The best and worst of the Matchday 11 weekend Bundesliga schedule

There are no surprises this week as Bayern Munich holds onto their spot at the top of the table after a 3-3 draw with RB Leipzig last week. Bayern is just one point clear of Leverkusen as the race for first place gets tighter than ever. Let’s take a look at the slate for Week 11 and who you should be turning your attention to.

Best of Week 11

Borussia Dortmund v. VfB Stuttgart

Saturday, December 12, 9:30a.m. ET
Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund
Watch on ESPN+

While there aren’t any top-of-the-table matchups this week, 4th-place Dortmund will be hosting 8th-place Stuttgart in a game that’s sure to produce some intense action. Dortmund, just four points out of first place, will be chomping at the bit to grab all three points as they’ve failed to do just that in their last two Bundesliga contests. Last week resulted in a 1-1 draw with Frankfurt, while they dropped the result completely the week before with a 2-1 loss to Cologne. However, the black and yellow tied up their Champions League group stage win with a 2-1 victory over Zenit earlier this week, and they’ll now be looking forward to the knockout rounds. Unfortunately for the hosts, leading scorer Erling Haaland will be sidelined for this game as he’s expected to be out until January with a torn muscle, which will be a good sized blow to Dortmund’s attack. Stuttgart haven’t lost away from home yet this campaign — one of only three teams to do so in the league so far. Last week they stole all three points from Werder Bremen with a 2-1 win, and they’ll look to pounce on Dortmund this weekend as well in hopes of climbing as high as 6th place with a win.

Worst of Week 11

Mainz v. FC Cologne

Saturday, December 12, 9:30a.m. ET
Opel Arena, Mainz
Watch on ESPN+

It feels like we see Mainz ending up in this section quite a bit. I mean, it’s no surprise since they’re one of a few teams who are consistently at the bottom of the table, and they’ve allowed the 2nd-most goals in the league with 24. They’ve only been able to grab one win all season long and only FC Schalke is in a worse place than they are. Of course, this week Mainz hosts Cologne who aren’t doing much better. In 15th place, Cologne is only two points ahead of Mainz as they’ve both only won once this season. Depending on other results this weekend, a loss could see the 05ers drop all the way to the bottom of the table. Cologne is coming off a 2-1 win over Dortmund just two weeks ago while holding Wolfsburg to a 2-2 draw last week. It’s probably safe to say Cologne comes out on top in this one, but it’ll likely be a low-scoring affair either way, and doesn’t impact a whole lot aside from the bottom few slots of the table.

Week 11 Sleeper

Bayer 04 Leverkusen v. TSG Hoffenheim

Sunday, December 13, 12:00p.m. ET
BayArena, Leverkusen
Watch on ESPN+

Second place Leverkusen will look to make the jump to first place with a win over Hoffenheim this weekend. That is, of course, if Bayern Munich were to give up any points to Berlin. Leverkusen are one of only two teams who still remain undefeated this season, the other being Wolfsburg. Most recently enjoying an easy 3-0 win over Schalke, Leverkusen will look to extend their unbeaten streak to 11 with another result against 10th-place Hoffenheim. Lucas Alario is still out with an injury, but that hasn’t stopped Leverkusen from dominating their opponents in his absence. Hoffenheim is coming off a 3-1 win over FC Augsburg last week which ended their seven-game winless streak in Bundesliga play. If they want to start climbing the table, now is the time to do it and they’ve got a tough opponent to overcome especially while on the road. They’ll hope to take the momentum from last week’s win and hand Leverkusen their first loss of the season.

This Weekend’s Full Schedule

All times listed are Eastern. All matches streaming on ESPN+ in the United States.

Saturday, December 12

9:30 a.m.: Borussia Dortmund v. VfB Stuttgart
9:30 a.m.: Borussia Monchengladbach v. Hertha Berlin
9:30 a.m.: Mainz v. FC Cologne
9:30 a.m.: RB Leipzig v. Werder Bremen
9:30 a.m.: SC Freiburg v. Arminia Bielefeld
12:30 p.m.: FC Union Berlin v. Bayern Munich

Sunday, December 13

9:30 a.m.: FC Augsburg v. Schalke 04
12 p.m.: Bayer Leverkusen v. TSG Hoffenheim