Spotlight on red-hot Werner

THE Bundesliga powers on this weekend as we enter the final five matchdays of what has been a quite extraordinary season.

Bayern Munich are closing in on their eighth consecutive championship but there’s plenty still to play for as scramble for Champions League places hots up and the relegation battle rages on. Timo Werner has dominated headlines in the past 24 hours as the RB Leipzig forward moves closer to joining Chelsea for £53million.

There will certainly be more English eyes than usual trained on the German striker as he takes to the field against Paderborn this afternoon. And with Leipzig’s opponents sitting bottom of the table, there’s every chance Werner will bang in a few more goals to excite Chelsea fans.

Leipzig’s title chances may have faded but they need all three points to strengthen their grip on Champions League football next season, while Werner, enjoying his best ever scoring season, will continue his chase of Lewandowski in the scorers’ charts.

Two draws since the resumption ended any hopes of Julian Nagelsmann’s team chasing down Bayern but when it’s clicked, the goals have flowed. Leipzig impressed in winning 4-2 at Cologne on Monday night.

Paderborn aren’t mathematically relegated yet but it’s just a matter of time. They will want to avoid the kind of six-goal drubbing they suffered against Dortmund last time out.

Bayern Munich have rounded the final bend in the lead and cleared that last tricky water jump successfully by winning away at closest challengers Borussia Dortmund.

Now they’re entering the final straight with a substantial lead but have one more hurdle left to clear with the finish line and yet more glory within their sights.

That hurdle is a trip to in-form Bayer Leverkusen this afternoon, the toughest of their five remaining fixtures. Clear it with their seven-point advantage intact and the title is as good as won.

Borussia Dortmund and neutrals everywhere will be hoping Leverkusen, themselves fighting to finish in the Champions League places, can win and breathe life back into the title race.

Leverkusen did manage to win 2-1 at the Allianz Arena back in November, just after Hansi Flick took over, but this Bayern are a totally different proposition.

Four wins out of four since the restart have meant it’s business as usual at the top of the Bundesliga. Werner has been in the headlines but it’s Robert Lewandowski who leads him in the Bundesliga scoring charts by 29 to 25.

Lewandowski has already scored more times at this stage of the season than in any of his previous Bundesliga seasons and some are excitedly chattering about whether he might match or break Gerd Muller’s record 40 goals in 1971-72.

Bayern have also netted 86 league goals this season - another record - and so a century is well within their sights. Leverkusen will be difficult to beat, however, regardless of the proliferation of away victories since the restart behind closed doors.

They have won three of their four games since coming back and have several key players in form, not least Kai Havertz Leverkusen have won their last two meeting with Bayern but they’ve never won three in a row.

Leverkusen v Bayern (3.30pm), RB Leipzig v Paderborn (3.30pm), Dusselfdorf v Hoffenheim (3.30pm), Eintracht Frankfurt v Mainz (3.30pm), Dortmund v Hertha (6.30pm).

Werder v Wolfsburg (1.30pm), Union Berlin v Schalke (3.30pm), Augsburg v FC Koln (6pm).