Bundesliga, Week 13: Stuttgart find a win, Bayern set to keep cruising

The Bundesliga is set to squeeze in five rounds of play between now and the winterpause, which begins December 22. In other words, the table could look quite different by the time play resumes in late January. But those shifts have to begin now, with the bottom-dwellers picking up points, and those in the European positions proving they’ve got the goods to stay top.

Or as near to top as Bayern Munich will let them get, anyway.

Recognizing the strength of ‘Gladbach, Wolfsburg head coach Dieter Hecking set up a strategy that functioned by ceding midfield space and playing aggressive defense on the wings. With both Wolfsburg fullbacks aggressively approaching Andre Hahn and Patrick Hermann, the wingers were unusually silent the entire match. In particular, Hahn only registered 36 touches in 70 minutes and was the first player withdrawn by Lucien Favre. Wolfsburg had the wings controlled, and this left BMG trying to force their way into this match through the center.

Borussia Mönchengladbach are a side that hasn’t shown the ability to take the step to using possession as a viable strategy. Like Dortmund of yesteryear, ‘Gladbach’s reliance on the counter attack hasn’t come with a corresponding ability to beat weaker sides when they cede the field to their opponents. It took Dortmund several seasons before they were able to effectively incorporate possession soccer into their counter-first approach. However, once they did, they started being a dominant force in the Bundesliga and Europe.

For much of the season, Wolfsburg and M’Gladbach have mirrored each other’s narrative. Both are trying to reach the Champions League after a significant absence – Wolfsburg since 2009-10, M’Gladbach since 1977-78. Both are on the verge of advancing in the Europa League despite losing to strong European clubs from England and Spain. Both started with solid unbeaten runs, yet recent results have called into question their top-of-table viability.

Now the northern rivals go head-to-head for the first time this season in an intriguing Bundesliga showcase. A winner could use the result to propel themselves into a strong position to end out the fall season of the Bundesliga.

Getting even a point against Bayern Munich is an excellent result any team in the Bundesliga. It’s a lot easier said than done, even for (supposed) title contenders like Borussia Dortmund, who can somewhat compete with Bayern from a financial standpoint. Bayern have the money -- revenues of over €528m, breaking the record they set last season -- to buy the world’s best, and that shows in trophy after trophy.

As we saw midweek, even a team like Manchester City is going to have a tough time with Bayern. Despite the fact that City also have infinite money, and had a man advantage for about 70 minutes, they were almost beaten by the Bavarians. Only a Sergio Agüero hat-trick saved last year’s Premier League champions.

There’s been a bit of a gap between the golden age of free-kick specialists -- David Beckham, Juninho, Shinsuke Nakamura and Juan Roman Riquelme were all in their primes at the same time! -- but Çalhanoğlu is here to bring us out of a dark age, and for that, we are thankful.

Hertha BSC injuries and suspensions:

Out: Sascha Burchert (muscle problems), Marius Gersbeck (knee), Sebastian Langkamp (ankle), Fabian Lustenberger (groin), Peter Pekarík (thigh), Alexander Baumjohann (knee), Tolga Cigerci (toe)