The Daily Bee: Five Games to Go

Five games against VfL Bochum, Wolfsburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Augsburg, and Mainz. That’s all that stands between Borussia Dortmund and a Bundesliga title. Bayern Munich do not factor into it: there is nothing the Bavarians can do but sit back and hope that BVB slip up. They truly have nobody in their way but themselves.

Unfortunately, none of these matches will be easy opponents. Bochum are local rivals and always seem to put up a fight above their weight class. Wolfsburg and Mainz are in the top half, with the latter having one of the best second-half records in the entire league. This should not treated as a foregone conclusion. Despite Bayern’s struggles, they are very much capable of winning all five of their remaining games. To guarantee a title, Dortmund will need to do the same.

The Links

• Meanwhile, in another trophy hunt, Die Schwarzgelben unfortunately came up short. The Borussia Dortmund U-19s lost their final against Mainz by the final score of 4-2.
• (Per Ruhr Nachrichten, paywalled): Oliver Kahn and Thomas Tuchel are facing mountaing pressure in Munich. The former’s decision to hire the latter is prompting more criticism every week as Bayern’s struggles first in the DFB Pokal, then the Champions League, and now the Bundesliga continue. Bayern’s President Herbert Hainer ruled out any movement on Kahn at least until the end of the season, but if Bayern don’t end the year with at least one major trophy, it will be hard for Kahn to defend keeping his job.
• (From Bundesliga.com): RB Leipzig are only the latest victim of Xabi Alonso’s resurgent Bayer Leverkusen. With a spot in the Europa League Semifinal to come and a string of recent victories including ones against Leipzig and Bayern, Xabi has Die Werkself firing on all cylinders.

The Daily Buzz

What do BVB need to do to close out the Bundesliga title chase?