Football is on its way back, and it’s Germany leading the way after the announcement that the Bundesliga is set to restart next weekend on the 16th May.
It’s great news for football fans, and if the German League can get back up and running safely then the other big leagues will have greater confidence to follow.
It’s been several weeks since we’ve seen top European football but world-class stars such as Robert Lewandowski and Jadon Sancho are getting set for the big kick-off. And there will be plenty of other players ready to impress as teams try to finish the job that was postponed when the COVID-19 virus took hold.
So let’s take a look at five top players who haven’t hit the headlines every week, but have made a big contribution to their team’s campaigns.
These players aren’t out of sight and mind at their own clubs, revered by fans who know them so well, but elsewhere in the Bundesliga they can sometimes go under the radar.
Benjamin Pavard – Bayern Munich
With both Serge Gnabry and Robert Lewandowski in the top five scorers in the Bundesliga, the league leaders are laden with attacking talent, but one defender at the club has proved he can show the strikers how to do it.
After impressing for three seasons at Stuttgart, Pavard arrived at Bayern at the start on this season, aged 23, and he’s been a key player in the Bavarians’ back-line.
France fans will recall his finest moment at the Russia 2018 World Cup when he hit a stunning strike to help Les Bleus beat Argentina. His arrowed shot flew into the top corner and was voted the best goal of the tournament on the FIFA website.
The wing-back said: “I didn’t think about it. I just tried to get over it and keep it down. The ball bounced up as it came to me. I was trying to hit it in the direction it came from, which is what strikers always tell me.”
Lewandowski would have been proud!
Achraf Hakimi – Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund sit in second place, four points behind FC Bayern in the Bundesliga table. They have a chance to close the gap on Saturday when they meet Schalke in the Ruhr derby before Bayern face Union Berlin on 17 May.
The Bundesliga 2020 betting markets are weighed heavily in favour of FC Bayern but the fans in the Yellow Wall haven’t given up hope just yet. Sancho is having an amazing season, which has somewhat overshadowed the contribution made by Hakimi, on loan from Real Madrid.
He arrived as a quick dynamic full-back but BVB have used him in a more advanced position. He has rewarded the club with ten assists and he scored the crucial winner in Borussia Dortmund’s 1-2 league win over Monchengladbach just before the break.
Wout Weghorst – Wolfsburg
Die Wolfe haven’t been as heavily featured by SBOBET football and other media outlets, but they are on the tails of their more illustrious rivals. They currently sit seventh in the league, a point behind the Europa League spot currently held by Schalke.
At 6 feet 6 inches, Weghorst is an absolute beast of a player. The Netherlands striker has bagged 11 goals this season and has 28 in 58 games for Wolfsburg since his 2018 transfer from AZ Alkmaar. He scored a typical poacher’s goal with a point-blank header to hand Die Wolfe three points against Union Berlin last time out.
Kevin Volland – Bayer Leverkusen
In his fourth season at Leverkusen, Volland is a reliable source of goals; he has nine this season and 43 in 110 games since he arrived from Bundesliga rivals 1899 Hoffenheim.
Fellow wide man Leon Bailey has been in the news recently, attracting interest from the Premier League, with Arsenal and Chelsea watching him, but Volland has also been monitored by the Gunners. He’s a full international, scoring for Germany in the 8-0 destruction of San Marino in 2018, and is a key player in Leverkusen’s top-four push.
Alassane Plea – Borussia Monchengladbach
Die Fohlen are in that race too, currently in fourth place and two points ahead of Leverkusen. Plea has made a big impact on their campaign, with eight goals and seven assists.
The French striker arrived in a £25m euros switch from Ligue 1 side Nice in 2018, signing a five-year contract. He was Nice’s top scorer in 2017 with 11 Ligue 1 goals, and he’s shown he can make the step up to one of Europe’s big four leagues.
While we continue to fight the Coronavirus, as the first major league to restart, the Bundesliga will lead the way. We’ll be ready and raring to bring you the Bundesliga 2020 news, highlights and results as they happen, so keep a lookout for these five players.
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