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Matchday One saw Bayern exert its dominance over poor Schalke while Dortmund’s youth made their statement in an emphatic victory over Mönchengladbach.
RB Leipzig also won handily in their match with Mainz. Arminia Bielefeld began life anew in the Bundesliga with a point, while Stuttgart began with a tough home loss to Freiburg. This week sees the eight-time consecutive champions head to Hoffenheim after winning the UEFA Super Cup in Budapest on Thursday, while Augsburg will hope to avoid yet another hat trick by a BVB player. That and more as we preview Matchday two.
(All times US Central time on ESPN+ unless stated)
HERTHA BERLIN vs. EINTRACHT FRANKFURT (Friday at 1:30pm):
Hertha kicked off the season with an emphatic win of their own, 4-1, over Werder Bremen. Jhon Cordoba opened his account with a goal on his debut. Matheus Cunha, Dodi Lukbakio, and Peter Pekarik also scored for The Old Lady of Berlin. It was an encouraging start for Hertha who are looking to join the elite of the Bundesliga.
Andre Silva helped Die Adler rescue a point against Bielefeld last weekend. Forward Ragnar Ache and left-back Jetro Willems have both returned to training following injuries that kept them out of the season opener, but while Ache could be in contention to make the squad for the trip to Berlin, Willems is still some time off. Two has not been a lucky number for Frankfurt as they are winless in their last seven Matchday Two fixtures (Two draws, five defeats).
BORUSSIA MÖNCHENGLADBACH vs. FC UNION BERLIN (Saturday at 8:30am)
Marcus Thuram is expected to start after coming off the bench in the 3-0 loss to Dortmund, last Saturday. Thuram missed the last three matches of last season with an ankle injury as well as the Pokal opener against FC Oberneuland. Fellow Frenchman Alassane Plea could also feature as well. Both scored double-digits for the Foals last season. Borussia Park was home sweet home last season as they lost just three times there with only Bayern posting a better home record.
Die Eisernen will be without Christian Gentner due to a calf injury. Sebastian Griesbeck is expected to deputize in his place. Former Foal Max Kruse could feature after he came on late in Union’s 3-1 loss to Augsburg. Taiwo Awoniyi arrives on loan from Liverpool. Union lost four of their last five away matches of last season with only Fortuna Dusseldorf and SC Paderborn (both relegated) posting worse away records.
BAYER LEVERKUSEN vs. RB LEIPZIG (Saturday at 8:30am)
Patrik Schick faces the team he spent the second half of last season on loan from Roma in RB Leipzig. Schick was actually Leipzig’s second-top scorer last season behind Timo Werner, but was a second half substitute in the 0-0 draw against Wolfsburg, last Sunday. However, he might get his full debut on Saturday. Leon Bailey might also feature as well.
Despite no longer having Schick or Werner, Leipzig still made a convincing start to the season with a 3-1 win over Mainz following goals by Emil Forsberg, Amadou Haidara, and Yussuf Poulsen. There is also now Norwegian striker Alexandar Sorloth in Leipzig’s ranks. Sorloth scored 33 goals in 49 appearances with Turkish side Trabzonspor last season.
MAINZ 05 vs. VfB STUTTGART (Saturday at 8:30am)
The 05ers lost last Sunday to Leipzig, but will be encouraged by Jean Philippe Mateta scoring again. He already has more goals in all competitions than he did last season which was riddled with injury. Youth is also being served with Paul Nebel becoming Mainz’s youngest ever player in the Bundesliga, aged just 17 years and 346 days old, when he came on late in the match. Niklas Tauer, 19, also made his league debut for the 05ers.
Stuttgart’s rally from 3-0 down came up short against Frankfurt in their return to the top flight. Gonzalez remains out wiith a thigh injury while substitute Sasa Kalajdzic, who scored last Saturday, could start for Die Schwaben. Stuttgart had 22 attempts on goal last week with only Bayern taking more shots on Matchday One.
