Bundesliga and Primeira League Previews : The Primeira League Returns

Last Updated : 3rd June, 2020 By Steve A

VENUE

various venues in Germany and Portugal

TIME

Thursday 4 June to Sunday 7 June

BROADCAST

Live on BT Sport

See Stats

The football calendar is gradually coming back to life. June is hopefully going to be a big month and this week, the Portuguese Primeira League makes its return. We preview that league and continue our coverage of the German Bundesliga.

Portuguese Primeira League

Benfica v Tondela - Thursday 4 June: 7.15pm KO

Benfica return to action and could find themselves four points behind league leaders Porto by the time this game begins.  The table toppers travel to Famalicao on Wednesday evening looking to increase the one-point lead they had when the season was suspended. That's not the easiest of fixtures so Benfica will be hoping that Porto drop some points.

in the weeks leading up to the season being suspended, Benfica were not in good form. Just one win in five league games plus three other cup games that didn't produce a victory. The last five league games has seen them earn eight points less than Porto and their lead at the top of the table has disapperaed. Home form this season has been strong with nine wins out of 12 and only seven goals conceded. The last two have only produced a point though and they certainly can't afford to drop points in this match.

Tondela  are down in 14th place and that's nine points above the relegation zone. They should be safe but form hasn't been good of late. Only two points have been earned from their last five league matches with just two goals scored. Four of their last five away league games have been lost, so a repeat of ther shock win at Benfica a couple of years ago looks unlikely. Tondela struggle for goals with only 20 in 24 league matches so the tip here is for Benfica to get the win and be ahead at both half and full time.

Rio Ave v Ferreira - Sunday 7 June: 9pm KO

Rio Ave resume their season still hoping to make it into next season's Europa League. They are fifth in the table and only four points behind Sporting Lisbon in fourth and eight adrift of third-placed Braga.  Three of their last four league games have ended in a draw but there have been some good results. They drew at home to Sporting Lisbon and held league leaders Porto to an away draw. 

Their last three home league fixtures have all ended in draws but they have only lost one of their last eight. A home game against relegation-threatened Ferreira looks one that can get them back into winning ways. There might not be too many goals though as eight of the last nine Rio Ave home league games have had under 2.5 goals scored in them. The reverse fixture between these two sides ended in a goaless draw.

Ferreira are only a place above the Primeira League relegation zone, six points ahead of Portimonense. That gap will be closer if their rivals get points at home to Gil Vicente on Wednesday evening. The situation was worse for Ferreira but then they won two of three games played before the suspension. Victories came against Famalicao and bottom-of-the-table Deportivo Aves. Away form this season has seen Ferreira  win just twice with only eight goals scored. Go for a home win with under 2.5 goals scored.

German Bundesliga

Bayer Leverkusen v Bayern Munich - Saturday 6 June: 2.30pm KO

Borussia Dortmund will be keeping a very close eye on this game. They don't kick off until later on Saturday afternoon (preview below) and will be praying that fifth placed Bayer Leverkusen can take some points off league leaders Bayern Munich. That's not totally out of the question as Leverkusen have won six of their last seven league games. They also just happen to have won the reverse fixture, getting a 2-1 win at Bayern.

Leverkusen also have an in-form striker with Kai Havertz who has scored seven goals in his last six games for them. He got the winner at Freiburg last weekend. They needed that win after the disastrous 4-1 home loss to Wolfsburg.  Leverkusen have only lost one of their last 14 games in all competitions but conceding four against Wolfsburg is a bit worrying. If a side that has lost two of its last three league games can put four past them, what might Bayern Munich do against them?

The league leaders will go ten points clear of Dortmund if they can win this match. Last weekend saw them hammer Fortuna Dusseldorf 5-0 at home. That takes their winning run to eight games in the Bundesliga with 14 wins and a draw in the last 15. Their away form is impressive with ten wins out of 14 and the last six all ending in victory.  It seems only a matter of time until they clinch the league title but this looks their hardest fixture in their run-in. Bayern just keep scoring goals and conceding precious few. Another win is likely here with both teams getting on the score sheet.

Borussia Dortmund v Hertha Berlin: Saturday 6 June: 5.30pm KO

It's not quite the point of return for Borussia Dortmund but they can't afford any further slip-ups. They could be ten points behind Bayern by the time they start this game. This is a vital game for them against Hertha Berlin but would be even more important if Bayern don't beat Leverkusen earlier in the day. Dortmund have only lost one home league game this season and it took Bayern to do that. They bounced back from that loss with a resounding 6-1 win at bottom-of-the-table Paderborn. That wasn't the expected score when it was till 0-0 going into the 54th minute. Jadon Sancho then broke the deadlock and went on to score a hat-trick (his first for the club) as Dortmund ran out easy winners.

This won't be anywhere as easy though as Hertha are in good form at present. A form guide for the last five league games has them in fourtn compared to Dortmund's second and only a point less earned. Hertha beat Augsburg in their most recent fixture, their third win in four games. A place in next season's Europa League isn't out of the question as they only trail sixth placed Wolfsburg by four points. Hertha are unbeaten in their last seven away league games and have scored at least twice in each of their last six on the road. Dortmund will need to be on the top of their game to get a win here. A bet on both teams to score looks the safest one to make.