[ad_1]
AFP Sport takes a look at what is at stake on the field when the German top flight finishes a two-month shutdown to play its final nine days.
Some things remain the same …
The teams have been tested and forced into quarantine training camps due to the virus, and all matches will be played behind closed doors in the league with the highest attendance in world football.
So this will not be the Bundesliga as we know it, but something else may be the same as before: Bayern, the most successful club in the country, is on the way to winning another title, which would be its eighth consecutive.
They had had an uneven start to the season with Niko Kovac behind them before the close, with Hansi Flick entering as coach and Bayern winning 10 and drawing one of their last 11 league games.
The Bavarians are four points away from Dortmund at the top and have been busy since their last game, with Flick signing a new contract until 2023.
Key players Thomas Mueller and Alphonso Davies did the same with extensions of their own, while former striker Miroslav Klose joined as assistant coach.
With Robert Lewandowski scoring 25 goals in 23 games, Bayern is formidable. They have yet to visit Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen, though it remains to be seen how much advantage at home will be significant without fans.
Beware of Haaland
It could still be a four-horse title race, with Borussia Moenchengladbach six points out of the fourth, but Dortmund is in the best position to stop Bayern.
Lucien Favre’s side was last seen leaving the Champions League at Paris Saint-Germain, but before they were in an exciting form led by young stars Haaland and Jadon Sancho.
They won seven of the league’s eight games after 19-year-old Norwegian powerhouse Haaland arrived from Red Bull Salzburg. He scored nine goals in that race.
However, Dortmund won’t be able to depend on its fans, who generally fill the 81,000-capacity Signal Iduna park and its next two games at home, against Ruhr rival Schalke on Saturday and then Bayern, losing much of their lead as a result. .
“Having to play behind closed doors is a huge challenge, especially for a club like BVB, which draws a lot of passion from its fans,” admitted Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke.
Dortmund must also visit Leipzig, who reached the Champions League quarterfinals before the suspension, but whose irregular league shape after the winter break saw them fall out of rhythm.
At Timo Werner, they have their own fearsome striker. And at Julian Nagelsmann, 32, they have one of the most exciting young coaches in Europe, so anything is possible.
Gladbach was the last team to beat Bayern in the league, but would now settle for stopping fifth-ranked Leverkusen to secure the Champions League standings.
There are two points between those sides, which will meet next weekend.
Below them, in the fight for a place in the Europa League, Schalke, Wolfsburg, Freiburg and Hoffenheim are two points away.
Bremen in danger
At the bottom, Paderborn underpins the division, but Werder Bremen’s plight is more surprising.
The four-time champions are four points behind Fortuna Dusseldorf in the relegation play-off spot and eight points from absolute safety.
They have a game in hand, but they are in danger of following the path of Hamburg and Stuttgart, two giants who have been relegated in recent seasons.
“We all know how precarious our position in the league is. That is enough motivation,” said sports director Frank Baumann when asked about playing home games without fans.
Elsewhere, Hertha Berlin appears to be far enough from the downhill problems, but it has been a chaotic campaign in the capital.
Bruno Labbadia has become the club’s fourth coach this season since the close began, with Jurgen Klinsmann’s short time at the end.
bur-as / dmc
