Borussia Dortmund are back at the Bundesliga summit after 25 matchdays, but the real question is: can they stay there until the end of the 2022-23 season?
Their recent form suggests that they have a great chance of doing so, especially since they’re still the only undefeated team in the German top-flight this year. As a result, the Bundesliga 2023 odds have slightly swung in their favour.
Meanwhile, if you zoom in at the bottom of the table, you’ll see that the relegation battle is heating up, as four teams are desperate to get out of there.
Hoffenheim are safe for now in 15th, but they only have a slender lead over the likes of Hertha Berlin, Schalke, and VfB Stuttgart.
Without further ado, read on as SBOTOP updates you on the most recent Bundesliga 2023 news.
Borussia Dortmund now control their destiny
With the victory over Koln, Borussia Dortmund have now won nine and drawn once in their 10 league games in 2023.
The fact that Borussia Dortmund beat Koln 6-1 on Sunday to move to the top of the Bundesliga standings shows that Koln’s struggles are real.
The Yellow Wall went on a scoring spree, with goals from Raphael Guerreiro, Sebastien Haller, Marco Reus, and youngster Donyell Malen. Davie Seike netted the consolation goal for the Billy Goats to make sure that this wasn’t a clean sheet for BVB.
Borussia Dortmund are now in control of their destiny, and they can bring home two trophies if they stay unbeaten throughout the rest of this season.
On April 2, Borussia Dortmund will head to the Allianz Arena for another Der Klassiker match against Bayern Munich. BVB managed to hold the defending champions to a 2-2 draw in their previous meeting, so getting another positive result against them is quite possible.
Other than the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund can also win this season’s DFB-Pokal. However, they’re in for another big test as they’ll take on RB Leipzig in the quarter-finals, four days after the Der Klassiker against Bayern Munich.
The hope for Edin Terzic’s side is that no one will pick up an injury during the international break, as several players from his squad were called up.
Nico Schlotterbeck, Emre Can, Tom Rothe, and Marius Wolf will be representing Germany. Jude Bellingham, Thomas Meunier, Raphael Guerreiro, Julian Ryerson, Donyell Malen, Gio Reyna, Sebastien Haller, and Soumaila Coulibaly are also called up by England, Belgium, Portugal, Norway, Netherlands, USA, Ivory Coast, and France, respectively.
Bayern Munich have a lot to reflect on
Bayern Munich are in a pickle after ceding the top spot to Borussia Dortmund following their 2-1 loss to Bayer Leverkusen on Monday.
Joshua Kimmich scored the first goal for the Bavarians, but Die Werkself mounted a huge comeback via two penalties.
Referee Tobias Steiler booked Amine Adli twice for diving. But the yellow cards were rescinded both times, as the VAR showed that Adli was fouled by Benjamin Pavard and Dayot Upamecano inside the box during those two key sequences.
Exequiel Palacios converted the two penalties to complete the comeback for Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayer Leverkusen have now won three straight games. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich’s three-game winning streak was halted at an inopportune time.
Bayern Munich’s overall form this season has been confusing for their fans. On one night, they would lose to a struggling team like Augsburg, but they would beat PSG in the Champions League Round of 16.
Are the Bavarians taking the Bundesliga for granted because they are the 10-time defending champions? Maybe. Either way, this international break will give Julian Nagelsmann and co. time to reflect on their priorities this year.
Now or never for teams in the drop zone
VfB Stuttgart are at the bottom with 20 points, which is a huge fall from their ninth-place finish two seasons ago. Schalke and Hertha Berlin occupy the other spots with 21 points, although the latter is in much better form.
Hoffenheim saw their four-game losing streak end on Saturday when they defeated Hertha Berlin, but they’ll be without one of their top scorers, Munas Dabbur, since he was given a red card.
Die Kraichgauer were dreaming of the Champions League when they were fourth in the table after matchday 10, but they went on an unwanted club record 14-match winless run before last weekend.
Local reports claim that Hoffenheim were planning to fire Pellegrino Matarazzo if they didn’t win against Hertha Berlin last Saturday. But with the win, Matarazzo’s job appears safe, at least for now.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
