The Bundesliga continues apace and we are headed into Round 30 of the 34 matchday season. Sunday sees a huge game for Werder Bremen as they host Wolfsburg in a game the need to get points from as they continue their quest to avoid relegation and stay in the Bundesliga next term. The other game we are covering here sees Union Berling – in 14th place headed into the weekend and still glancing over their shoulder towards the drop zone – hosting a Schalke team that enters the weekend five-points off of a European place next season.
Here is a look at the two big games that will be taking place on Sunday.
Werder Bremen vs. Wolfsburg
Werder Bremen come into Round 30 in 17th place with 25 points from their 29 games. This puts them two points behind Fortuna Dusseldorf and the relative safety of the relegation playoff spot.
Bremen had been picking up points recently, but a 3-0 reverse against Eintracht Frankfurt last time out dented their survival homes. They need Milot Rashica to start firing again as one of their best marksmen has failed to find the back of the net since December.
Midfielder Nuri Sahin is out for the season with a hip problem and much of the attacking onus will be on Leonardo Bittencourt, the man who has scored both of Werder Bremen’s goals since the league was restarted.
Wolfsburg is in sixth place in the table, the highest spot they can realistically finish in as they are a massive 14 points behind Leverkusen and Monchengladbach who are sitting in the fourth and fifth place spots. There is still plenty to of work to do for Wolfsburg, however, with sixth resulting in a Europa League place next term.
Wolfsburg are another team that has lost to Frankfurt recently – a 2-1 reverse in a game last Saturday – and they have some positive news on the injury front. Captain Joshua Guilavogui is back training with the squad, but his availability to play the full match is in doubt after his injury layoff. Expect to see him feature at some point here.
Bremen are still suffering from their home form being abject, picking up just six points at home all season. They still can’t score enough goals and that would be enough for me to stick Wolfsburg in an acca at 1.03 with BetXChange.
Union Berlin vs. Schalke
Union Berlin is not out of the relegation mire just yet as they sit in 14th place with 31 points, six points ahead of Werder Bremen. Their -18 goal difference is a big asset to Union as it is comfortably better than all the teams below them in the table.
A team that was expected to be relegation fodder before the season began, Union were excellent before the restart but have struggled since. They have not been able to pick up a win post-lockdown and their 4-1 loss to Monchengladbach on Sunday shows where their form is right now. Robert Andrich will be back from his suspension and he will be looking to help get more out of top scorer Sebastian Andersson.
Schalke sit about as midtable as you can at this point in 10th place with 37 points. They are now a full 12 points clear of the drop zone and will be hoping for a late run of wins to sneak a Europa League place at the expense of Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim.
Winning just two of 15 games is never a good thing and it is fortunate for Schalke that they were doing so well in the early going or they would be in serious relegation trouble. David Wagner is squarely on the hot seat and he needs a win as much as any other manger in the Bundesliga this weekend.
One big issue for Schalke has been injuries. The midfield is a shell of what we saw back in the autumn. Without the likes of top scorer Suat Serdar and captain Omar Masarell, Wagner has been shorn of leadership, finishing power, and general creativity in his side.
This isn’t an easy game to call because neither of these teams has shown any form recently. The lean here is with Union Berlin at 1.52 with BetXChange as they are the home team and Schalke has too many injuries.
