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Finally, we have some football on our TV screens again!
The Bundesliga returned this weekend and promises to fill the giant sports void in our lives during the current coronavirus crisis.
The action returns with a grand Remersderby on Saturday afternoon as Borussia Dortmund and Jadon Sancho welcome archrivals Schalke to Westfalenstadion as Bayern Munich travel to face the brave underdog of the Berlin Union on Sunday.
All nine games will air on BT Sport as the sports calendar takes its first steps toward normalization. With a set of cool accessories lined up, Sportsmail offers you some of the things to watch out for.
The Haaland and Sancho connection
In addition to Liverpool’s first three hits, there probably isn’t a more exciting attacking lineup in world football than these two in Dortmund.
Since Dortmund won the race to sign Erling Haaland in January, he has scored nine goals in eight Bundesliga appearances, taking his ridiculous account of the entire campaign to 40 goals in 33 appearances.
Sancho’s departure in front of goal was also ridiculous this season. He has 14 goals and 15 assists in 23 Bundesliga games and was effortlessly combined before the season stopped.
Their relationship will face a derby trial against Schalke on Saturday with Haaland still to play against Dortmund’s bitter rivals. However, Sancho scored the winner in the first leg last season.
The new normal ‘
Bundesliga football will look very different this weekend as it adapts to the new normal. A very strict set of instructions has been sent to players, managers and clubs to follow if matches are played safely.
This week, the teams have been in quarantine camps where the ideal scenario was for the clubs to have hotels or entire apartments for themselves.
If that has not been possible, the squads have had to use their own entrances, elevators, and team meeting rooms to avoid contact with other visitors.
The teams have to use several buses with enough space so that the players feel separated at least 1.5 meters on the way to the stadiums. Players and staff must wear masks on arrival. Local players can travel in their own cars, but car sharing is prohibited.
Players are limited to a maximum of 40 minutes in changing rooms, where they must store masks.
On the field, all active players and officials have to wear a face mask, although managers can lower theirs to shout instructions.
The balls will also be disinfected before and during the game and players must use custom disposable bottles. Substitutes should sit at least one seat apart, or in the stands if the benches are too small.
Players can no longer celebrate in groups, bump all five, or hug each other, and have also been asked not to spit except when rehydrating.
Much British interest
In recent seasons, we have seen an increasing number of underrated English players heading to Germany to start their careers.
Sancho is the obvious example, but more and more are being launched. This season there are a number of talented young people practicing in Germany.
Ethan Ampadu of Chelsea is on loan at RB Leipzig under the guidance of Julian Nagelsmann, while Rabbi Matondo of Wales is enjoying a decisive season with Schalke.
Ademola Lookman left Everton permanently last summer and signed with RB Leipzig after a promising loan period there in 2017-18.
Former West Ham prodigy Reece Oxford represents Augsburg in distress and Jonjoe Kenny, on loan from Goodison Park, will have the difficult task of managing Sancho for Schalke this weekend.
Lewandowski vs Werner
Everyone wants to see targets and these two are the best in the business in that department in Germany. They sit at the top of the Bundesliga scoring charts with Lewandowski (25) just ahead of Werner (21).
The Pole got off to a shocking start to the season, becoming the first player in league history to reach double figures after six games, and also scored in each of the club’s first 11 top-tier games.
Werner has been just as impressive, shooting RB Leipzig into the title race. Amid constant ties to Liverpool, Manchester United and even Bayern himself, Werner has terrified defenses with his scorching pace and precise finish.
Bayern, Dortmund and Leipzig are in search of the title, but the battle for the Golden Shoe promises to be just as fascinating.
Frankfurt vs Borussia Mönchengladbach
Aside from Schalke’s trip to Dortmund, this could well be the game of the weekend.
Despite not having the star names of its rivals, Frankfurt is always capable of altering the odds with the energetic brand of soccer played by the Adi Hutter team.
They led Chelsea to penalties in last season’s Europa League semi-finals before losing at Stamford Bridge. Frankfurt also beat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium earlier in the season.
The impressive form last season led to a major transformation in attack after they lost Luka Jovic to Real Madrid, Ante Rebic on loan to AC Milan and Sebastien Haller, who was a great loss despite his unfortunate form for West. Ham.
They haven’t been that good this season and they’re 12th but they dismantled Bayern 5-1 in November. Look out for Serbian winger Filip Kostic, he is now his star man.
