Slip-up before the break? Why Bayern and Dortmund’s opponents can hope

There are certainly easier tasks than playing against Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund right before Christmas. Especially when, like Mainz 05 and SC Freiburg, you have your own European matches during the week. 

But the Nullfünfer and Breisgauer shouldn’t bury their heads in the sand or wave the white flag too soon. There is hope that Bayern and BVB could stumble this weekend. 

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Let’s start with the Black and Yellows. Things are really turbulent in Dortmund at the moment. Instead of pre-Christmas calm, Nico Schlotterbeck lost his temper after the Champions League draw against Bodø/Glimt. "Everyone is just playing their own game a bit. The players who come on lose every ball. And I always say: a winner’s mentality also means killing off the game sometimes. We didn’t manage that at all," he said directly after the final whistle at the 'DAZN' microphone. 

He also harshly criticized substitutes like Karim Adeyemi and Serhou Guirassy: "If you come on in the 60th minute, I expect 30 minutes of full throttle. It all looked nice, we combined a bit right and left, but you have to kill the game, and we didn’t do that." That hit home. 

While the BVB stars are currently preoccupied with themselves, this could be an advantage for Freiburg. Especially since they are very strong at home. They have scored 13 of their 20 season goals in front of their home fans.

According to 'Bundesliga.de', the Breisgauer play much more dominantly at home and had 57 percent possession in 13 Bundesliga matches, compared to just 49 percent away. They also fight harder in their home stadium. At home, they win 52 percent of their duels, but as guests, less than half.

This could be an advantage for SC if they want to achieve something against the Black and Yellows. Especially since the previous record actually favors BVB. Dortmund have won the last seven games against Freiburg, always scoring at least three goals. But everyone also expected the Borussians to win against Bodø/Glimt, which, as we know, didn’t happen. 

Bad Omen for Bayern?

Bayern Munich also fell behind in the Champions League against Sporting Lisbon. But unlike Dortmund, the record champions won 3:1. While they lost to Arsenal in the Champions League, the Munich side are still unbeaten in the Bundesliga. Only Union Berlin managed to take a point from Bayern at the Alte Försterei. Speaking of Union: Mainz now have an old Bundesliga acquaintance on the bench, who has to make his comeback of all times against the league leaders. 

But there is hope for Urs Fischer and his Mainz side. The 14th matchday in the Bundesliga could become a bad omen for Vincent Kompany and his Bayern team. In the past two years, they also lost for the first time just before the winter break on matchday 14. Two years ago, they were crushed 5:1 at Eintracht Frankfurt, and last season, they lost to none other than Mainz 05. 

Even if that is currently the only straw the Nullfünfer can cling to, maybe there will be another Christmas miracle if Bayern are already mentally on their winter break. 

So both Bayern and BVB should be warned not to underestimate their opponents. The potential for a slip-up is all the greater. 

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 INA FASSBENDER - AFP or licensors