings.
Set-pieces could prove their undoing in this clash once again — they have conceded more times than any other side in the competition (18) from such situations, while Freiburg are the joint-league leaders for goals scored from dead balls (15).
The weekend’s other games
Augsburg vs Hoffenheim (Friday, 7.30pm)
Stuttgart vs FC Cologne (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Werder Bremen (Saturday, 5.30pm)
Bayer Leverkusen vs Mainz (Sunday, 6.30pm)
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