Matchday 25's action in the Bundesliga kicks off in Bavaria as FC Augsburg face a struggling Borussia Mönchengladbach on Friday night. There might not be a stand out game on Saturday afternoon, but watch out for a resurgent Werder Bremen, who have taken seven points from their last three games, as they take on Bayern Munich. The Topspiel sees Borussia Dortmund, fresh off their qualification to to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, welcome Hertha Berlin. Sunday afternoon lays host to the most intriguing game of the weekend as 2nd place RB Leipzig takes on 4th place Eintracht Frankfurt

Here are three things to look out for across the Bundesliga in Matchday 25. 

Julian Nagelsmann to try and reverse his poor record against Adi Hütter

Nagelsmann, still only 33, has been linked with the Bayern Munich job this week should Hansi Flick leave to become the German national team manager after the upcoming European Championship. However, in Nagelsmann's extremely impressive career so far, the man in the opposite dugout, Adi Hütter, has proven to be his Achilles heel. In six appearances against the Austrian, Nagelsmann has won only once, losing twice, and drawing thrice. 

He will need to find a way to overcome Frankfurt if he and RB Leipzig are to continue their charge for the title. Still two points behind Munich, Die Roten Bullen will more-or-less need to get maximum points from here on in until the end of the season if they wish to lift the Meisterschale in May. Despite being dumped out of the Champions League in the week by Liverpool, Leipzig have been almost unstoppable in the league as of late, winning eight of their past nine domestic fixtures.

The European exit could go one of two ways for Die Roten Bullen. It could provide a welcome weight off their shoulders as they find themselves in the running for a domestic double, or the midweek defeat, in which they eventually threw everything they had at the opposition, might prove to be mentally and physically exhausting. The absence of Angeliño through injury is also a blow going into the match on Sunday.

They face a stern test in Frankfurt, who have only recently had an imperious run of their own brought to an end as the shock defeat on Matchday 23 against Werder Bremen was their first loss in 14 matches. Club legend Makoto Hasebe, who extended his contract at the age of 37 this week, said, "It's our big dream to play in the Champions League next season . . . we're in a good place right now, but we need to stay modest". Whether it's Hasebe's European ambitions or Nageslmann's dreams of winning the title, this game will prove crucial either way. 

A huge weekend in the fight against the drop

Going into Matchday 25, there are just four points separating Mainz 05 in 17th and FC Köln in 14th. With Bremen and Augsburg pulling away in recent weeks, it looks as if the relegation battle will come down to four teams (Mainz, Köln, Arminia Bielefeld and Hertha Berlin), with Schalke 04 almost certainly down already. 

All four sides face top-half teams this week. With so many of the relegation 'six-pointers' ending in stalemates so far this season, taking points off of better opposition could be invaluable in securing Bundesliga status. 

Mainz host an SC Freiburg side who are coming off the back of a 3-0 dismantling last week by RB Leipzig. Having shown glimpses of promise recently, Die Nullfünfer will relish the chance to finally escape the relegation zone on Saturday.  

Peter Kramer will be looking to both secure his first win as head coach of Bielefeld and to end his new team's eight match winless run as they take on Bayer Leverkusen. Die Blauen, whose ability to score has almost always been lacking, have now gone four games without a goal. They will be looking to justify the shock sacking of Uwe Neuhaus by getting something out of the clash against Leverkusen. 

Having finally ended a 10 game winless run by beating Augsburg last weekend, Hertha Berlin will be hoping that the result can act as a turning point in what has otherwise been a miserable season. However, they travel to North Rhine-Westphallia to take on a Borussia Dortmund side high on confidence, and a player in Erling Haaland whom Spanish newspaper AS described simply as "The Giant" after his brace against Sevilla.

Of all the four teams, Koln probably have the most winnable contest, as they take on a Union Berlin side who were widely tipped to be in the relegation scrap themselves. 

Given the congestion at the bottom, a win for any of these sides will feel monumental in their hopes of achieving 'Klassenerhalt'

Robert Lewandowski to draw closer to the goalscoring record

Gerd Müller's 40 goals from the 1971/72 campaign has legendary status in the realms of German football - no player has ever exceeded that number in the ensuing fifty years. This season, perhaps more than any other, Robert Lewandowski looks set to break it. 

He fell six short last time out, having looked as if he may finally break it for much of the campaign - but injury (missing three games) eventually stood in his way. Lewandowski acknowledged afterwards that it was "impossible" to break the 40 goal mark given the quality of opposition and the strains of the modern game. 

However, he has already broken one notable record of Müller's this season. His goal against Freiburg in January meant that he had racked up 21 goals in the first 16 games, beating Der Bomber's previous Hinrunde record of 20. With 31 goals already, Lewandowski only needs nine from his remaining ten games to tie the single-season record, but with matches in the Champions League perhaps necessitating rest domestically, and contests coming up against sturdy defences in the top-half of the Bundesliga table, games versus the likes of Bremen should be the perfect opportunity for the Polish international to add to his tally. 

It won't be plain sailing this weekend, though. Remarkably enough, Florian Kohfeldt's side have conceded less goals (33) than Bayern themselves this season (34). Bremen also have a record of their own to defend. Alongside Müller (1966/67 and 1969/70) and Lewandowski last season, only club legend Ailton has scored against 16 different teams in one Bundesliga season, with no player ever scoring against all 17. So far, Lewandowski has scored against 15 - he's only yet to get on the scoresheet versus Bremen and Leipzig. As a result, Die Grün-Weißen will have plenty of motivation to stop the Brazilian's joint-record being broken.

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