For many, last weekend marked a sad end to the Bundesliga season. Bayern Munich pulled off a comeback victory against Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker, cementing their place at the top of the table. They're probably going to hold onto that place for the rest of the season and clinch the title soon. It's unfortunate for people who are not Bayern supporters.
Bundesliga schedule, scores and results from Week 11
In which there’s still plenty to play for.
Christof Koepsel
But the rest of the table is really, really fun, and gives us plenty of reasons to keep tuning in. The race for the top four is going to go down to the wire, as is the relegation race. There isn’t a clearly defined big four here, nor are any of the relegation-threatened teams truly awful. There are a lot of races that will be going until May, and there are some big games at both ends of the table in Week 11.
Those who hope to catch as much of the big teams as possible will not be pleased to learn that Schalke and Bayer Leverkusen are on at the same time as Bayern Munich this week, and are therefore not on television in the English-speaking world. The Saturday late game is ... ugh.
Hertha Berlin vs. Hannover
Friday, 2:30 p.m ET. TV: GolTV (U.S. and Canada), BT Sport 2 (U.K.)
These are respectable, reasonably watchable teams, but neither looks too up for a European push or a relegation fight this season. They’ll probably both be pretty comfortably mid-table, and the best we can hope for is goals. Since Hannover are playing away, we probably won’t get to see too many. You might have better viewing options from other leagues during this timeslot, if we’re being honest.
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Bayern Munich
Saturday, 9:30 a.m ET. TV: GolTV (U.S. and Canada)
Watching Bayern Munich steamroll teams can be fun, but seeing if they can get results with a heavily rotated team might be even more interesting. The Bavarians are coming off a Klassiker and a Champions League match, while international managers are likely to show utter disregard for the health of their players during the upcoming FIFA dates, so Pep Guardiola might take this opportunity to rest a handful of first-choice players. That could make this game a bit interesting. Plus, Eintracht score plenty of goals, but have a bad defense.
Werder Bremen vs. Stuttgart
Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET. TV: GolTV (U.S. and Canada), BT Sport 1 (U.K.)
If relegation six-pointers are your thing, this certainly counts as one. These two teams were once giants of the Bundesliga, challenging Bayern for the title and qualifying for Europe comfortably. Now, they’re both a tad bit embarrassing. Werder managed to cement their place at the bottom by getting killed by Bayern a couple of weeks ago, and have a league worst minus-12 goal differential.
But Werder did win last week, upsetting Mainz away. Stuttgart, while bad, have only lost two of their last five matches. The Bundesliga relegation battle should be fun, since there doesn't appear to be a single irredeemably awful team.
Wolfsburg vs. Hamburg
Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET. TV: GolTV (U.S. and Canada), BT Sport 2 (U.K.)
Hamburg might be sitting near the bottom of the Bundesliga table, but the little success they’ve had this season has come against big or successful teams. They drew Bayern Munich and fourth-placed Hoffenheim, and they’ve beaten Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund. Who’s to say they can’t upset Wolfsburg?
Die Wölfe are having a great season, though, and are second in the league in goals despite getting just three from their strikers. They’ve won seven in a row in all competitions. They really shouldn’t fail to beat HSV.
Borussia Dortmund vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach
Sunday, 11:30 a.m. ET. TV: GolTV (U.S. and Canada), ESPN (U.K.)
Easily the biggest match of the week, even if BVB are down in the relegation zone. With each week that they fail to win, Dortmund face a steeper potential climb back toward European places. But due to the ultra-competitiveness of the Bundesliga below first place, they’re just 10 points behind Hoffenheim at the moment, and could be back where they surely think they belong in the table after a good month.
But Gladbach will like their chances to get a result, because they’ve been able to get results everywhere. They followed up their draw away to Bayern Munich with wins over Eintracht and Hoffenheim, as well as a shutout away win in Europa League this week. They appear to be the most likely candidate to win the Not Bayern Title this season, and a win could either cement that or trigger a huge reversal of fortunes for both teams.
Schedule and scores (all times ET, results will be updated as they come in)
Hertha Berlin 0-2 Hannover
Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Mainz
Augsburg 3-0 Paderborn
Hoffenheim 3-4 Köln
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-4 Bayern Munich - Full match report here
Freiburg 2-0 Schalke
Werder Bremen 2-0 Stuttgart
Wolfsburg 2-0 Hamburg
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach - Full match report here
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