Arminia Bielefeld and VfB Stuttgart may have just saved the soul of German football. The third-division side rose to the challenge and bested double winners Bayer Leverkusen in front of a roaring Alm. In Stuttgart, Angelo Stiller lit up the Neckarstadion with a screamer as they ousted Leipzig from the cup and will now meet Arminia in the final. It was a bad week for the soda club all around. After losing their game in Mönchengladbach and ceding their 5th place to the Foals, Leipzig fired coach Marco Rose. Elsewhere, Union and Heidenheim picked up surprise wins, while Borussia Dortmund played one of their best league games this season, overcoming red-hot Mainz 05 at the Westfalenstadion.

The Bundesliga returns with several intriguing games. In Frankfurt, two high-scoring teams, led by their red-hot strikers Ekitike and Woltemade, are battling for European football qualification. Another forward in fine form is Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Tim Kleindienst. Fresh off his strong showing against Italy, he and the Foals are looking to overtake Leipzig with a home win. However, the player to watch is 20-year-old homegrown hero Rocco Reitz. Bayern and Bayer play cellar dwellers in the comfort of their home stadiums, while struggling Borussia Dortmund hosts surprise package Mainz 05 at the Westfalenstadion. Can the struggling Borussen capitalize on Mainz’s missing captain and star player, Jonathan Burkardt?

Germany beats Italy away for the first time in four decades with a Leon Goretzka reborn. In the Bundesliga, the surprise team battle between Mainz and Freiburg ends all tied up and leaves the former in third position. Frankfurt fans flirt with disaster in Bochum, but Eintracht defends the last qualifying spot for now. But Freiburg isn't done yet and can fully focus on finishing the league strong, while Eintracht still has tough games, including Tottenham in the Europa League, on its schedule. Behind them, Mönchengladbach is making a push, and they could overtake Leipzig in a key matchup on the next matchday. Time to double down on why only one Borussia has got the naming convention right!