FC AUGSBURG vs. BORUSSIA DORTMUND (Saturday at 8:30am)
Last season saw Die Függerstäder go 2-0 and 3-1 up on BVB before Erling Haaland came off the bench, scored a hat-trick and helped Dortmund to a 5-3 victory. Heiko Herrlich’s side opened the season with a 3-1 success against Union Berlin. Ruben Vargas, Michael Gregoritsch, and Andre Hahn all scored for Augsburg in the victory.
Of course, it is not just Haaland who Augsburg should watch out for. There’s also Jadon Sancho and Gio Reyna, the latter of whom opened the scoring against Gladbach. It’s Reyna’s play that will likely keep Marco Reus on the bench. BVB has a history of players scoring hat tricks against Augsburg such as Haaland’s last season. The other three were Robert Lewandowski, Pierre Aubameyang, and Paco Alcacer.
ARMINIA BIELEFELD vs. FC COLOGNE (Saturday at 8:30am)
Bielefeld made an encouraging start to the first season in the top flight in 11 years after drawing at Frankfurt. Ceibo Soukou scored Bielefeld’s goal while Doan was a constant threat in the match. However, the defensive lineup will be different with Nathan de Medina out and Anderson Lucoqui a major doubt.
Sebastian Andersson scored in his debut for the Billy Goats, last weekend, though they would end up losing 3-2 to Hoffenheim. Andersson himself faces a late fitness test after a knock in training. Cologne have no problems scoring as they have done so in their last 21 league matches (longest of any team in the league), but keeping it out at the other has been a problem as they have no clean sheet in their last 12.
FC SCHALKE 04 vs. WERDER BREMEN (Saturday at 11:30am)
This is a battle between two teams who suffered brutal defeats last week. The Royal Blues suffered an 8-0 thrashing at the hands of Bayern last Friday. They are now winless in their last 17 and have scored just nine goals in 18 league matches this calendar year, keeping a clean sheet in just five of those matches (both worst records in the Bundesliga). It does not help that Suat Serdar will be out injured.
The Green-Whites suffered a 4-1 loss at home to Hertha Berlin after escaping relegation last season by away goals. Josh Sargent did start for Bremen last week and Tahith Chong may feature as well. The Veltins Arena has been a happy hunting ground for Bremen as they have won their last four matches there.
TSG HOFFENHEIM vs. BAYERN MUNICH (Sunday at 8:30am)
Andrej Kramaric scored a hat trick in the 3-2 win over Cologne, last Saturday. His last three competitive matches have seen him score a total of nine goals for Die Kraichgauer. Coach Sebastian Hoeness (Uli’s nephew) will be looking forward to facing his old team after guiding Bayern’s reserves to the 3. Liga title last season.
It continues to be December 7, since Bayern last lost a competitive match after they took home the UEFA Super Cup on Thursday in Budapest, beating Sevilla in extra time. Last season saw Bayern thump Hoffenheim, 6-0, at the PreZero Arena, but will the wear and tear from Thursday catch up with them on Sunday? Squad rotation is very likely with one eye towards the German Super Cup next Wednesday against Dortmund. Alphonso Davies was rested on Matchday One, but came on as a substitute in extra time on Thursday. Bayern could be the first to score ten goals in the first two games of a Bundesliga season (need two more) and the first to win 11 successive away league matches.
SC FREIBURG vs, VfL WOLFSBURG (Sunday at 11am)
Frieburg are coming off an away win against Stuttgart where they were 3-0 up after 48 minutes before having to hold on late and finish 3-2. Nils Petersen extended his club record with 88 competitive goals, last Saturday. Florian Müller will continue to deputize in goal with Mark Flekken still out with an elbow injury. Die Breisgauer are looking for their first four-match home win streak in four years after winning the last three home fixtures of last season.
Wout Weghorst will look to get back on the scoresheet after nobody on Wolfsburg did last Sunday against Leverkusen. The road was somewhat better for the Wolves last season as nine of their 13 wins came from away the Volkswagen Arena. John Brooks is likely to start ahead of Maxence Lacroix who picked up a knock in Europa League play in midweek which saw Wolfsburg dispose of Ukrainian side Desna, 2-0.
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