Mönchengladbach, meanwhile, is flourishing under manager Marco Rose after his arrival from Red Bull Salzburg in the summer.
The offensive trio of Marcus Thuram (Lillian’s son), Alassane Plea and Breel Embolo made them lead the Bundesliga in the early stages of the season before a slight drop in form.
They also have Denis Zakaria, a player followed by Liverpool and Manchester United, and impressive German midfielder Florian Neuhaus. World Cup winner Matthias Ginter is also at the center of his defense.
A completely new visual experience
It will be difficult to get used to at first.
We’ve all seen games played in front of poor attendance, but games played behind closed doors before soccer closed were weird.
The echo of player screams for fouls will become the new normal, and TV companies will have to adapt to offer viewers a product that is still highly emotional, despite the flat atmosphere.
For British viewers, BT Sport will have the first opportunity to broadcast football with its new backdrop.
The main matches will be analyzed by a team of live experts, starting at 2 p.m. Saturday with James Richardson and Raphael Honigstein in the studio, along with former Bayern midfielder Owen Hargreaves remotely from his home.
On Sunday, coverage of the studio will begin at 2.15pm, led by Lynsey Hipgrave and Honigstein of the studio, with Hargreaves from home.
Alongside the live games will be the Bundesliga Goals Show, which will provide viewers with all the action and all goals as they happen, from every Bundesliga game on Saturday.
The Goals Show has been a success story of coverage of the BT Champions League.
Hennes still at home
Due to strict guidelines for the Bundesliga to return, some of the club’s pets will not be able to attend games.
Perhaps the most famous of all is the Cologne goat, Hennes IX, who will not be present when they face Mainz on Sunday at the RheinEnergieStadion.
It will be Cologne’s first game without its pet since 2008 and Hennes will be joined by the eagle from Frankfurt, Attila.
Attila usually flies around Frankfurt’s 51,000-seat Commerzbank Stadium before home games and helps put the crowd into a frenzy, but that won’t happen this weekend when they host Monchengladbach.
Young budding stars
The next few weeks will give Premier League fans an idea that some of the players are tied to the summer moves to their club.
No one has more demand than Kai Havertz of Bayer Leverkusen with Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Chelsea, all interested in the No. 10 of 20 years.
He has 10 goals and eight assists so far this season, a bit short on his numbers from last season when he scored 20 goals from midfield.
There is also full-back Bayern running back Alphonso Davies, who broke Chelsea’s defense in their Champions League victory at Stamford Bridge earlier this year.
Lethal in the future and equally adept in his defensive duties, the Canadian could make Manchester United regret not signing him when he was about to leave the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Elsewhere is American star Josh Sargent in Werder Bremen, Leverkusen’s arrival in January at Exequiel Palacios and RB Leipzig midfielder Christopher Nkunku.
A humdinger descent battle
Saturday afternoon brings us a great game at the wrong end of the table when the boys from the basement Paderborn travel to face Fortuna Dusseldorf.
It would always be difficult for Paderborn to stay on top after winning the promotion last season and that has been the case.
Paderborn resumed the bottom of the season with 16 points from 25 games. They are six points behind Dusseldorf, which currently occupy the relegation play-off spot and 10 points behind Mainz that are safe.
Paderborn must take three points to have any hope of survival, while Dusseldorf could kill one of his relegation rivals if they cross the line.
David and Goliath
There would be no bigger mismatch in any of Europe’s top five leagues if they were all up and running than Union Berlin vs. Bayern Munich.
The union is as traditional as it comes. The Stadion An der Alten Forsterei has 22,000, but 18,000 of that are terraces, for example. Unfortunately, it will be empty when Bayern appears.
Many predicted that their arrival in the Bundesliga would not last long, but currently sitting 11th, they are likely to remain there next season. He will delight his fans, who once gave blood to save the club from bankruptcy.
He is a far cry from the power of Bayern, which arrived on Sunday seeking to claim its eighth consecutive league title.
It seemed that for a time Bayern would be a long way from the pace, given the disappointing start they made with Niko Kovac. The Croatian was fired and Hansi Flick, who has now been named the club’s new permanent manager, entered.
With Flick, Davies and Thomas Muller all getting new contracts during the shutdown and Miroslav Klose brought in to coach the first team, Bayern is in a good place and on track to win the title again. Given how they were playing before the close, I wouldn’t bet against them in the Champions League if it were to end.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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