Bundesliga Matchday 2 Preview: What’s Next?

Last week in the Bundesliga, Bayern were held at home by Hertha. Dortmund eventually romped against Augsburg. Zach Steffen impressed as did Fortuna.  And RB Leipzig welcomed FC Union Berlin into the top flight. This week, BVB are away to FC Köln while their Ruhr Valley rivals host Bayern. Welcome to Matchday 2 (All times CT).

FC KÖLN vs. BORUSSIA DORTMUND  (Friday at 1:30pm, FS2):

The Billy Goats will hope their finishing is less disappointing against BVB than it was last week against Wolfsburg. Köln got their first goal of the Bundesliga campiagn, albeit in consolation, through Simon Terodde. 

Dortmund started off slow, but eventually thrashed FC Augsburg, 5-1, at the Signal Iduna. Jadon Sancho was one of the four players to score and he had his salary doubled earlier in the week. Paco Alcacer scored twice and will look to continue his feast at the RheinEnergieStadion.

FORTUNA DUSSELDORF vs. BAYER LEVERKUSEN  (Saturday at 8:30am, FS1)

Zach Steffen was named Man of the Matchday following his 10-save performance in Fortuna’s 3-1 win at Werder Bremen. Dawid Kownacki could feature in this match after missing last week with a thigh injury. Last week was Fortuna’s first opening day win in six years.

Leverkusen’s triple threat of Kai Havertz, Leon Bailey, and Kevin Volland all scored in Die Werkself’s 3-2 win over SC Paderborn. At the other end, Mitchell Weiser (foot) and Daley Sinkgraven (knock) remain doubtful, so defense will remain a concern.

MAINZ vs. BORUSSIA MÖNCHENGLADBACH  (Saturday at 8:30am, FS2)

Things were going well for the 05ers until the final ten minutes where they conceded three goals against Freiburg. This is on top of their Pokal exit at the hands of Kaiserslautern. Robin Quaison and Karim Onisiwo are likely going to start up front with Jean-Philippe Mateta and Dong-won Ji still out.

Gladbach played in the only 0-0 draw last weekend against Schalke in their first match under new coach Marco Rose. Lars Stindl (broken shin) remains out as does Jonas Hoffman (knee). It will be up to Alessane Plea and Marcus Thuram to be the creative force for the Foals. 

HOFFENHEIM vs. WERDER BREMEN  (Saturday at 8:30am, Fox Soccer Plus)

Hoffenheim went down 36 seconds into last week’s match with Eintracht Frankfurt and the Eagles made it stick. There were also two disallowed goals for the Sinsheimers. Andrej Kramaric is still out with a knee injury and Benjamin Hübner is out with a neck injury. 

The Green-Whites are also coming off a disappointing start to their season after falling 3-1 at home to Fortuna. Worse, Milot Rashica is our for several weeks with a groin strain. Bremen have not won either of their first two matches of a season in four of the last five years. The exception being last season when they snatched a late winner at Frankfurt. 

FC AUGSBURG vs. FC UNION BERLIN (Saturday at 8:30am, Fox Soccer Matchpass)

Augsburg needed just 31 seconds to open their account, and then spent the remaining 89 minutes and 29 seconds letting BVB run rampant. They do get Philipp Max back in contention after missing last week and loan-signing Tin Jedvaj and Stephan Lichtsteiner could feature as well. 

Last Sunday, Union Berlin paid tribute to the fans who sadly did not live long enough to see their team in the top flight for the first time ever. Union will look to bounce back from a 4-0 defeat to RB Leipzig. The Iron Ones will have a full squad to choose from. 

SC PADERBORN vs. SC FREIBURG (Saturday at 8:30am, Fox Soccer Matchpass)

Paderborn was showing some potential before ultimately falling to Bayer Leverkusen last weekend. Sven Michel and Streli Mamba lead an attack that scored 76 goals in the Zweite last season. Jannik Huth is expected to remain in goal even though Leopold Zingerle has returned to first-team training. 

SC Freiburg scored three goals late to get three points against Mainz. It was their first opening day win in four years. The insertion of Lucas Höler made the difference as he got a goal and an assist in the win. 

SCHALKE vs. BAYERN MUNICH (Saturday at 11:30am, FS1)

David Wagner’s first match in charge of Schalke resulted in an away point at Gladbach. However, they will most certainly need to score goals against a Bayern team looking to make amends after opening with a shock draw to Hertha. They also need better home form than last year which saw the Royal Blues net just 15 out of possible 51 points.

Bayern on the road amassed 36 out of 51 points away from the Allianz last season. New signing Philippe Coutinho could make his Bayern debut in this match after coming in on loan from Barcelona. Fellow loanee Ivan Perisic may also feature in this match after serving a suspension. It’s been 10 years since Bayern went without a win in the first two matches of the season.

RB LEIPZIG vs. EINTRACHT FRANKFURT (Sunday at 8:30am, FS1)

It was a great start for RB Leipzig against Union Berlin last Sunday. Four different players including Timo Werner scored for the Red Bulls while Marcel Sabitzer got a goal and three assists. Tyler Adams, however, is set to miss his second straight match. 

Eintracht scored 36 seconds into their match against Hoffenheim and made it hold up. However, their 100% start in all competitions to start the season ended on Thursday with a loss to Strasbourg in the Europa League on Thursday. Goncalo Paciencia and Filip Kostic will look to join Ante Rebic as the attacking trio.

HERTHA BERLIN vs. VfL WOLSBURG  (Sunday at 11am, FS1)

The Capital Club got a surprise 2-2 draw against the seven-time defending champions last Friday. Dodi Lukebakio and Marko Grujic were on target for Hertha before Robert Lewandowski equalized to preserve a point. Hertha are unbeaten in their last six home openers.

Oliver Glasner’s Wolfsburg debut ended in a 2-1 success over FC Köln. Wout Weghorst and Maxi Arnold scored for the Wolves. Ignacio Camacho and Daniel Ginczek remain sidelined with injury but Jeffrey Bruma, Admir Mehmedi and Paulo Otavio could all return.