Bundesliga 2022-23: Matchday 25 Preview

Borussia Dortmund will seek to regain title race momentum at home to 1. FC Köln, with rivals FC Bayern München facing a tricky visit to Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Matchday 25 of the German league this weekend.

Dortmund are now two points behind Bayern after dropping points for the first time in 2023 with a 2-2 Revierderby draw at FC Schalke 04 – despite superb strikes from Nico Schlotterbeck and Raphael Guerreiro. They will fancy their chances of returning to winning ways against Köln and retaking top spot on Saturday evening – at least until the champions play on Sunday.

The Billy Goats are without a goal and have just one point from their last four games, slipping to a 2-0 home defeat to VfL Bochum 1848 last Friday. If they can pull off an upset it would be a big boost at a time they are anxiously looking over their shoulders from 12th position to the seven-point gap they have over the bottom three.

Should Dortmund win, defending champions Bayern will need a result at Leverkusen on Sunday to move back to the summit ahead of Der Klassiker after the international break. With both sides smashing seven goals in their past two league games, a high-scoring encounter could be on the cards as Werkself boss Xabi Alonso faces Bayern – where he won three straight Bundesliga titles as a player – for the first time as coach.

Things are even tighter at the other end of the table, with five sides separated by three points in the battle to beat the drop. TSG Hoffenheim are under the most pressure, sinking right to the bottom after losing their last seven matches. They would relish a positive upturn in form in a big six-pointer away at Hertha Berlin, who are two points ahead of them in 15th.

Hertha drew 1-1 at home to 1. FSV Mainz 05 last weekend and were one of three sides in the relegation scrap to get a point. Schalke were celebrating holding Dortmund in their dramatic Revierderby to continue a seven-match unbeaten run. They now put that form on the line away at 13th-place Augsburg, who are perfect from four home fixtures in 2023.

VfB Stuttgart’s 1-1 draw at UEFA Champions League contenders Eintracht Frankfurt last time out is breeding hope of a similar revival under Bruno Labbadia. A home encounter to eighth-placed VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday looks a test they can pass.

Bochum were brilliant at times in their first win in five at Köln last Friday, but face a real challenge claiming points again on Saturday at home to RB Leipzig, who are flying high in third.

Leipzig want an away win – after their visit to Manchester City on Tuesday - to keep up their push for a spot in the top four. They are level on points, after all, with both 1. FC Union Berlin and SC Freiburg. That duo face European action too – against Union St. Gilloise and Juventus respectively – in UEFA Europa League second legs on Thursday. Both sides face potentially difficult encounters on Sunday, with Union at home to Frankfurt, and Freiburg visiting seventh-placed Mainz, who are unbeaten in five and now knocking on the door of the European places themselves.

Matchday 25 will open on Friday night with a meeting of Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bremen. Niclas Füllkrug extended his lead at the top of the scoring chart to 15 last week, but Gladbach talisman Marcus Thuram has got just one of his 11 this season since the winter break. Both sides will want to return to winning ways and it is almost impossible to choose between them as they go into the game level on 30 points in 10th and 11th position.

There are also some fascinating matches in store in Bundesliga 2 this weekend. The battle for promotion is really heating up with the top three separated by just two points – and only two automatic promotion spots up for grabs.

All of the top three are at home this weekend. Leaders SV Darmstadt 98 will need to be at their best to claim their first win in four against sixth-placed 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday night. They could have been leapfrogged by that stage by 1. FC Heidenheim 1846, who host Karlsruher SC (currently eighth after five consecutive wins) on Friday, and by Hamburger SV, who host Holstein Kiel (ninth) on Saturday lunchtime.