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Weekend Talking Points
The waiting is over for millions of fans that are staunchly entrenched in the German footballing world as the 2022-23 Bundesliga season is set to return tomorrow after an extended Winterpause on the back of the 2022 World Cup, with the Rückrunde kicking off Friday night in one of the fixture list’s most exciting offerings when top-sitting Bayern Munich travels to Saxony to clash with Julian Nagelsmann’s former charges RB Leipzig at Red Bull Arena.
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Despite an uncharacteristic start to the campaign that had many feeling as though this could be the season where Bayern was usurped as perennial league winners, the Bavarian giants hit their stride like they are so accustomed to, and come into tomorrow evening’s away day as the in-form side in the German top flight, against an RBL outfit that has taken 16 of 18 possible points across their last six domestic outings.
Other intriguing clashes come by way of Union Berlin hosting TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in the capital, VFL Wolfsburg welcoming high-flying SC Freiburg to Volkswagen Arena, and a relegation six-pointer featuring VfL Bochum and Hertha BSC.
🎙 Sébastien Haller, on his first game in front of the Yellow Wall:
“This moment has been playing in my mind since day 1. That’s what you play for at this club.” pic.twitter.com/dDMe06CNeW
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) January 9, 2023
Borussia Dortmund remains as inconsistent as ever this season and will be hopeful that a return to action after an extended break will have done Die Schwarzgelben a world of good, with Sébastien Haller making his return to senior duties after his courageous battle with illness across the first half of the season and possibly making his full debut for Dortmund when they clash with founding FC Augsburg at the Westfalenstadion.
Here now are 101 Great Goals Bundesliga Predictions & Betting Tips for Matchday 16.
Team News, Predictions & Betting Tips
RB Leipzig (3rd) – Bayern Munich (1st)
Key personnel missing:
RBL: Péter Gulácsi (out), Christopher Nkunku (out), David Raum (doubt), Abdou Diallo (doubt)
Bayern: Manuel Neuer (out), Sadio Mané (out), Lucas Hernández (out), Bouna Sarr (out), Noussair Mazraoui (Covid-related issue)
Match-up preview:
The two in-form sides in the Bundesliga lock horns at Red Bull Arena on Friday night to kick off the Rückrunde and the resumption of play in the 2022-23 season, with Julian Nagelsmann once again coming up against his former charges who have found their way under Leipzig native Marco Rose.
Both sides are without key assets for this one however, namely Sadio Mané, Manuel Neuer, and Christopher Nkunku on either side of the ball. Bayern’s dominant form is unquestioned, but RBL boasts the best home record in Bundesliga which could counter-act the Bavarian’s historic dominance over the Saxons. A draw would be a fair shout here, but Bayern’s ridiculous goalscoring record could see them do just enough to bag all three points.
Prediction: RBL 1-2 Bayern
Union Berlin (5th) – TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (11th)
Form: (WLWLDL) – (WLDLLL)
Key personnel missing:
Union: András Schäfer (out), Diogo Leite (red card), Sven Michel (flu), Morten Thorsby (post-op recovery)
Hoffenheim: Jacob Bruun Larsen (out), Grischa Prömel (out)
Match-up preview:
A hopeful magical run at the top of the table by Bundesliga upstarts Union Berlin quickly extinguished as the Hinrunde progressed across the 2022-23 season, with the neutral favorite capital side now looking to get back on track when they welcome Hoffenheim to Berlin on Saturday.
Neither side is stripped of unquestionable key assets here, so both will hopefully be confident of a fresh start to the Rückrunde, which is of particular interest for Hoffenheim considering their poor form away from Sinsheim comes into direct contention with Union’s undefeated home record (5-2-0). On form, Union should escape with a narrow win here but anything is possible with Hoffenheim’s five-match winless run before the break washed clean.
