As we enter Gameweek 4 of the Bundesliga season, half of the teams still remain unbeaten, including new boys Köln and Paderborn, whilst usual high-flyers Wolfsburg and Schalke are looking for their first victories after a poor start.
Here all this weeks fixtures, kicking off Saturday 14:30 GMT unless stated:
Freiburg - Hertha (Friday 19:30)
Augsburg - Bremen
Hamburger - Bayern
Paderborn - Hannover
Schalke - Frankfurt
Stuttgart - Hoffenheim
Mainz - Dortmund (Saturday 17:30)
Wolfsburg - Leverkusen (Sunday 14:30)
Köln - Mönchengladbach (Sunday 16:30)
Friday: Freiburg - Hertha
Two winless sides go head-to-head on Friday night as they look to distance themselves from the drop zone before Saturdays fixtures.
Luhukay’s team will go into the game feeling confident they can grab a result, despite picking up just one point, they have scored five times in four games and led twice in Leverkusen, only for their leaky defence to cost them again.
Thinks aren’t looking as bright for Freiburg, a solitary goal this season being a cross by Sorg, though their single point did come at home to the impressive Moechengladbach. Add to that the loss of Mehmedi for three weeks and confidence is rock bottom.
Summer signing Julian Schieber has been the pick of the bunch for Berlin, scoring three in two games, and Streich’s side will do well to contain him on Friday.
Prediction: Freiburg 1 Hertha 1 – The last two meetings at the Mage Solar have brought us score-draws, and expect the same again here with two very matched sides.
Saturday: Augsburg - Bremen
Comeback kings Bremen have ended up drawing all three games so far after being behind, but after a resilient 1-0 victory away at Frankfurt, Augsburg will be confident they can grab a second successive victory this Saturday, with Weinzierl stating "The win against Frankfurt will be even sweeter if we can get another victory. But we'll have to be at our best against Bremen."
The Fuggerstädter will have to stop the likes of Di Santo, Bartels, and whizzkid David Selke if they want to gain victory, while Bremen will no doubt be happy to take a fourth straight draw after losing 3-1 on the last two visits to the ground.
Augsburg were the surprise package last season and can dominate the midfield – plus the likes of Matavz coming off the bench should give them the edge. They scored twice late against Dortmund and they may well win late on here today.
Prediction: Augsburg 2 Bremen 1 – This should be an extremely tight encounter, but expect Klavan and Callsen-Bracker to frustrate Bremen as they try to come from behind again.
Hamburg - Bayern
Mirko Slomka was sacked after the defeat to Hannover last week and that may well give the team a lift going into the game against the champions, who struggled in midweek to finish against Manchester City, the lack of Schweinsteiger, Thiago, and Martinez certainly showing.
Joe Zinnbauer will make his debut in charge and although he couldn’t have asked for a harder start, the fans will be behind him and he has little to lose. There is also little breathing space for Guardiola, who saw his side frustrated at Schalke in their last away game. They won’t want to make it two draws to start the season.
Ribery is still injured, while Robben may feature from the bench, though Shaqiri and Muller will offer as much threat behind Lewandowski upfront.
Prediction: Hamburg 0 Bayern 3 – The Bavarians have scored 25 in their last 5 meetings with Hamburg, who have yet to score a goal so far. This should be an easy win which will heap more misery on the home side.
Paderborn - Hannover
Two more unbeaten records face each other on Saturday, with Hannover now on a run which features six wins and two draws stretching to the back end of last season.
Bundesliga newboys Paderborn have had an impressive start to the season, but after conceding an injury time goal on the opening day, and failing to punish Köln last week, they will be disappointed they aren’t at least two points better off.
Both sides could well field unchanged teams after superb performances last week, though Briand and Sobiech are both capable of starting alongside Joselu for Die Roten.
Prediction: Paderborn 1 Hannover 1 - Neither side will want to slip up here, and so a score draw is on the cards here, though Korkut’s side may well steal the win.
Schalke - Frankfurt
Jens Keller is walking a tightrope in Gelsenkirchen, and surely only a win versus Frankfurt will be suitable for the Royal Blues, who picked up a massive draw in the Champions League in midweek.
