Bayern versus Schalke in the afternoon, Borussia versus Gladbach in the evening; in the Bundesliga title race, the league leaders and their pursuers in second place are both playing at home this weekend.

”We know that we have to follow them up until the end of the season,” says Niklas Süle about the fixture list. Last weekend and this weekend, the BVB game has been scheduled for after the Bayern one. This will continue into Matchday 33, when Bayern face Leipzig on Saturday evening (18:30 CET) and BVB travel to Augsburg on Sunday (17:30 CET). ”We can only say at the end of the season whether this is an advantage or a disadvantage,” says Süle. Three weeks ago, when the Munich club slipped up away to Mainz in the afternoon, it certainly didn’t put BVB at a disadvantage when they stepped out into a rocking Signal Iduna Park for their Saturday evening game against Frankfurt. 

Süle has a clear view of the situation. “We should only focus on ourselves. We still have one hell of an opportunity. We want to win all three games. Anyone who still needs extra motivation now or special things in training is in the wrong place here,” the central defender told BVB-TV. Süle himself has been in excellent form of late, as the statistics show: in the 6-0 win over Wolfsburg, the Germany international completed 98% of his passes and won 100% of his tackles.

Niklas Süle may well be proven right with a bold statement he made at the winter training camp in Marbella in January: “Nothing is lost yet. The situation in the table is only temporary. I can still remember that BVB were once nine points ahead of Bayern and then Bayern still ended up being crowned champions in the end.” 2018/19 that was. Who knows how the race will end in 2022/23…