The German Bundesliga returns this weekend with the first matchday of the year. And it would be fair enough to say that ‘it’s back with a bang’, considering the matches lined up. The first half of the season is already over and Bayern looks like the firm favorites once again. This means that if there’s going to be a turnaround, it will have to start right from the first matchday of the new year.
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Why Should You be Watching?
Dortmund will face in-form Eintracht Frankfurt away from home to kick off the 2nd half of their league campaign. Meanwhile, Bayern has already dropped 3 points to Borussia Monchengladbach, who has been the toughest challenge for the record champions in recent years. It’ll be a great opportunity for the team in Black and Yellow to reduce the points gap at the top of the table, and to start this year on good terms.
Build Up
If we talk about the recent form of both the teams, Frankfurt definitely has the upper hand. They’ve not just won their last 3 games, but they’ve done it convincingly. Their form has been fairly good both in the league and in Europe. Now, on the other hand, this Dortmund side seemed to have lost their focus towards the end of last year. Getting eliminated from the UCL group stage was already a huge setback for the team, but that wasn’t all. They dropped points against newly-promoted Bochum and then lost to Hertha on the last matchday.
Eintracht Frankfurt form: WWWDL
Borussia Dortmund form: LWDWL
Head to Head
These two teams have faced off 35 times and it’s not surprising that Dortmund has the upper hand in head-to-head. They have won this tie 18 times while 10 times it has ended in a draw. Tho Frankfurt has managed to win only 7 clashes against BVB, they’re in slightly better form compared to their opponents.
Predicted Lineups
Eintracht Frankfurt
K. Trapp
M. Hinteregger, M. Hasebe, E. Ndicka
Chandler, Rode, Sow
Paciencia, Lindstrom
Maury
Dortmund
Kobel
Meunier, Pongracic, Hummels, Guerreiro
Emre Can, Jude Bellingham
Brandt, Reus, Malen
Haaland
Players to Watch Out For
Jasper Lindstrom
The Danish midfielder is in great goalscoring form, having netted in each of his last 3 games for the Eagles. He will have a huge role in setting up and scoring goals for the home team in this important clash. His partnership with Paciencia will be very vital for making the most of the chances they will get.
Erling Haaland
The BVB hitman would be looking to start things off this year with a bang. He scored a brace when these two teams met on the first matchday of the season, back in August. His stats for this season too have been amazing till now. The Norwegian has already found the net 13 times despite having played just 11 games in the league.
Conclusion
The scene is set and we can hope for a really good game of football as both sides look forward to getting things going for the second half of the season. It’s a great opportunity for BVB to close the gap to 6 points from Bayern, who lost to Gladbach earlier. On the other hand, Frankfurt would be looking to make sure that they make full use of their home advantage and continue their winning run. Overall, it must be a great watch for the neutrals.
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