Prediction: Union 1-0 Hoffenheim
Eintracht Frankfurt (4th) – FC Schalke 04 (18th)
Form: (WWLWWD) – (LLLLWL)
Key personnel missing:
Frankfurt: Tuta (out), Marcel Wenig (out)
Schalke: Sepp van den Berg (out), Sebastian Polter (out), Justin Heekeren (out), Thomas Ouwejan (doubt), Marcin Kaminski (doubt), Rodrigo Zalazar (doubt), Dominick Drexler (doubt), Leo Greiml (doubt)
Match-up preview:
Eintracht Frankfurt will be hopeful of carrying over their credible form both at home and abroad in 2022-23 into the second half of the Bundesliga season as Oliver Glasner’s are in the thick of the fight for the top four places on the back of being crafted into one of the most entertaining outfits in Germany.
At the other end of the table, domestic giants Schalke is firmly entrenched at the bottom of the table amid a period of their history that many will hope to forget as time goes on, with Die Königsblauen boasting the worst goal record in the division and only Bochum surrendering more goals at the other end. Barring a shock result, Frankfurt should be comfortable here, with Glasner having his top contributors all available for action.
Prediction: Frankfurt 3-0 Schalke
VfL Wolfsburg (7th) – SC Freiburg (2nd)
Form: (DDWWWW) – (LWWWLW)
Key personnel missing:
Wolfsburg: Lukas Nmecha (doubt), Josip Brekalo (doubt)
Freiburg: Kimberly Ezekwem (out), Roland Sallai (doubt), Manuel Gulde (doubt), Jonathan Schmid (doubt), Lukas Kübler (doubt), Yannik Keitel (doubt), Philipp Lienhart (doubt)
Match-up preview:
One of the headline clashes of the weekend, Wolfsburg ended the first half of the season in fantastic form under Niko Kovač to the tune of an eight-match unbeaten run, and will hope that carries over here when they welcome high-flying Freiburg who looks to emerge from the foot of the Black Forest to steal points on the road to continue their push for a magical top-four finish.
Christian Streich’s men have been one of the stories of the entire European landscape this season both on the home front and in European competitive action and also bring to bear one of the top away records in the Bundesliga at current. SCF also won the rub of the green in terms of recent clashes, with just one defeat in their last six against Wolfsburg (3-2-1), but Kovač’s men have proven quite capable this term while losing just once at home. A draw is a very fair shout here.
Prediction: Wolfsburg 1-1 Freiburg
VfL Bochum (17th) – Hertha BSC (15th)
Form: (LWLLWW) – (LWLLLW)
Key personnel missing:
Bochum: Michael Esser (out), Lys Mousset (out; disciplinary), Saidy Janko (doubt)
Hertha: Florian Niederlechner (out), Kelian Nsona (out), Chidera Ejuke (out), Robert Kwasigroch (out), Dodi Lukébakio (red card)
Match-up preview:
A relegation six-pointer is set to unfold in the Ruhr valley when Bochum welcomes Hertha to the Vonovia Ruhrstadion with both sides equally capable of ending the night in the bottom three or putting some measure of distance between them and the relegation zone.
Bochum will feel hard done after their form turned a corner in the latter stages of the Hinrunde before the extended Winterpause, with Die Unabsteigbaren winning their last two fixtures and three of their last five, putting themselves in a strong position to alleviate their current position in the table. Hertha continues to underwhelm after their ownership change a few years ago, but the base-line data dictates a picture that is not as disheartening on the surface when in comparison to their weekend opponent. A draw should be a fair bet here, but Bochum may have an outside shot at three points.
Prediction: Bochum 1-1 Hertha
VfB Stuttgart (16th) – 1. FSV Mainz 05 (10th)
Form: (WLWLWL) – (WWLLLD)
Key personnel missing:
Stuttgart: Dan-Axel Zagadou (out), Borna Sosa (doubt)
Mainz: Jonathan Burkardt (out), Marlon Mustapha (out), Stefan Bell (red card), Delano Burgzorg (doubt)
Match-up preview:
Two struggling defensive set-ups are set to clash when Stuttgart welcomes mid-table Mainz to Mercedes-Benz Arena, with Mainz hopeful to put their struggles across the Hinrunde behind them and start fresh in 2023 after hitting a winless run of four matches (0-1-3) before the extended Winterpause.
