Bundesliga matchday eight preview: Crazy!

If you thought matchday six was wacky, matchday seven had someone hold its beer.

We ate crow for prematurely offering sympathy for Hoffenheim before they took three points at the Allianz. Freiburg got a point over a struggling Borussia Dortmund. After the dust settled before the international break, it was the other Borussia—Mönchengladbach—who went top of the table. Now can they stay there as they head to the Signal Iduna? Welcome to matchday eight (All times CT).

EINTRACHT FRANKFURT vs. BAYER LEVERKUSEN (Friday at 1:30pm, FS2):

The Eagles are coming off a 2-2 draw against Werder Bremen where they conceded a late equalizer. Silva, Goncalo Paciencia, and Bas Dost are finding their feet combining for eight goals. Eintracht are currently unbeaten this season at the Commerzbank-Arena. Kevin Trapp is still out with a shoulder injury. 

Leon Bailey (thigh), Jonathan Tah (flu), and Lars Bender (thigh) all returned to training and are in line to feature on Friday alongside the likes of Kai Havertz and Kevin Volland for Die Werkself. No player has been more involved in goals this calendar year than Volland. Havertz’s 13 league goals is the most this calendar year for players in the top five leagues born in 1999 or later.

FC AUGSBURG vs. BAYERN MUNICH  (Saturday at 8:30am, FS1)

FCA has been outscored 8-1 in their last two home matches against Leverkusen and Gladbach. Augsburg are now 14th and just a point clear of 17th. Marco Richter is expected to feature again after a thigh strain.

The loss to Hoffenheim not withstanding, Robert Lewandowski is on pace to break Gerd Müller’s single-season Bundesliga record of 40 goals in 1972. Lewandowski is already on eleven. He has also scored in each of the first seven matches so far and can tie Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s record of eight straight with a strike against Augsburg on Saturday.

RB LEIPZIG vs. WOLFSBURG  (Saturday at 8:30am, FS2)

Timo Werner scored for Germany against Estonia during the international week. The match comes too soon for Tyler Adams who is still recovering from metatarsal. Ibrahima Konate, Hannes Wolf, Patrik Schick, and Ethan Ampadu have also all been ruled out, while Kevin Kampl is rated doubtful. They are still two points out of the top spot despite that. 

Wolfsburg are an unlikely second coming into the match. John Brooks is available for selection again for the Wolves. Pavao Pervan will continue to deputize for Koen Casteels in goal. In front of Pervan is the stingiest defense in the league having conceded just four goals so far this season.

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

Josh Sargent has appeared in all but one match so far this season and starting four. He returns from international duty after matches against Cuba and Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League. The Green-Whites are unbeaten in their last 11 meetings against Hertha.

Hertha are going for their fourth straight win after defeating Fortuna before the break. It’s been nearly eleven years since they did win four straight. Verdad Ibisevic has three goals in his last two matches. He has not scored against Bremen in nine years. 

FORTUNA DUSSELDORF vs. MAINZ (Saturday at 8:30am, Fox Soccer Matchpass)

Zack Steffen has a league-high 36 saves this season. It has not saved them from three straight losses to Gladbach, Freiburg, and Hertha. In fact, they have not won since matchday one. Only goal difference keeps them from the drop zone. 

Mainz is currently two points above Fortuna. They recently ended a three-match losing streak with a win over Paderborn. Robin Quaison has been deputizing for the injured Jean-Philippe Mateta, having scored three goals. Adam Szalai has not scored in five appearances since returning to the 05ers. 

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

Union have been given a reality check after their upset win over Dortmund. They have lost their last four and are currently in the danger zone. They still have the best record the three promoted sides as the other two make up the bottom two.

Robin Koch and Luca Waldschmidt earned their first Germany caps this past weekend as Freiburg’s surprise start to the season has them in fifth. Their 14 points from seven matches is a club record start and they are one of three teams with a 100% record away from home so far.

BORUSSIA DORTMUND vs. BORUSSIA MÖNCHENGLADBACH (Saturday at 11:30am, FS2)

In their last three games, Borussia Dortmund have seen a 2-1 lead turn into a 2-2 draw. As a result, BVB are eighth in the log jam that is the top of the Bundesliga. Lukasz Piszczek is out after tearing a muscle two weeks ago and Paco Alcacer is still out with an achilles tendon injury. Nico Schulz is fit again and is expected to start in Piszczek’s place.

The Foals will look to break and eight-match losing streak against BVB. They have the firepower in Alassane Plea, Breel Embolo, and Marcus Thuram. However, Matthias Ginter is out and Stefan Lainer is a doubt after suffering injuries two weeks ago. Lars Stindl is expected to return after recovering from a shin fracture in April.  

FC KÖLN vs. SC PADERBORN (Sunday at 8:30am, FS1)

A battle of promoted sides and also one between the bottom two in the table – our second such match-up this season. The Billy Goats were able to snatch a point against Schalke on matchday seven after 4-0 defeats the previous two weeks. Simon Terodde could feast on a Paderborn side who has the joint-worst defence in the league shipping 19 goals. 

Paderborn remain winless on the year. US international Khiry Shelton is out after having dental surgery. It could be a game of bookends. While Paderborn have scored five times in the first 15 minutes of matches this season, FC Köln have scored three times in second-half stoppage time.  

HOFFENHEIM vs. SCHALKE (Sunday at 11am, FS2)

Sargis Adamyan was the hero at the Allianz for Hoffenheim scoring his first two Bundesliga goals to seal the victory. It also ended a four-match skid for the Sinsheimers. Those two goals already makes the Armenian international the club’s top scorer this season. It also accounts for a third of the club’s goals.

Amine Harit and Suat Serdar have combined for seven goals for the Royal Blues which is more than Hoffenheim as a whole. They are unbeaten in their last seven away from the Veltins Arena. It would have been five straight wins this season but for a Jonas Hector goal late. Weston McKennie is expected to be rested on Sunday after a hat trick against Cuba and also playing against Canada.