Bayern Munich were impressive winners again last weekend as they won 4-2 at Bayer Leverkusen to maintain a seven-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga and edge closer to an eighth German title in a row.
Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin saw them cement their place in second and move closer to qualifying for Champions League football again next season, especially as their challengers for a top four finish, RB Leipzig, Monchengladbach, and Bayer Leverkusen, all failed to win.
Hoffenheim v RB Leipzig
Third placed RB Leipzig can move to within a point of Borussia Dortmund if they can win at Hoffenheim on Friday night.
Leipzig were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw at home last weekend by bottom side Paderborn and will be desperate for maximum points at the PreZero Arena to keep ahead of Monchengladbach and Leverkusen in the race for Champions League qualification.
Hoffenheim have their own hopes of European football next season, as they sit in seventh place, just two points behind Wolfsburg who are sixth and in the final Europa League qualifying spot. Despite losing 3-0 at home against Hertha Berlin in their first game since the Bundesliga season resumed, Hoffenheim have gone four games unbeaten and beat FC Koln 3-1 in their only home game since the break.
When the sides met earlier in the campaign, RB Leipzig ran out 3-1 winners at the Red Bull Arena thanks to two goals from Timo Werner and a Marcel Sabitzer strike. When the sides previously met at the PreZero Arena last season, Leipzig were 2-1 winners, but in 2017 Hoffenheim enjoyed a 4-0 success against their opponents.
Bayern Munich v Borussia Monchengladbach
Bayern Munich welcome Borussia Monchengladbach to the Allianz Arena on Saturday evening looking for another win that will take them closer to more title success.
Munich have won all five games since the resumption of the season, scoring 17 goals in the process, including two five goal hauls at home against Dusseldorf and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Their visitors, Monchengladbach, currently sit in fourth, the all-important final Champions League qualifying spot. However, they are level on points with fifth placed Leverkusen so will know they need to try to take something away from Munich at the weekend. They have won just two of their five games since returning from the enforced break and in their last two away games were held 0-0 at Werder Bremen, before losing 1-0 at Freiburg last week.
When the sides met in December earlier in the campaign, Monchengladbach were able to inflict one of only four league defeats that Bayern have suffered. Despite going 1-0 down just after the break to an Ivan Perisic effort, Monchengladbach were able to hit back through a Ramy Bensebaini header, before the Algerian defender scored an injury time penalty to seal a dramatic win at Borussia-Park.
In fact, when the sides met at the Allianz Arena in the Bundesliga last season, Monchengladbach were winners again, this time beating Munich 3-0.
The race for the top four
Elsewhere, Dortmund travel to struggling Dusseldorf on Saturday afternoon looking for another win to help ensure they are playing Champions League football again next season, whilst Leverkusen face a tough trip to Schalke on Monday evening as they continue their pursuit of a top four finish.
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