Bundesliga’s Recap of their 2019/20 Season Which Restarts Soon
The German Football League (DFL) is restarting professional soccer with safety protocols in place — but with the moratorium on soccer lasting so long, a refresher on the battle for the title and what team is threatened with relegation seems a good idea for many soccer fans.
German soccer kicks off this weekend, after a long moratorium because of the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of COVID-19 on the global soccer world has been unprecedented and the world is watching Germany as they relaunch their season — in empty stadiums with soccer fans left outside.
Just to catch you up on the thrilling competition, here is a recap of the 2019/20 Bundesliga season so far: all you need to know about the thrilling season before it was put on hold.
In America, this soccer action on Fox, but the Bundesliga’s current deal expires at the end of this season and then fans will be tuning into ESPN+ as the new U.S. home to watch Germany’s top soccer league. A
The Bundesliga Race For A Champion
While FC Bayern München, or FC Bayern as the famous club is called in America, have won seven Bundesliga titles but regardless of that stronghold on lifting the cup, last season the title race went down to the final day of the season with Borussia Dortmund (BVB) leading the ranks until the very end when history repeated itself.
The hunt for the Bundesliga Champions 2019/20 resumes this weekend.
Dortmund is second once again, four points off the pace set by FC Bayern at the top.
Read: TODAY’S YOUNG SOCCER STARS & UNSUNG HEROES OF THE BUNDESLIGA
The pack of Bundesliga clubs chasing FC Bayern is tightly grouped with just three points separating RB Leipzig, Borussia Mönchengladbach, and Bayer 04 Leverkusen from third to fifth.
With 27 points still on offer, there are sure to still be twists and turns before this year’s champion is crowned.
League leaders FC Bayern still have three of the top four to play as they will travel to both Dortmund and Leverkusen, while playing host to Borussia Mönchengladbach.
This could be tough for FC Bayern who suffered back-to-back defeats against Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen in the first half of the season. Meanwhile, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund will battle it out at the Red Bull Arena on the penultimate weekend of the season.
UEFA Champions League — Push for Europe
With a gap of 10 points already separating FC Schalke 04 in sixth from Bayer Leverkusen in fifth, it looks likely that the four UEFA Champions League qualification spots on offer will be dispersed between the current top five.
However, the race for the final UEFA Europa League qualification spot in sixth – and a potential further spot in the seventh dependent on the winner of the DFB Cup – is still very open.
The teams in the thick of the battle are FC Schalke, VfL Wolfsburg, SC Freiburg, TSG Hoffenheim, 1. FC Köln and Union Berlin. The latter pair both being promoted to the Bundesliga this season adds another storyline to their tales, while FC Schalke 04 are bouncing back from a disappointing mid-table finish last season.
This Season’s Battle Against Relegation
Some of the teams mentioned above hoping for a late push towards Europe will need to be just as aware of what’s happening over their shoulders, with dropping into a late relegation battle equally as possible. As things stand, Paderborn are 10 points adrift of safety at the bottom with Bremen two points ahead, and only four points behind Fortuna Düsseldorf in the relegation play-off spot in 16th.
There are small gaps between each side, just as there is from Fortuna to 1. FSV Mainz 05 four points ahead of them. But only a single point separating FC Augsburg, Hertha Berlin and Eintracht Frankfurt in the lower half of mid-table and that is where worry begins to creep in and hope for the likes of SC Paderborn 07 can begin to grow.
For teams at the bottom, having a goalscorer in form can often be the difference between picking up points or being left empty-handed this late in a season.
Read: GERMANY’S SPECIAL COVID SPORTS MEDICINE TASK FORCE
Promoted Paderborn have become unlucky there, with top scorer Streli Mamba ruled out for the rest of the season. While Werder Bremen with Milot Rashica, Fortuna Düsseldorf with Rouwen Hennings, and Mainz with Robin Quaison all have a goalscorer they can usually rely on.
It could come down to which of those is most clinical in front of goal in the final nine games of the campaign.
Source: Release