"Ones to watch" for Bundesliga Matchday 12

1. Min-jae Kim (Bayern Munich)

Ever since Bayern's defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League, Vincent Kompany's team have completely changed up their defensive playing style - and this change up has worked wonders! Bayern are now on a 7-game-streak of not conceding a single goal.

The record for the top 5 leagues currently stands at 9 games in a row (set by Juventus) - and Bayern could equal that record IF they manage to get past their two biggest rivals in Germany: Dortmund on matchday 12 of the Bundesliga and Leverkusen in the DFB-Pokal round of 16.

One player who proved to be the key to Bayern's improved defensive stability is Min-jae Kim. The South Korean international has finally been able to improve his form and consistency under the guidance of former star centre back Vincent Kompany. On matchday 5 of the Champions League Kim even helped out in attack, scoring the winner for Bayern against Paris Saint-Germain!

Kim, who recently praised his centre back partner Dayot Upamecano with the words “I love him and love playing with him”, seems to have finally grown into the nickname he has been given throughout his career: “Monster”. Let's see if he can be a monster and nightmare for Dortmund's attack in a new edition of “der Klassiker” this weekend.

2. Ramy Bensebaini (Borussia Dortmund)

It seems only right to highlight a player from both sides in Germany's most exciting match-up - and again it's a defender. Ramy Bensebaini has managed to turn around his career at Borussia Dortmund. A transfer candidate in the summer, Bensebaini has proven himself in the first team and is now one of the guranteed starting players week in week out.

Not only has he improved Dortmund's defense massively, he has also had a great impact on their attack: Bensebaini was directly involved in 3 of the last 7 goals of the BVB, scoring once against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League and assisting twice on matchday 11 of the Bundesliga against Freiburg.

Even though players like Serhou Guirassy and Jamie Gittens are the more usual names on Dortmund's scoreboards, you should definetly keep an eye on Ramy Bensebaini; not only will his duels against Olise/Sané/Gnabry be interesting to watch, he could also be the key against Bayern's most rotated position, rightback.

3. Nadiem Amiri (Mainz 05)

Most Bundesliga fans would expect to see Jonathan Burkardt's name in this list, if a Mainz player is able to make it - but not this week. While Burkardt has undoubtedly had a great start into the season (7 goals in 11 games), it is Nadiem Amiri who was able to steal the show on most occaisons.

Amiri, who has recently been linked with a transfer to Premier League super team Aston Villa (read more in another article of ours), has provided man of the match performances in back-to-back games for Mainz, concluding in 6 points and a goals tally of 6-1. Mainz have beaten Dortmund and Kiel - and Amiri was the best player on the pitch.

His time in Mainz has been filled with great perfomances and incredible moments so far. Amiri was able to show more than glimpses of his best form at Hoffenheim - who are his very next opponent on matchday 12. While Mainz haven't been beaten in November so far (and only conceded 1 goal in 3 games), Hoffenheim find themselves in a turbulent phase of their season.

1 win, 2 draws, 2 losses and a manager change are the results of Hoffenheim's november actions. While they have beaten favourite Leipzig last week after 3 comebacks inside the game itself, they seem to be too shaky defensively for a compact and confident Mainz team. Amiri has already provided an assist in his last (and only) match for Mainz against Hoffenheim last season - given his current form it is not unlikely that a goal might follow this Sunday.

4. Konstantinos Koulierakis (VfL Wolfsburg)

Finishing up this week's list is another defender - very unusual for these types of lists! Koulierakis has adapted wonderfully to the Bundesliga since his transfer from PAOK to Wolfsburg in the summer. The Greek international has filled the gap of Micky van de Ven, who left in the summer of 2023, pretty good and has earned comparisons to him by doing so.

Koulierakis has played in 9 games for Wolfsburg and is now an integral part of Ralph Hasenhüttl's starting eleven. It's also thanks to him that Wolfsburg are currently on an unbeaten run of 5 games, including opponents like Dortmund and Union Berlin.

While his teammate Mohamed El Amine Amoura gets (deservedly) much praise for Wolfsburg's rise in form, it's his defensive work that should get more credit. Koulierakis builds a good partnership with Denis Vavro in the back: Vavro shines with good build up play and an organized pressing system, Koulierakis is more of an eye catcher due to his explosiveness and consistency in air duels. Those two defendes complement each other very well.

Wolfsburg are playing a knocked RB Leipzig side - normally an “easy” game for Rose's side. This time, however, don't be surprised if an organised Wolfsburg side, with an in form defense and efficient attack, can annoy the favourite - and keep their unbeaten streak going. Let's not forget that Wolfsburg have won 2 of their last 3 match-ups…
 

5. Hugo Ekitiké (Eintracht Frankfurt)

It feels wrong to praise and highlight just one player in this great performing Eintracht Frankfurt side - they are unbeaten in 8 games and have even won their last 6. One player who has earned global attention has been Omar Marmoush - but he already featured in one of these articles a few weeks ago.

That is why the focus is now on his well performing striker partner Hugo Ekitiké. Frankfurt have fought for long time to secure his services for the team and only just mangaed to get him on loan on the last day of the winter transfer window. What happened after that is another example of Frankfurt's phenomenal striker business.

Ekitké has established himself as one of the top strikers in the Bundesliga quickly and would gain even more attention if Marmoush didn't score even more goals than him; Ekitiké's stats this season: 17 games, 9 goals and 5 assists. Frankfurt turned a PSG reject into a reliable goalscorer! Ekitiké has provided the crucial assist in last week's 1-0 victory over Werder Bremen and continues to gain population worldwide.

Next up for Frankfurt is Heidenheim, who recently experienced a drop in form (3 losses in their 3 last games). When two teams, of which one is in great form and one in bad form, meet to find out who's better… it can get ugly for the underdog. Keep an eye on Frankfurt's striker partnership, because they will want to make sure to be the reason for continuing Frankfurt's amazing season so far.