The Daily Bee: Okay, Now Let’s Talk About it

Good morning and welcome to the Wednesday Daily Bee! Unlike the Tuesday Daily Bee where Zac was too afraid to talk about Saturday’s game (and instead provided a wonderful account of all things non-soccer that you can find here), we here at Wednesday’s Daily Bee aren’t a bunch of bubble-blowing babies. So, let’s talk about it!

No Bellingham

Dortmund’s English talent is set to miss the last game of the season with continued knee problems after missing the penultimate game against Augsburg last weekend. Bellingham has missed team training for the past two weeks and it has been reported that he has been participating in individual training. While there is still hope he will play one last game at the Westfalenstadion, the signs aren’t looking good. If only there was another prolific midfielder who deserved a magnificent sendoff...

Photo by Marco Steinbrenner/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

Mainz’s Form

While this topic will be discussed further in the prematch coming later this week, I do think it’s worthwhile to look at Mainz’s form in the Bundesliga over the past couple of months. Between February 5th and April 30, Mainz did not lose a single game and collected wins against RB Leipzig, Monchengladbach, Leverkusen, and Bayern Munich (Thank you, Mainz). Since then, the team has lost all four games with a combined goal differential of 16-3. They have now solidified themselves as a mid-table club and have nothing to play for except pride. Will they snap their loss streak and return to their old form or take an early vacation?

Centerback Issues

Against Augsburg, Dortmund’s Mats Hummels (who signed a new contract earlier today) played terrifically for 90’ and was rewarded with him taking a flying kick to the side of his head. While he limped off injured, Nico Schlotterbeck came on for the first time since April 22nd when he injured himself against Frankfurt. Now, both Hummels and Schlotterbeck continue to nurse their injuries and it remains a mystery to who will start alongside Sule.

Koln’s Ulterior Motive

While Dortmund face Mainz on Saturday, Bayern Munich square off against FC Koln at the same time. Now, there’s a lot of romanticized reasons for Koln to try their hardest in this match; their supporters get along with Dortmund supporters, they have a chance to end Bayern’s stranglehold over the Bundesliga, and they can finish in the top half of the table with a win. There is another reason for Koln to help Borussia Dortmund become Bundesliga Champions: Money. The Billygoats get an additional fee ‘in the region of six figures following the purchase of Anthony Modeste’.

The Links

• The only link I’ll provide this week is Kehl’s midweek interview where he covers Bellingham news, contract extensions, and the final game. It is in German but you can find it here.

The Daily Bee

With less than three days left, tell me your thoughts on the upcoming title-decider!