The Bundesliga is set to become the first major European league to return this weekend. Bayern sits on top with 55 points and Dortmund, Leipzig & M’Gladbach are separated by only 2 points. Leverkusen & Schalke are in the Europa League spot with 47 & 37 points respectively. 10 points separate nine teams from Schalke (6th) to Mainz (15th). Dusseldorf, Werder Bremen and Paderborn are sitting in the relegation zone. 25 match days were already completed before the league’s suspension and only 9 games are remaining for every team. So let’s check out what is going to happen over the next nine gameweeks.
Bundesliga title prediction:
Bayern are leading the table and are four points ahead of 2nd placed Borussia Dortmund. The Bundesliga dominance Bayern have enjoyed since 2013 looked under threat in the first half of the season. However, after underperforming under Kovac, they have come roaring back under Hansi Flick, who was rewarded for their turnaround with a permanent contract until 2023.
Bayern struggled in the first-half of the season but as of now only Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Monchengladbach hold a serious chance of winning the title. From the nine fixtures remaining, Bayern are set to face top five sides - Dortmund, Leverkusen, Monchengladbach. Apart from these fixtures, rest all will be easier for the Bavarians to grab all three points. These games will decide if Bayern will lift the Bundesliga or not. They’ll play Dortmund and Leverkusen away and will welcome Monchengladbach at home.
Dortmund face Schalke this weekend and Rivierderby has always been unpredictable. So if Dortmund drop points this weekend, it will increase the gap before they face Bayern. This will put tremendous pressure on BVB when they face Bayern.
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Leipzig have just one fixture against a top-six side and that is against Dortmund. So there’s a strong chance of Leipzig closing the gap. Borussia Monchengladbach faces two top 6 sides in the remaining campaign – Leverkusen & Bayern. The game against Leverkusen is very important for Die Fohlen. Monchengladbach have dropped eight points in their last eight games and the game against Leverkusen could decide if they will fight for the title or fight for a UCL spot. Leverkusen were in fine form before the league’s suspension. They face three top-six sides in the remaining campaign – Monchengladbach, Schalke and Bayern.
However, these games will be tense. There's a good possibility of Bayern losing against Dortmund and the other fixtures against those at the top could go either way. Leipzig and Dortmund will face each other at the penultimate stage of the season. Both of them are in the title fight. This is going to be an ideal situation for the current champions.
We predict that Bayern should retain their crown. However, there’s a good chance their lead gets shortened. With the majority of the sites giving Bayern the clear advantage for when the Bundesliga resumes. It may be a lot closer than the oddsmakers are suggesting and Bayern would have hoped for though.
European spots prediction:
The current top five in the Bundesliga are in the league of their own and are separated with the rest by 10 points. So these five are most likely to grab the Champions League and Europa League spots. But the final European spot is still up for grabs with a number of clubs in contention. Schalke sit on sixth with 37 points and the next four clubs – Wolfsburg, Freiburg & Hoffenheim are separated by 2 points.
Schalke haven’t been the same since the winter break and their form suggests that they aren’t equipped to hold on to the Europa spot. Wolfsburg and Freiburg can benefit from Schalke’s results. Koln could spring a surprise by moving up from tenth into the top-six for the Europa League spot. The only defeats Koln have faced since the winter break has been against Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach - three of the current top-four in the league. Koln’s remaining home fixtures are Mainz, Fortuna Dusseldorf, Union Berlin and Eintracht Frankfurt. These games can be considered winnable, while they also play title-chasing RB Leipzig at home. Their away fixtures include visits to Hoffenheim, Augsburg and Werden Bremen. These fixtures are also favourable for Koln’s Europe hopes.
So even accounting for a probable defeat away at Leverkusen, Koln could collect enough points to finish sixth in the table. So we predict Koln as the final entry into the Europa League spot.
