European campaigns have started for six Bundesliga teams and four of them emerged victorious. Now, they return to domestic play and their first tests (or second in the case of Bayern Munich) coming back.  We have the first Revierderby of the season as Dortmund look towards the top while Schalke look towards ending a 20-match winless streak. We also have our first Monday match of the season. That and more as we preview Matchday 5. 

 

VfB STUTTGART vs. FC COLOGNE 

Die Schwaben are a surprising fifth thanks in large part to the exploits of Sasa Kalajdzic. The Austrian international has been in the starting XI since Matchday 2 and has scored three goals and an assist. Nicolas Gonzalez is fit again, but could yet again be on the bench as Kalajdzic continues to perform. 

The Billy Goats are winless in their last 14 matches (second only to Schalke), though they did earn a point against Eintracht Frankfurt. Another match winless will represent a club record. Neck whiplash will continue to sideline captain Jonas Hector while Marius Wolf and Ismael Jakobs got through their first matches unscathed.  

BAYERN MUNICH vs. EINTRACHT FRANFURT 

Four past Arminia Bielefeld and then four past Atletico Madrid for Bayern in the past week. the former saw both Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller each bag a brace while Kingsley Coman was the star for Bayern against the latter. They are not without personnel issues for this match. Corentin Tolisso is suspended for two matches after a red card while Serge Gnabry is in isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus. 

Frankfurt are in fourth and one of four undefeated teams in the Bundesliga. Kevin Trapp is second in the league with 17 saves made. The attacking triumvirate for Die Adler now consists of Andre Silva, Bas Dost, and Daichi Kamada—one of each have at least been involved in all seven goals this season for Frankfurt. Silva has 11 goals in the last 14 league matches. 

RB LEIPZIG vs. HERTHA BERLIN

Leipzig are top of the table and will be coming off a 2-0 win over Istanbul Baksehir in the Champions League on Tuesday night. Angelino had the brace for Die Roten Bullen who were semifinalists in the previous campaign. Yussuf Poulsen had a wonder goal against Augsburg last Saturday and is expected to start ahead of Dani Olmo and Christopher Nkunku.

If Leipzig are off to a dream start, it’s been a nightmare for Hertha since Matchday 2 as they have lost three on the trot. Matheus Cunha will face his former team in this one. He had just two goals in 35 league appearances for Leipzig, but has seven in 15 for Hertha. The next win for the Old Lady against a Julian Naglesmann side will be their first. 

UNION BERLIN vs. SC FREIBURG 

Andreas Luthe has kept his place between the sticks so far in spite of the arrival of Loris Karius from Liverpool. Die Eisernen got a draw at the Veltins-Arena. Union have scored a league-high four headed goals so far this season. However, four of their five goals conceded have also been headers.  

Phillipp Lienhart got his first goal for Freiburg in last week’s draw against Werder Bremen. Freiburg are looking for a win on the road—something they have done just twice in their last 15 away from the Schwarzwald-Stadion. Christian Streich may keep an unchanged side with no new injury concerns. Ermedin Demirovic could push for his first Bundesliga start with Nils Petersen and Lucas Höler failing to find the net in each of their last two Bundesliga outings.

MAINZ 05 vs. BORUSSIA MÖNCHENGLADBACH 

Mainz are the only team in the Bundesliga not to get a point yet this season. The 05ers have the joint-tamest attack (two goals) and the second-most charitable defense (12 shipped). Robin Quaison could make his 100th Bundesliga appearance on Saturday, but he would like his first league goal of the season to go with that. Jean-Philippe Mateta has not scored since back-to-back goals on Matchdays 1 and 2. 

Gladbach nearly got victory at the San Siro, but had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Inter Milan. They are unbeaten since the opening loss against Borussia Dortmund. However, lapses in concentration have cost them points against Union and Wolfsburg. They have also conceded five of their six goals against in the second half in league play. They will look for more performances like the 3-1 win over Cologne last week and more from Jonas Hofmann.  

BORUSSIA DORTMUND vs. FC SCHALKE 04 

BVB will be looking to revert back to their league form against their near rivals following a 3-1 defeat to Lazio in the Champions League. Marco Reus scored against Hoffenheim last week and started against Lazio, but will likely start on the bench behind Gio Reyna. Haaland has 22 goals in 25 competitive outings for BVB, including 17 in 19 games in the Bundesliga. He scored in the 4-0 win over Schalke in this fixture last season. 

The Royal Blues got their first point of the season with a draw against Union thanks to Frankfurt loanee Goncalo Paciencia. There would be no better opponent for Schalke to end their 20-match winless streak against their main rivals in the Revierderby. The last five have seen each win twice. 

VfL WOLFSBURG vs. ARMINIA BIELEFELD

Wolfsburg are one of four teams that have just two goals so far. They are also one of three teams who have scored just twice. In four matches, they have four draws this season and are winless in their last seven at the Volkswagen Arena dating back to last season. Wout Weghorst got a point for Wolfsburg last week against Gladbach. However, Josip Brekalo is in isolation and is unavailable this week. 

Bielefeld gave up four to Bayern Munich last Saturday. The performance was not bad, but it leaves them in 14th after back-to-back defeats. Ritsu Doan and Fabian Klos should retain their places in attack. Arne Maier could get a start after coming in on loan from Hertha Berlin. 

WERDER BREMEN vs. HOFFENHEIM

The Green-Whites are enjoying a better start to this season as they are currently seventh. Milot Rashica returned to action after a long layoff due to a knee injury. However, he may still have to compete for minutes with Josh Sargent and Niclas Fullkrug who has four goals this season. Fullkrug has also scored three goals in the last four meetings against Hoffenheim. 

Hoffenheim fell at home to Dortmund last weekend, but bounced back in the Europa League with a win over Crvena Zvezda (aka Red Star Belgrade). Andrej Kramaric was in isolation for the loss to Dortmund after the international break and is doubtful for this match. Where the goals will come from is the question as Kramaric has scored 10 of the Sinsheimers’ 12 goals.  

BAYER LEVERKUSEN vs. FC AUGSBURG 

Leverkusen ended a run of three straight draws with a win over Mainz and then followed that with a 6-2 win over Nice in the Europa League. Lucas Alario got the goal against Mainz while Karim Bellarabi got a pair against Nice. Die Werkself are now unbeaten in six in all competitions this season. They are also unbeaten in 18 against Augsburg. 

Augsburg’s unbeaten run ended last week with a home loss to RB Leipzig. The Bavarians lost five away games in a row prior to the appointment of Heiko Herrlich; but have won three, drawn three, and lost one on the road since. Florian Niederlechner is still looking to open his account this season for Die Fuggerstädter.