RB Leipzig vs. Frankfurt (Saturday, 2.30pm)
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Fourth faces sixth in the Bundesliga on Saturday afternoon as RB Leipzig play host to Eintracht Frankfurt at the Red Bull Arena.
While Die Roten Bullen are looking to claim their fifth successsibe top-flight home victory, the Eagles have seeking to avoid a third successive defeat on the road.
We say: RB Leipzig 2-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
Games involving Leipzig have been entertaining to say the least in recent months, as both teams have scored in each of their last nine matches, while Rose's men have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last 11 competitive games, which bodes well for Frankfurt on Saturday.
However, the away team has never won this fixture in 14 previous meetings and we believe that Leipzig have the firepower at their disposal to outscore the Eagles on home soil.
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Freiburg vs. Union Berlin (Saturday, 2.30pm)
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Following a three-week competitive hiatus, Freiburg and Union Berlin lock horns in their first Bundesliga fixture of 2024 at the Europa-Park Stadion on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams triumphed in recent friendlies ahead of their return to top-flight action, as Christian Streich's men thumped Eintracht Frankfurt 5-2, while their visitors ran out 2-0 winners over Arminia Bielefeld.
We say: Freiburg 2-1 Union Berlin
Union Berlin may have ended the calendar year as they mean to go on, but Bjelica is yet to find the solution to his side's defensive and offensive woes on the road, which will likely cost them dear on Saturday.
Even with international and suspension absentees to contend with, Freiburg are seldom outfought in front of their own fans and should make a winning start to 2024, although it may not be a totally comfortable ride.
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Mainz vs. Wolfsburg (Saturday, 2.30pm)
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Mainz 05 will be aiming to end a winless streak of six league games when they host Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
The visitors, meanwhile, lost seven of their last 10 league matches prior to the winter break, falling into the bottom half of the table in the process.
We say: Mainz 05 1-1 Wolfsburg
Neither side were scoring freely prior to the winter break, and it is difficult to imagine things changing much here. The respective teamsheets could prove telling, as if either manager opts to switch from a back five to a back four, that could suggest a more offensive gameplan.
Given Mainz's precarious position in the table and Wolfsburg's poor away form this season, we can envisage these sides sharing the spoils. This would represent a reasonably positive start to 2024 for both teams.
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FC Koln vs. Heidenheim (Saturday, 2.30pm)
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FC Koln will be hoping to move outside of the automatic relegation places when they host Heidenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
The visitors, meanwhile, won three matches in a row prior to the winter break to move into the top half of the table.
We say: FC Koln 1-1 Heidenheim
Based on recent form, there would only be one winner in this match, but that could go out of the window to some extent given the gap between fixtures. Koln are also a relatively unknown entity given their change of managers.
We can envisage Schultz getting off to a decent start by avoiding defeat, but Heidenheim should have enough quality and confidence to return home with another point to add to their tally.
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Augsburg vs. B. Leverkusen (Saturday, 2.30pm)
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Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen will be looking to extend their lead at the top of the table when they travel to the WWK Arena to face Augsburg on Saturday afternoon.
While the visitors are yet to lose in any competition so far this season, the hosts have only won one of their last seven top-flight matches.
We say: Augsburg 1-2 Bayer Leverkusen
Augsburg cannot be taken lightly by a Bayer Leverkusen side who lost both home and away meetings with Die Fuggerstadter last season and are missing a number of key players for this weekend's contest.
However, Alonso still has plenty of quality at his disposal to call upon and the visitors should have few problems outscoring an Augsburg outfit that has failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 19 matches.
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Darmstadt vs. Dortmund (Saturday, 5.30pm)
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Bundesliga basement club SV Darmstadt 98 welcome Borussia Dortmund to Merck-Stadion am Bollenfalltor for their first top-flight fixture of 2024 on Saturday evening.
While the hosts last tasted success at the beginning of October, the visitors have failed to win each of their last four league matches.
We say: SV Darmstadt 98 1-3 Borussia Dortmund
Returning to winning ways is high on the agenda for these two out-of-form teams, but Dortmund will be regarded as the favourites to come out on top on Saturday and they should ultimately have too much for a defensively-frail Darmstadt side, who have already conceded a league-high 41 goals so far this season.
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Barney Corkhill
