Bundesliga: 3 things to watch for this weekend

There’s a lot to be excited about ahead of matchday 23 in the Bundesliga. Whether it’s Bayern Munich maintaining their eight-point gap at the top to Freiburg and Mainz well-involved in the battle for European football, or Bochum looking to move out of an automatic relegation place, there’s plenty of storylines to watch out for this weekend.

Borussia Monchengladbach’s push for European football

Borussia Monchengladbach’s resurgence has largely gone unnoticed. They come into their game against Augsburg on the back of a four-game unbeaten run, which sees die Fohlen eighth and just three points behind fourth-placed RB Leipzig. With 10 points from a possible 12, it’s Gladbach’s best run this season. Tim Kleindienst has scored in five successive Bundesliga games becoming the first Gladbach player to achieve such a milestone since Oliver Neuville – who scored in six consecutive games – in the 2004/05 season.

Gerardo Seoane’s side have enjoyed wins against Stuttgart and Union Berlin, while hold high-flying Eintracht Frankfurt to a 1-1 draw in their last three games, and you can’t help but feel that this run could go on a little longer. Kleindienst has 14 goals and five assists in 21 games this season, which makes him the top-scoring German in the Bundesliga and if they are to return to European football for the first time since the 2020/21 campaign, the 29-year-old’s form will be key.

Can Eintracht Frankfurt get the better of Bayern Munich?

The big news coming out of the Bayern Munich camp is that Harry Kane is likely to miss Bayern Munich’s game against Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday. While Eintracht (3^rd: 42 points) have little hope of catching leaders Bayern (55 points), they could well put a dent in the Rekordmeister’s title aspirations with Bayer Leverkusen closely following. Vincent Kompany’s side come into this game after an underwhelming performance against Celtic on Tuesday night, which saw Alphonso Davies secure a place in the Champions League Round of 16 with a goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Bayern are likely to come into this game relatively tired while Eintracht have had a week to prepare.

Eintracht also have a good record against Bayern Munich in recent games. Joshua Kimmich and Co. have won just one of their last four Bundesliga games against die Adler. Granted, Eintracht no longer have Omar Marmoush but Hugo Ekitike himself is in excellent form with six goals in his last eight games across all competitions. Of course, Eintracht will have to be at their absolute best but while the possess the likes of talented Hugo Larsson and Nathanial Brown, it’s entirely possible that Dino Toppmöller’s side can get a result here.

Borussia Dortmund’s search for a Bundesliga win under Niko Kovac

Borussia Dortmund’s form since the turn of the year has been nothing short of catastrophic, but the club remain hopeful of securing European football next season. With 12 games remaining, every game now is like a cup final. But they come into Saturday’s Topspiel against Union Berlin with just one win in seven Bundesliga games in 2025, which came against Heidenheim under Mike Tullberg. Niko Kovac has since been appointed as Nuri Sahin’s successor but he’s yet to pick up a point, losing his two league games in charge against Stuttgart, and last weekend against Bochum (2-0) which showcased some atrocious.

Their 3-0 win against Sporting CP in the first-leg of their Champions League tie provided some excellent counter-attacking football, but the return leg on Wednesday was nothing to shout about. Another underwhelming performance, it’s imperative that Dortmund start picking up points soon.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder