The Bundesliga looks poised to maintain its momentum with the third set of fixtures following a two-month lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Things remain pretty much the same at the top of the standings as both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund won their respective games over the weekend, keeping one of the closest title races in Europe firmly open.
Meanwhile, RB Leipzig revived their form with a thumping 5-0 win over Mainz on Sunday to return to third place on the Bundesliga table. Bayer Leverkusen follow close behind in fourth place after beating fellow top-four contender Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 on Saturday.
At the other end of the table, the fight to avoid relegation continued as bottom-placed Paderborn only managed a point against Hoffenheim on Saturday while Werder Bremen established a 1-0 victory over Freiburg on the same day.
Let us now take a look at what’s in store for us as the Bundesliga returns this midweek:
Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich (Prediction: 2-2)
Borussia Dortmund will welcome Bayern Munich to the Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday night in a mouth-watering clash that will have a massive impact on the race for the Bundesliga title.
Both clubs will enter Der Klassiker on the back of morale-boosting weekend wins in the German top-flight; while the Dortmund giants secured a 2-0 win over Wolfsburg, the Bavarians tamed a second-half scare to establish a 5-2 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.
Only four points currently separate the Bundesliga rivals but a victory for the visitors will leave the title-chasing hosts with a mountain to climb, as it would extend the gap between the two clubs to seven points.
Lucien Favre’s men are keen on sending a strong message to the perennial Bundesliga champions as they aim to win their first league title since the 2011-12 season. Meanwhile, Hansi Flick’s side will hope to secure the top-flight bragging rights over BVB for the second time this season as they continue their relentless march to an eighth consecutive league title.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Wolfsburg (Prediction: 2-0)
Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg will go head to head at the Bay Arena on Tuesday in a game that will be crucial in the battle for the European spots this season.
The hosts currently occupy fourth place on the standings after defeating Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 on Saturday and will be hoping to keep pace with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund as they aim for a top-three finish.
The visitors, on the other hand, are sixth on the league table, two points clear of seventh-placed Freiburg, and will be hoping to maintain, if not improve, their place in the final European spot as the likes of Freiburg, Schalke 04 and Hoffenheim follow close behind in the race.
Eintracht Frankfurt vs SC Freiburg (Prediction: 1-2)
Eintracht Frankfurt will be looking to end their five-game losing streak in the Bundesliga when they welcome SC Freiburg to the Commerzbank Arena on Tuesday evening.
The hosts currently sit at 14th place in the league standings, just four points ahead of the relegation play-off spot, after succumbing to a discouraging 5-2 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich on Saturday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Freiburg occupy seventh place on the table after suffering a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to a relegation-threatened Werder Bremen side over the weekend and will be keen to overturn their fortunes as they aim to challenge for the European spots.
Werder Bremen vs Borussia Monchengladbach (Prediction: 1-3)
Borussia Monchengladbach travel to the Weser Stadium to face Werder Bremen in a clash that will affect both ends of the table on Tuesday evening.
The visitors were dealt a massive blow to their top-four hopes on Saturday as they suffered a 3-1 defeat at home to Bayer Leverkusen. They now occupy the fifth spot in the league standings, a point away from the final Champions League spot, currently occupied by Die Werkself.
Meanwhile, the hosts, who are 17th on the Bundesliga table despite a 1-0 win over Freiburg over the weekend, will be fighting to get out of the drop zone and avoid relegation into the second tier of German football for the first time in almost three decades.
RB Leipzig vs Hertha Berlin (Prediction: 3-1)
RB Leipzig will hope to maintain their place in the top four when they face Hertha Berlin at the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday evening.
The hosts currently occupy third place in the Bundesliga after securing a thumping 5-0 win over Mainz on Sunday and will aim to ward off fellow competitors Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen in the race for the Champions League spots.
The visitors, on the other hand, sit 11th on the league standings after registering a 4-0 win over their city rivals Union Berlin on Saturday and will hope to climb their way to the other end of the table with a favourable result in midweek.
Hoffenheim vs FC Köln (Prediction: 1-2)
Hoffenheim are set to play host to FC Köln at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena on Wednesday night as they aim to leapfrog Schalke and Freiburg to get closer to the European spots.
The hosts were held to a 1-1 draw by bottom-placed Paderborn on Saturday and currently occupy seventh place on the league standings. Similarly, FC Köln were also held to a 2-2 draw by relegation play-off spot holders Fortuna Dusseldorf and now sit 10th on the Bundesliga table, two points behind their midweek opponents.
Fortuna Dusseldorf vs Schalke (Prediction: 0-1)
Fortuna Dusseldorf will go head to head with Schalke at the Esprit Arena this Wednesday as they look to improve their position in the Bundesliga and get themselves out of the relegation play-off spot.
The hosts squandered a two-goal lead and failed to cut the gap between themselves and FC Koln to a single point when they finished their Sunday clash against the Cologne-based outfit with a 2-2 scoreline. Meanwhile, the visitors sit eighth on the league standings and have a great opportunity to leapfrog Wolfsburg and Freiburg into the final Europa League spot.
Augsburg vs Paderborn (Prediction: 2-0)
Augsburg will be looking to build on their empowering victory over the weekend when they face bottom-placed Paderborn at the WWK Arena on Wednesday night.
The hosts established a 3-0 away victory over eighth-placed Schalke on Sunday and currently occupy the 12th spot on the standings. Their opponents, on the other hand, have been at the bottom of the table for much of the season and failed only came off with a point from Saturday’s clash against Hoffenheim.
Union Berlin vs Mainz (Prediction: 1-0)
Union Berlin will hope to respond to 4-0 their derby defeat over the weekend when they host relegation-threatened Mainz at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei on Wednesday.
The hosts occupy 13th place on the Bundesliga table and will be looking to close the gap between themselves and Hertha Berlin, who sit four points away at 11th place. Meanwhile, the visitors sit three points ahead of the relegation play-off spot at 15th place after suffering a humiliating 5-0 defeat to RB Leipzig on Sunday.
Follow us on facebook for more sports news & updates