Bundesliga, Week 22: Stuttgart edge Hoffenheim in Schwaben Derby

Hamburg received a wonder goal from Rafael Van der Vaart and downed Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-0 on Saturday. The three points takes them to 34 on the season, and they sit in sixth place. HSV are now only three points behind Eintracht Frankfurt for the fourth Champions League place, but Frankfurt does have a game in hand.

The hosts grabbed the lead in the 24th with a fantastic goal from their Dutch maestro. Van der Vaart received the ball from Artjoms Rudnevs in the middle of the park outside of the Gladbach penalty area. The midfielder looked up and ripped a shot before the defender could close on him. The ball swerved into the far corner out of the reach of Marc Andre ter Stegen. The one goal was all the needed, and they held on for the victory.

While Bayern Munich stretched their lead at the top of the Bundesliga table to 18 points after Friday’s win against Wolfsburg, the battle for second place is wide open. Three teams are within two points of each other, and two of them will face each other on Saturday when Borussia Dortmund host Eintracht Frankfurt.

A week ago, BVB were handed their worst loss of the season, a 4-1 defeat to Hamburg. Not only was the loss hard to take, but Robert Lewandowski was shown a straight red card for a rash challenge. The Polish international will not only miss this weekend’s match, but he’s slated to miss the following two matches also. Midweek in the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk, they showed once again that they are prone to defensive lapses that can cost them dearly.

Who know that Mario took his bicycle to Wolfsburg today?

Werder Bremen vs Freiburg - 15:30 CET / 9:30 AM ET

Freiburg have been one of the surprise sides of the season and are currently sitting in fifth place in the Bundesliga table. If you had to guess the team with by far the second best defense in the Bundesliga, you probably wouldn’t guess Freiburg. Well, you’d be wrong. Pavel Krmas and Diagne Fallou have anchored a defense that is only bested by Bayern at this point in the season. They’ve only allowed 20 goals thus far, and the pair have been a solid wall in front of goalkeeper Oliver Baumann. Werder Bremen are all the way down in 11th place, but only three points separates the two sides. They’ve been very up and down this season with eight wins, four draws, and nine losses. Can they put things together and grab a huge win over a tough opponent?

Prediction: Werder Bremen 1 - 0 Freiburg

Fortuna Düsseldorf vs Greuther Fürth - 15:30 CET / 9:30 AM ET

Oof, this match could be a little brutal to watch. Fortuna Düsseldorf are sitting in 15th place, while Greuther Fürth are propping up the bottom of the table. While both of Fürth’s wins this season have come away from home, Düsseldorf should handle them in this match. It’ll be a grind.

Prediction: Fortuna Düsseldorf 1 - 0 Greuther Fürth