Bundesliga Weekend Preview: Dortmund-Schalke Headlines The Re-Opening Schedule
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3 Yrs Ago
There will be a bittersweet feeling across Germany this weekend as Bundesliga fans celebrate the league’s return, but also face the harsh reality of the new normal brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The exciting news for Bundesliga fans, and all soccer fans around the world, is that high-level soccer is set to return. The Bundesliga is ready to not only entertain viewers worldwide who are desperate to see some quality live soccer, but the Bundesliga will also be blazing a trail for the world’s other leagues to follow as they monitor this weekend’s activities closely to see how the Bundesliga manages its return.
The bitter side of things will be in the realization that there will be no fans in the stadiums, a necessary precaution in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, but one that still won’t keep viewers from being saddened by the surreal sight of an empty Signal Iduna Park playing host to the latest installment of the Borussia Dortmund-Schalke rivalry, the Rivierderby.
Though the crowd won’t be there, the intensity of the rivalry should still help provide some added spice to a Dortmund-Schalke clash with more on the line than just derby bragging rights. Dortmund sits four points behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga title race, and with Bayern scheduled to visit Dortmund in two weeks, a win on Saturday is vital for Lucien Favre’s men to keep the pressure on the champions.
Schalke slipped out of contention for a Champions League place after a seven-match winless slide in league play prior to the season being halted, but David Wagner’s men have a trio of teams within a point of Schalke for the final Europa League place.
While Dortmund-Schalke is the weekend’s unquestioned headlining clash, a battle between relegation zone clubs is just as important. Fortuna Dusseldorf is sitting in 16th place — the relegation playoff spot — but will face last-place Paderborn with a chance to try and edge closer to 15th-place Mainz. Fortuna pieced together a three-match unbeaten run before the season halted, and will look to hand Paderborn its fifth straight loss.
Two teams at opposite ends of the standings do battle on Monday when Werder Bremen plays host to Bayer Leverkusen. Bremen is winless in six straight Bundesliga matches and stands a good chance of falling deeper in the automatic relegation hole if it can’t stop a Leverkusen side that was on an absolute role before the season was put on hold. Leverkusen was 9-0-1 in all competitions before the recent two-month break and the attacking trio of Kai Havertz, Leon Bailey and Paulinho will be expected to keep the streak going against a struggling Werder Bremen side.
League leaders Bayern travel to Berlin to face a Union Berlin side that finds itself far away from European places, but comfortably clear of the relegation zone. That should present Robert Lewandowski and the Bayern attack with a vulnerable opponent that doesn’t have very much to play for.
RB Leipzig still has title aspirations as well, and will look to extend its own seven-match unbeaten run with a win against an SC Freiburg side just a point out of a Europa League place. Leipzig is currently five points behind Bayern, so dropping points is a luxury Julian Nagelsmann’s squad cannot afford if it will have any hope of catching the reigning champions.