This Bundesliga season has been a resumption of regular service - Bayern are back on top and, Leverkusen aside, the rest of the 'top teams' have struggled for consistency. That's let an unlikely challenger in FSV Mainz 05 rise all the way to THIRD. In this episode Matt (in his own funk over Hertha BSC's dismal year in the 2. Bundesliga) talks with his Mainz fan pal Tom Ziemer about what's made the vibes so good for the zero fivers in their first full year under coach Bo Henriksen.

If there's been one certainty since Rasenballsport Leipzig entered Germany's top tier, it's that the club will do everything it can to compete for a top-four place. This season, all that looks under threat. With just one win in their last six, the Red Bulls are in danger of tumbling out of the UEFA Champions League places. On this episode, Nik and Terry try and figure out how much rope coach Marco Rose has left. Also on the agenda: BVB's Jekyll and Hyde week in the Bundesliga and UCL, Hertha BSC's latest managerial change and more.

What with BVB hiring a familiar face and Werder Bremen getting the short end of the refereeing stick, Nik and Terry had plenty to talk about. Not that they leave it there, either - Bayern's coming date with Leverkusen comes under their lens, as does the recent play of Davie Selke(!)

With Terry's BVB taking on Nik's Werder Bremen this past weekend, it's fitting that those two take the reins for the week. The fellas discuss where Dortmund stand in their interim coach phase, what lessons we can draw from the latest wrangle over TV money, and how some Bundesliga refs will adjust to being mic'd up going forward. (And because Matt wasn't around to put a stop to it, a bit of snooker talk too.)

Each englische Woche, the Bundesliga's term of endearment for the 10-day run of three match days in rapid succession, we get a chance to take stock of each team's form. A few teams pass their test with flying colors and come out with new confidence; an English week without points can be enough to send another team into deep crisis. Matt and Nik zoom in on the sides for which the gauntlet was particularly telling then look ahead to Champions League action where the Swiss cheese model is nearing full maturity.

You didn't think we could go more than a few episodes without fretting over Borussia Dortmund, did you? Well after first going down at the Westfalen to a Leverkusen side that's been rounding into form, BVB followed it up with a loss in Kiel in which they trailed 3-0 before halftime...so we pretty much have to. Matt checks Terry's temperature on his schwarzgelben, and hears from Nik about a police costs ruling in German court that could have some serious repercussions for the country's football scene.

With the Winterpause in its waning days, Matt and Nik take stock in modest moves made by the likes of FC St. Pauli, FC Heidenheim and Werder Bremen, as well as consider the rather more blockbuster potential comings and goings between Germany and England. They also consider what it might mean that most of the top 15 best supported clubs in Germany are in the 2. Bundesliga.

It's always a story when FC Bayern München lose in the Bundesliga, especially when it's to a team outside the league's blue bloods. The Rekordmeister's defeat in Mainz opened the door to Bayer Leverkusen to get back into the title chase, and next week's date with RB Leipzig could do the same for the soda cans. What Matt, Nik, and Terry want to talk about though is the string of big names about to be out of contract at Säbener Strasse this summer. Is the club really set up for a successful changing of the guard?

It's always a pleasure when a Borussia Dortmund-FC Bayern München match-up lives up to the hype, so this pod finds Matt, Terry and Nik in a fairly buoyant mood as they talk about what the result might mean. The gang also mull over RB Leipzig and FC Heidenheim's recent stumbles and unpack the implications of the Bundesliga's new domestic TV deal - will it be another windfall for Dunlop?

Prior to the season, the names Bayer 04 Leverkusen, RB Leipzig, and Borussia Dortmund were the hottest picks from pundits looking for candidates for answer to the age-old question: WHO'S GONNA CHALLENGE BAYERN THIS YEAR?

A few months on, all those tams are in the top five, but it's clear we need add another name to the ranks of Spitzenmannschaften: Eintracht Frankfurt. Nik and Terry dig deep into what's making the Eagles soar, as well as touch down in the 2. Bundesliga to bring you up to speed on HSV's latest travails.