Last year it was all about the Champions League spot, which was eventually achieved in the very end, mainly due to Frankfurt’s own suicide, but this season it’s all about the Bundesliga title for Borussia. Of course, as always, Dortmund failed to use the first (and shaky) year for Julian Nagelsmann in Munich and are now 6 points behind, with a comfortable 9 points cushion ahead of third-placed Bayer Leverkusen. The Millionaires are aiming to win in every match until the end and hope that Munich will stumble twice, which is a hard task, mainly due to Borussia’s form. On top of that, their strongest weapon, Erling Haaland, is injured (again) and probably won’t feature in a derby match against in-form RB Leipzig. In fact, this is his fourth injury since September last year. In the previous days, Haaland played for the Norwegian national team, and scored three goals in two games (against Slovakia and Armenia), but received a blow to the wrist, which was obviously fatal.Two years ago, Spain scored six past Germany. Now they will face off in the biggest tournamentHaaland has spent just a little more time on the field this season than off. So far, he has missed as many as 17 games and played 23 in all competitions. As much as he physically looks dominant, he obviously has serious problems. Until he was 21, he was spared as many as 203 days due to injuries. For the sake of comparison, Cristiano Ronaldo was injured for 209 days in little more than ten years, not to mention Thomas Muller, who was injured for 125 days during his entire career.Kimmich being there isn’t really surprising but Lewa in top 10 ahead of some of Europe’s best creators 😳 pic.twitter.com/2MuqlCcq4O— Musa (@Musa_Bavarian) March 31, 2022 Coach Marco Rose was pessimistic when talking about the Norwegian striker ahead of the Leipzig game, but acknowledged that Borussia’s best player will start the game – the fans. Borussia Park will be full again after the Covid-19 restrictions were canceled by the Bundesliga.“His commitment is very questionable, I’m open and honest about that. Erling is always very optimistic. But the foot is fat, swollen, blue. We’re working on it, but there’s a big question mark. The most important personnel question is the fans! We are really looking forward to the fact that after more than 700 days they can finally go back to the stadium, that we have a full house, and that everyone is there. I can already see that in the dressing room. Marco Reus has been walking around with an enchanted smile for days because he is simply looking forward to a full stadium. That can give us a lot” said Rose.Countries with the most players in the top 5 European leagues – Senegal in the top 10It’s a bit different at the top of the Bundesliga. Bayern Munich have other worries, apart from playing in Freiburg’s new stadium. Julian Nagelsmann is torn between a full squad and a win in Freiburg and resting his important players ahead of the Champions League quarterfinal match against Villarreal on Wednesday. And first ‘problem’ is Robert Lewandowski, who has problems with ribs but will force his coach to let him play, in his never-ending quest for every Bundesliga record possible. Bavarians coach also has issues with Leon Goretzka (patellar tendon problems) and Niklas Sule (slight muscle fiber tear)“We only consider resting when someone is injured. With Lewy, we have to see how the rib reacts. We won’t take any risks. Nevertheless, it would of course be good if he got playing time tomorrow. I assume that he’ll be in the squad and he’ll be able to play too. Leon reacted a bit in the hip but otherwise, he’s trained exceptionally well and I’d love to see him play. Benji Pavard can be a substitute for Sule, he is a trained central defender. The nice thing about him is that he can also play right-back and has had a lot of success in that position” said Nagelsmann.BUNDESLIGA – ROUND 28Friday Union Berlin – Koln 1-0 (0-0)/Awoniyi 49/Saturday 16.30: (6.00) Freiburg (4.20) Bayern (1.55)16.30: (1.50) Hoffenheim (4.30) Bochum (6.50)16.30: (1.47) Eintr.Frankfurt (4.40) Greuther Furth (7.00)16.30: (3.15) Bielefeld (3.30) Stuttgart (2.45)16.30: (1.45) Leverkusen (4.80) Hertha (7.75)19.30: (2.45) Dortmund (3.50) RB Leipzig (3.00)Sunday 16.30: (3.20) Augsburg (3.10) Wolfsburg (2.55)18.30: (2.30) M’ gladbach (3.50) Mainz (3.25)*** odds are subject to change
