Bundesliga primer: Why and how to watch as German soccer returns
Team sports have already returned to our world in the form of the Korean Baseball Organization, but another league is set to kick off, and its games don’t happen overnight in the United States.
The German Bundesliga is set to finish out its season beginning Saturday. The 18-team soccer league features some of the world’s top clubs including Bayern Munich, which has won the league seven straight years and currently leads the league by four points over rival Borussia Dortmund.
Bundesliga title race
Munich, Dortmund, upstart RB Leipzig, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen are all packed at the top of the table within eight league points of one another. They all have nine games remaining on their 2019-20 schedule.
The league does not feature postseason playoffs like most American sports, so whoever tops the table at the end is crowned the winner. The top four, however, do qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League to compete against Europe’s best clubs.
The fifth- and sixth-place teams qualify for the Europa League, and that sixth-place race is quite close — four teams are within two points for that second Europa qualifying spot.
Finally, the relegation battle will be another element to watch. The two teams with the fewest points will be relegated, and the third-worst club will face the third-best in Germany’s second division in a two-leg playoff for the final spot in next year’s Bundesliga.
Paderborn 07 (16 points), Werder Bremen (18) and Fortuna Dusseldorf (22) currently occupy the bottom three, but five other teams have 30 or fewer points, including both Berlin clubs.
Top Bundesliga stars to watch
Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich: The league’s top striker, and one of the world’s best. Here he is scoring a record five goals in nine minutes, in a league game:
Jadon Sancho, Borussia Dortmund: Remember Christian Pulisic? Sancho’s potential is what forced Dortmund to move Pulisic to Chelsea. He’s got 14 goals and 15 assists in 23 league games this year.
Timo Werner: Though he only has one goal in the last seven games, he still sits second in the league with 21 over the season’s first 25 games.
Other recognizable players include German Thomas Müller (Munich), his country-mate and 2014 cup-winning scorer Mario Götze (Dortmund) and Brazillian star Philippe Coutinhio, among many others.
The Americans
Gio Reyna, Borussia Dortmund: The 17-year-old son of former USMNT star Claudio Reyna joined the Dortmund first team midway through this season. He’s recorded a goal in a cup play and an assist in a Champions League game, but he’s still looking for his first Bundesliga score even as he’s turned heads.
A PERFECT STRIKE!
Gio Reyna, son of former USMNT captain Claudio Reyna, scores his first goal for Dortmund! pic.twitter.com/sPSaPIqdH9
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 4, 2020
Weston McKennie, Schalke 04: McKennie has become a regular starter in the midfield for Schalke, lauded for his ability to play both attacking and defensive roles as a true box-to-box player.
Tyler Adams, RB Leipzig: Adams missed most of the season’s first half due to injury before making five starts for Leipzig. He could be a key component of their stretch run at defensive midfield.
Other Americans in Germany you may recognize from U.S. games games include Fabian Johnson, John Brooks, Josh Sargent, Zach Steffen and Timothy Chandler.
How to watch Bundesliga
Fox Sports carries the Bundesliga here stateside. You can watch on Fox Sports 1, FS2 or the Fox Sports Go app if you have a cable login. Fubo TV, Hulu and Sling streaming also have options that include Fox Sports 1.
Saturday’s slate starts at 6:30 a.m. Pacific Time, so you’ll want to have some coffee along with your traditional hearty German breakfast.
Here’s the full schedule of games airing this weekend in the States (all times Pacific):
Saturday
Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke 04 – 6:30 a.m., Fox Sports 1
RB Leipzig vs. Freiburg – 6:30 a.m., Fox Sports 2
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach – 9:30 a.m., Fox Sports 1
Sunday
Cologne vs. Mainz – 6:30 a.m., Fox Sports 1
Union Berlin vs. Bayern Munich – 9 a.m., Fox Sports 1
Monday
Werder Bremen vs. Bayer Leverkusen – 11:30 a.m., Fox Sports 2
If you’re trying to pick a Bundesliga team to support, check out the league’s rooting guide.