Four teams are separated at the bottom of the Bundesliga table by a mere one point.
The battle for Bundesliga survival is thick, as the German top flight heads toward the winter break.
Mainz could emerge from the bottom three with a win over Heidenheim on Saturday. The 05ers and Heidenheim will meet for the first time in the Bundesliga in a massive six-pointer.
Heidenheim are 13th in the standings and four points above the bottom three. They managed a massive 3-2 win over fellow relegation battlers Darmstadt a week ago. The win ended a three-match winless streak.
Mainz went unbeaten in five of their last six Bundesliga matches. However, four of those five matches were draws. Mainz have been poor at home this season, posting a 1W-1D-4L record.
RB Leipzig won their last four matches in all competitions versus Hoffenheim. Three of those four fixtures saw Leipzig score 3.0 goals or more.
Hoffenheim have rebounded this season after a poor campaign in 2022-23. The Hoff are sixth, with 23 points from 14 matches. However, the Blues failed to win four of their last five games, taking just four points from 15.
RB Leipzig are in the title race but sit seven points behind Bayer Leverkusen ahead of the round. Die Roten Bullen won their last two Bundesliga matches, defeating Heidenheim 2-1 and Borussia Dortmund 3-2.
Bochum took four points from six from Union Berlin last season. A 2-1 home win was followed by a 1-1 draw away in the capital. Bochum’s win was just their first in the last six matches versus Union.
Union Berlin are out of the relegation zone thanks to a draw and a win in their last two games. The dismissal of long-time coach Urs Fischer may have done the trick. The Irons defeated Borussia Monchengladbach last weekend 3-1.
Bochum are just one place and three points above Union in the standings. VFL went unbeaten in five of their last six league games but lost 3-1 away to Hoffenheim a week ago. Neither of these teams scored many goals, and both tallied a mere 15 in the opening 14 games.
Freiburg are aiming for a third consecutive win in the Bundesliga on Sunday. They will welcome Koln, the league’s 16th-place team. Despite Koln’s position, they are improving, with back-to-back games without a loss.
The Billy Goats defeated Darmstadt 1-0 and drew nil-nil with Mainz in their last two Bundesliga fixtures. Koln are the lowest-scoring team in the Bundesliga, with a mere 10 goals from 14 matches.
Freiburg won four of their last six games versus the Billy Goats. Last season, Freiburg posted a 2-0 home win and 1-0 away win versus Koln in the Bundesliga.