Matchday 9: Was I A Fool to Think That?

Remember a month ago? BVB looked unbeatable while upstarts like Augsburg were threatening to upset the established Bundesliga order. Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig looked in serious trouble. A few weeks later, the league looks to be reverting back to normal. Will that trend continue, and could we see Munich and Leipzig continue their return to their positions from last season? Or will this week cause further disruption to the table?

Tier One

RB Leipzig v. VfB Stuttgart: Timo Werner faces off against his former club in a match-up of two sides on the ascendancy. Chadrac Akolo will likely start after a good run of form for the visitors. Stuttgart are winless on the road so far this season.

Eintracht Frankfurt v. Borussia Dortmund: Absolutely essential match to take three points for BVB with their upcoming schedule. We will have more previews on the site soon.

FC Augsburg v. Hannover 96: After a fast start to the season, Augsburg are now beginning to slide. Adding insult to injury (no pun intended) is the absence of Martin Hinteregger for a few weeks. Hannover are winless in their last four and have lost twice in a row for the first time since February. This will be a good match-up of two good sides looking to stop a slide.

Tier Two

FC Schalke 04 v. 1. FSV Mainz 05: The weekend kicks off with a top ten match-up. The home side received a boost with the news that former Spurs midfielder Nabil Bentaleb and American Weston McKennie are available for selection. The 05ers are winless on the road and have won just once in their last 11 trips to Schalke.

SC Freiburg v. Hertha BSC: The visitors desperately need to arrest their slide down the standings. Key player Mathew Leckie was rested mid-week for this match. Freiburg need to recover from their 5-0 thrashing against Bayern Munich last week. They are, however, unbeaten at home in their last 8 matches.

1 FC Koln v. SV Werder Bremen: This is a massive match if one of these two sides wants to escape relegation. Claudio Pizarro did not travel to Cologne’s midweek match, so he should be rested to face his former club. They desperately need three points in this match (that is, their first win) to keep pace with the other relegation candidates. This will be a sad spectacle of two clubs going through their worst runs in a long time, but the drama will make this an interesting match.

Tier Three

Hamburger SV v. FC Bayern Munchen: Robert Lewandowski has scored seven times in his last five times facing Hamburg, so he’s a player to watch simply to see how many he could score. Add on the renewed play under Heynckes, the fact that Arturo Vidal and James Rodriguez are back healthy, and Bayern could move top of the table with a victory, and the future bodes ill for the home side.

Borussia Monchengladbach v. Bayer 04 Leverkusen: Gladbach are climbing the table and are looking for a fourth victory in five matches. Leverkusen get back Charles Aranguiz and had injury scares to Lars Bender and Jonathan Tah, and they will need all three players to get their first road victory this season. Fun fact – Bayer have scored more goals in their history against Gladbach than any other club.

VfL Wolfsburg v. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim: Good news! John Anthony Brooks and Jeffrey Bruma are back in training. Bad news. This important defensive duo are not yet ready for the starting XI, meaning the home side will still be short-handed still against a Hoffenheim side that recorded their first European competition victory ever this week.