Looky there - it's Borussia Dortmund on top of the Bundesliga! Bayern's advance (and Dortmund's failure to) in the UEFA Champions League seemed like it might hold some eventual benefit for the Schwarzgelben, but boy did it come fast, setting up a mouth-watering Klassiker after the international break. Matt welcomes back Jake Payne of 50 Plus Döner for a chat about the shuffling of places in the race for Europe and the teams racing to beat the drop...as well as a conversation about whether his beloved EffZeh might soon be in that latter cluster after a miserable run capped off by the 6-1 hiding they took at the Westfalenstadion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"A St Pauli fan and a Werder Bremen fan walk into a HSV bar..." sounds like the start of a very particular type of German football joke, and is more or less the premise for this episode of Talking Fussball Extra. Nik and Maik clue you in on how the mighty Hamburger Sport-Verein ended up in the 2. Bundesliga, how they have managed to stay there so long, and how they hope to get out this season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Every time the Revierderby comes around, you can always depend on a hard-fought game and a volcanic atmosphere - sometimes you get a brilliant game as well. So it was this past match day, as FC Schalke 04 underscored their recent resurgence by going toe to toe with Borussia Dortmund in the Revierderby. The Royal Blues may not have dazzled, but few would argue that their fight didn't merit a draw. Listen in as guest host Marie Schulte-Bockum talks with ESPN+'s Derek Rae about the big result, as well as the rest of the action from MD24. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They're back! Nik is back from a well-earned break in the Oman sunshine and ready to preside over a lower division roundtable. Jasmine and Maik join him to give you the lowdown on Dieter Hecking's return to the touchline in Nürnberg, FC St. Pauli's resurgence, and much more from the 2. Liga and lower down the German football pyramid. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1. FC Union Berlin had a chance to shake up the Bundesliga on MD22. The overachievers from Köpenick clawed their way back to the top of the table with a strong start to the back half of the season. Now all they had to do to hang on there was beat 10-years-running Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, away from home and on short rest. Gentle listener, that result was not on the cards. Matt and Terry hash out the Spitzenspiel that wasn't, Dortmund's win in Sinsheim, why we have Schalke to thank for a tightened-up relegation battle, and more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices