Bundesliga

This is the last thing Atletico Madrid wanted to see ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League first leg: Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez has hit top form again. With a brace against Augsburg on Friday, Chicharito made it five goals in three matches for Leverkusen.

After going through the longest goal drought of his career, Chicharito has been back with a vengeance throughout January and February. He put Leverkusen up 2-0 in the 40th minute with a left-footed shot.

One of the ties in the Champions League round of 16 that is sure to capture everyone's attention is Bayern Munich vs. Arsenal.

Both teams have been able to find success this season in their respective leagues. Bayern Munich sits at the top of the Bundesliga table with a record of 15 wins, four draws and one loss. Arsenal sit in fourth place in the Premier League with a record of 15 wins, five draws and five losses.

For the first time in his career, it appears Thomas Muller is off of his game. The Bayern attacker has only been able to contribute one goal in 16 Bundesliga appearances for the team. Muller has contributed at least 13 goals in each of his past four Bundesliga seasons (with 20 last year), and has been praised as an vital piece for Bayern.

The only time Müller found the back of the net this season was against Wolfsburg on December 10. He also got an assist in that game.

Borussia Dortmund sit a disappointing fourth in the Bundesliga with an overall record of nine wins, seven draws and three losses. When it comes to the Bundesliga, there’s almost no standing up to 26-time champions Bayern Munich. However, since 2010, Dortmund have been able to win the title twice and finish runners-up on three occasions. But this season, they already trail Bayern by 12 points. What could explain this disappointing start? 

Inconsistency

Bayern Munich are like a B1G college football team. They grind teams down into dust and break wills. They keep the ball forever so when the opposing team gets it they don't know what to do with it.

Such was the case against Wolfsburg in the DFB Pokal Tuesday.

Douglas Costa's goal today pic.twitter.com/OBmj72LFfF

— Brazil Edition Vids (@BE_Videos) February 7, 2017

For years now, the top dog of the Bundesliga has been FC Bayern Munich. Apart from winning the Bundesliga championship 26 times on a consistent basis ever since the 1968-69 season, Bayern has been able to establish themselves as a powerhouse of Germany football.

If ever there was a time to come up against Bayer Leverkusen, this was it. Hamburg, sitting 17th in the 18-team Bundesliga, were at home, and Leverkusen were without the injured Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez and still rocking from the news of midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu’s four-month suspension. 

Hamburg have the distinction of being the only German club to have played in the top tier of German football since their inception — a staggering 96 years straight. With half the season gone, Hamburg are staring relegation in the face.