Mainz may feel confident on the back of securing four wins away from the Rhine this season and are perhaps somewhat fortunate to come up against a Stuttgart outfit that has struggled for consistency this season after trading results for six straight matchdays before the break. The potential absence of creative left-back Borna Sosa is a possible huge blow for Stuttgart, however, which certainly would strip Bruno Labbadia’s men of a key attacking outlet. But considering both sides can so often be leaky at the back, there should be goals in this one in a possible draw.
Prediction: Stuttgart 2-2 Mainz
1. FC Köln (13th) – SV Werder Bremen (9th)
Form: (WLDLLL) – (LLWWLL)
Key personnel missing:
Köln: Luca Kilian (out), Sebastian Andersson (out), Dimitris Limnios (out), Mark Uth (out), Kristian Pedersen (out), Jan Thielmann (out), Florian Dietz (doubt)
Bremen: Romano Schmid (out), Felix Agu (out), Eduardo dos Santos Haesler (out), Amos Pieper (doubt)
Match-up preview:
Both Köln and Bremen will be looking for a fresh start as hostilities are set to resume in the Bundesliga with the RheinEnergieStadion playing host to an intriguing mid-table clash to bookend proceedings on Saturday night, with form going out the window for both sides who wrapped up the Hinrunde on losing runs.
Bremen is happy to still have Niclas Füllkrug on the books after the German international produced impressive substitute appearances in Qatar that could have turned eyes toward the center-forward this month in the market, but his 10 league goals are sure to play a part here against an injury-hit Köln that boats one of the worse defensive records in the league. Bremen have relied on plenty of luck this season, but they should have a chance for three points on the road.
Prediction: Köln 1-2 Bremen
Borussia Dortmund (6th) – FC Augsburg (14th)
Form: (LWWWLL) – (LDLLDL)
Key personnel missing:
Dortmund: Thomas Meunier (out), Mateu Morey (out), Raphaël Guerreiro (doubt)
Augsburg: André Hahn (out), Tobias Strobl (out), Mërgim Berisha (red card), Robert Gumny (doubt), Mads Pedersen (doubt), Julian Baumgartlinger (doubt), Fredrik Jensen (doubt), Niklas Dorsch (doubt), Reece Oxford (doubt), Iago (doubt)
Match-up preview:
Bavarian minnows Augsburg face the prospect of a trip to the Ruhr valley against German giants Borussia Dortmund to resume play in the Bundesliga amid an incredibly poor run of form as well as a laundry list of fitness concerns for manager Enrico Maaßen.
No less than ten senior figures could miss out on the action at the Westfalenstadion should the situation remain the same come Sunday, with Dortmund by comparison only contending with selection issues at full-back but are delighted to welcome Sébastien Haller into contention for a place in the team after his courageous battle against illness. Dortmund certainly has struggled this season and is currently sitting sixth during a very difficult campaign under Edin Terzić, but given form, player availability, and the outright gap in quality on the pitch, Terzić’s men should be looking at three points here.
Prediction: Dortmund 3-1 Augsburg
Borussia Mönchengladbach (8th) – Bayer Leverkusen (12th)
Form: (DLLWLW) – (LDLWWW)
Key personnel missing:
Gladbach: N/A
Leverkusen: Timothy Fosu-Mensah (doubt), Charles Aránguiz (doubt), Patrik Schick (doubt)
Match-up preview:
In one of the perennial intriguing clashes in the Bundesliga, Gladbach host Leverkusen in the Rhine derby during a 2022-23 season where both sides continue to sit outside their usual grazing grounds in the upper echelons of Germany’s top-flight competition, but there is still hope for both club’s as Daniel Farke has seemingly gotten the club performing in a manner commensurate with their level of ability, while Xabi Alonso’s tactical ideas have already taken root with Leverkusen.
Alonso’s men have the rub of the green in recent history between the two sides, winning five of their last six meetings while also boasting a three-match winning run just before the extended Winterpause. Neither side is made to contend with selection headaches, with Gladbach owning a clean bill of health and only the possible absence of Patrick Schick being a cause for concern for Leverkusen. Their similarities may cancel each other out, though, and a draw could be the play here though either side is fully capable of securing a win to close out the weekend program.
Prediction: Gladbach 2-2 Leverkusen