Goretzka, Farfan, and Matip remain sidelined, though with Meyer, Sam, Draxler and Huntelaar sure to start, they have enough flair and talent to cause the Eagles huge problems.
Frankfurt themselves have to improve, after a good start they were beaten at home by Augsburg last week, and look like they may well be in a relegation scrap this year. They lost 9 of 17 away games last year, and although they drew 2-2 versus Wolfsburg on the first away day of this season, even fans of the Eagles with admit they were desperately lucky in that clash.
Prediction: Schalke 2 Frankfurt 0 – Its simply must win for Keller’s side, and they should go on to build on the confidence in midweek and put their first win on the board.
Stuttgart - Hoffenheim
After just surviving last season, many are tipping Stuttgart to have another season scrapping at the bottom. If their start to the season is anything to go by that might be a good prediction.
Hoffenheim have sorted out their defensive issues from last season, but after a 2-0 opening day win, they’ve twice thrown away 1-0 leads to draw 1-1. If nerves are still playing a part, Gisdol will have to sort this quickly to avoid more points being thrown away early on.
Ibisevic is getting no support up top for Stuttgart, and their worries were highlighted in the 2-0 home loss to Köln on matchday two. If the away side play with freedom, they will cause more problems for The Reds on Saturday. Four different goalscorers highlight the strength they still have in attack, and although Szalai is battling to be fit, Modeste is a more than suitable replacement.
Prediction: Stuttgart 0 Hoffenheim 2 – The unbeaten start should continue and an away win looks a decent bet for Saturday’s game, with European hopes on the cards this season for Hoffenheim fans.
Mainz - Dortmund
The 0-Fives were the surprise package this season, and after two draws from two, pundits suggested their bubble had burst. That was until a comfortable 3-1 victory away at Hertha last week that suggested they were more than capable of replicating the 7th place finish of 2013/14.
Klopp’s side will be their biggest test to date though, and after comfortably beating Arsenal in midweek without Reus and Hummels, they will be a tough nut to crack on Saturday evening.
They have recovered well from an opening day defeat to Leverkusen, and with Ramos, Aubemayang and Immobile already amongst the goals after four games in league and Europe, there won’t be many defences that can contain them this season.
Prediction: Mainz 1 Dortmund 3 – Expect BVB to have learnt the lessons from Augsburg and keep in tight when they take the lead. Klopp will win it from the bench if needed, and will keep his side neck and neck with Bayern.
Sunday: Wolfsburg - Bayer Leverkusen
The Wolves have failed to hit any sort of form this season, and a 4-1 defeat in midweek to Everton despite hitting 24 shots told its own story.
Only an 85th minute Bremen equaliser cost Leverkusen their 100% record after three games, and it’s clear that these two have started the season flying in different directions, despite being separated by one point and two goals last season.
This fixture always guarantees goals, the last 11 meetings at the VW Arena have seen three or more, and expect an exciting match again this Sunday.
Dieter Hecking will be under pressure to turn results around quickly, though this should become four without a win for them if Roger Schmidt can get the correct Leverkusen side to turn up.
Prediction: Wolfsburg 2 Leverkusen 4 – Bellarabi and Kiessling will be too hot to handle and they should run out comfortable winners.
Köln - Mönchengladbach
270 minutes played, 0 conceded for Horn in the Köln net, but few expect them to keep that superb run against a Gladbach team full of goals and who put four past Schalke last weekend.
No injuries mean Kruse and Raffael will spearhead the attack, and with the likes of Hahn and Xhaka behind them, chances should not be at a shortage in this match.
Köln have five points, but two 0-0 draws, and against Paderborn and Hamburg they really should be scoring at least once. Its been a great start for The Billy Goats, but their first real test comes on Sunday and it doesn't look likely that Stöger’s team will be able to match it this time around.
Prediction: Köln 0 Mönchengladbach 2 - Expect a third blank for Köln but Kruse to finally unlock the defence and bring home another three points for Gladbach.