The Matchday Preview

All season long premium subscribers will receive exclusive previews for the upcoming round of Bundesliga fixtures. Today, game week 21 kicks off!

All season-long premium subscribers will receive exclusive previews for the upcoming round of Bundesliga fixtures. Today, game week 21 kicks off! There is a decisive fixture in the title race, and countless other exciting encounters to keep you entertained.

Borussia Dortmund v SC Freiburg 

After 3 consecutive wins to start the new year, Borussia Dortmund dropped points again with a dismal display in Heidenheim. The 0:0 draw was fortuitous in the end, with Heidenheim registering 11 shots to Dortmund’s 8. 

Injuries to Jadon Sancho, Julian Brandt, and Marco Reus left Dortmund thin in attack, but even then, it was embarrassing what Edin Terzić’s side brought onto the pitch. Dortmund rarely found Niclas Füllkrug in finishing positions, and Youssoufa Moukoko was constantly tasked with dropping into midfield to pick up positions and drive at the defense. 

Even the substitutions - an aspect of the game where Terzić has excelled in the past - threw up more question marks than answers. The explosive Jamie Bynoe-Gittens was brought off for the untested Dortmund II midfielder Ole Pohlmann, while on 75 minutes, Terzić brought on defender Ramy Bensebaini for center-forward Moukoko. 

Miscoached wouldn’t be the word to describe Freiburg’s defeat to Stuttgart last Saturday. Die Breisgauer were 2:0 down after less than 10 minutes, and the match was all but concluded after Merlin Röhl earned a red card on the quarter-hour mark. 

Despite this being their 3rd defeat from the last 5 league outings, there was still one big positive to come from Saturday’s showing. 

For the first time since August, captain Christian Günter returned to the Freiburg squad, even making his competitive comeback late into the second half. 

A broken arm and a complicated recovery process have seen the so-reliable fullback miss 25 matches in all competitions for Freiburg this season. His return will undoubtedly give Christian Streich’s side a boost as they head to the Signal Iduna Park where Freiburg have not won since 2001.

Prediction: Borussia Dortmund Win

Werder Bremen v FC Heidenheim 

Few would have predicted it ahead of the season, but Saturday’s fixture between Werder Bremen and FC Heidenheim pits two of the division's most in-form sides in a head-to-head encounter.