The fastest ever Bundesliga goal. The longest ever Bundesliga goal. More draws than ever before after four rounds of action. Six sides still unbeaten. Four teams leading the way on eight points. One unexpected leader. Just your usual start to a Bundesliga season.
Matchday Five: Fixtures
Bayern Munich - Paderborn
Werder Bremen - Schalke
Frankfurt - Mainz
Hoffenheim - Freiburg
Hannover - Koln
Monchengladbach - Hamburg
Dortmund - Stuttgart
Leverkusen - Augsburg
Hertha Berlin - Wolfsburg
Bayern Munich - Paderborn (Tuesday)
Pep Guardiola's Bayern haven't set the world alight so far this season, but they remain unbeaten and one of the clutch of sides leading the way. Is it a World Cup hangover? Maybe. A lack of motivation when it comes to the Bundesliga? Perhaps. What is clear though is that Bayern probably haven't got out of first gear yet. And it's also clear that they remain huge favourites to claim the title again. Opponents Paderborn were expected to be at the opposite end of the spectrum: rock-bottom already and staying their for the rest of their debut top-flight campaign. Instead, they are top, and the way they have performed so far suggests they won't let it go without a fight. They are certainly no pushovers.
Prediction: Can Paderborn really go to the Allianz and get something? Of course they can. But Bayern should have enough. Bayern 2-0 Paderborn.
Werder Bremen - Schalke (Tuesday)
Bremen currently have the joint-second best attack in the Bundesliga, with Franco Di Santo on three goals and fantastic young strike partner Davie Selke scoring his first Bundesliga goal on Matchday Four. The problem for Robin Dutt is that his side also have the second-worst defence, and that was shown during the defeat to Augsburg; it ended their unbeaten record, but leaves the Northerners still winless. Schalke too are still waiting for their first league victory of the campaign, and Jens Keller must be frustrated about the inconsistency with his squad. They can draw with Bayern and go to Chelsea in the Champions League and get a point, but why can't they beat Frankfurt at home? Yes, they did well to come back and get a point, and they do have an injury/suspension crisis, but Keller can't keep using these excuses for much longer.
Prediction: One side will leave the Weserstadion come full time with their first win. That will be the visitors. Werder Bremen 1-2 Schalke.
Frankfurt - Mainz (Tuesday)
For Frankfurt, a draw in Gelsenkirchen against Schalke on any given day would be a fantastic result. Yet throwing away a two goal lead and playing with a man, and even a two man advantage for a short period, and failing to take maximum points would have left the players frustrated and disappointed going back south. After going out of the Pokal AND the Europa League before the Bundesliga season had even begun, new manager Kasper Hjulmand seemingly couldn't fill the rather large boots which the outstanding Thomas Tuchel had left behind at the Coface Arena. But with the Bundesliga's top goalscorer Shinji Okazaki, a win over Dortmund, and still being unbeaten, Hjulmand is making Tuchel look like a distant memory.
Prediction: Mainz's excellent start to their league campaign will continue at the Commerzbank Arena. Frankfurt 1-3 Mainz.
Hoffenheim - Freiburg (Tuesday)
Hoffenheim? No longer entertaining? But Markus Gisdol and the supporters won't care if their efficient start to the season continues. They haven't fallen behind yet in a game, and remarkably for them, they've kept two clean sheets from their opening four games. What Freiburg would do to be in their opponents' position. A deflected Ronny costless-kick in the seventh minute of added time provided a thrilling end to the opening encounter of Matchday Four. It epitomised Freiburg's season so far: no luck and no win. Their lack of goals already appears to be a big issue (none of their three goals as of yet have been scored by a striker) and with main man Admir Mehmedi out injured, that problem doesn't appear to being resolved any time soon.
Prediction: I can only see one winner from this match and that's the hosts. Hoffenheim 3-0 Freiburg.
Hannover - Koln (Wednesday)
Hannover's away day blues of recent seasons once again emerged on Matchday Four, as they went down to new-boys Paderborn. They've still yet to score on their travels, whilst it couldn't be anymore different on home soil, and they'll look to maintain their 100% record on Wednesday night. What do Koln have in common with Barcelona, Juventus and Roma? That's right, they all haven't conceded a goal so far this season in their respective leagues. Three of Koln's four matches may well have ended in goalless draws, but they want to consolidate themselves again as an established Bundesliga side, and if that means being dogged and sometimes a bit boring, then so be it.
Prediction: Koln would take a goalless draw from the difficult HDI-Arena, and they may well get it. Hannover 0-0 Koln.
Monchengladbach - Hamburg (Wednesday)
With domestic and continental matters to juggle with, games are coming thick and fast for Gladbach. Yet they've made an unbeaten start to their campaign, and they have a much deeper squad compared to this time a year ago; rotation will only be of benefit for Lucien Favre. For Hamburg, they just want a goal. However, holding the champions Bayern to a goalless draw in Josef Zinnbauer's first game in charge should lift the squad a little. Things don't get easier for the Bundesliga's everpresents with a trip to Dortmund and hosting the in-form Hoffenheim to come over the next few weeks. Frankfurt come next, but they could well be heading into that game at the weekend off the back of another game without finding the back of the net.
Prediction: Borussia-Park. Never an easy place to go. It will be a long evening for Hamburg. Monchengladbach 4-0 Hamburg.
Dortmund - Stuttgart (Wednesday)
Had Dortmund won at Mainz this past weekend, they would have gone top of the table (and with their now infamous injury curse still striking them). Instead, the headlines were much different. They lost at the Coface Arena and were hit with the news of yet another injury: Henrikh Mkhitaryan out for a month with a foot problem. Jurgen Klopp must be wondering who or what has something against him and the club. Mind you, it could be worse. Opponents Stuttgart are bottom, with just one point, one goal and the fans wanting answers. The supporters are calling for Fredi Bobic's head and Armin Veh hasn't been able to weave the magic of his first spell in charge at the club; when they became champions in 2006/07.
Prediction: Both have a crisis of a different sort. But on home soil, you always have to favour Dortmund. Dortmund 3-1 Stuttgart.
Leverkusen - Augsburg (Wednesday)
After a perfect start to his tenure as Leverkusen boss, Roger Schmidt has hit his first sticky patch. A draw against Bremen, a heavy defeat at Wolfsburg and a loss to Monaco in their first Champions League game in between. Stefan Kießling suddenly can't find his shooting boots and Leverkusen suddenly need to find a result. A home game always helps, but they face an Augsburg side high on confidence after back-to-back victories, following back-to-back defeats to start their league campaign. They have one of the best young managers, not just in Germany, but in Europe, in the form of Markus Weinzierl, and they want to match, if not, better their fantastic campaign last season.
Prediction: Schmidt and co. have had a tough week, although they should get back on track here. Leverkusen 3-1 Augsburg.
Hertha Berlin - Wolfsburg (Wednesday)
Brazilian Ronny's costless-kick very late on at Freiburg stopped Hertha from having a third consecutive Bundesliga defeat. They have the worst defence in the league (11 goals conceded), and in each of their last six Bundesliga games (going back to last season), they have conceded two or more goals. It doesn't help that they come up against a Wolfsburg side who have scored in each of their last thirty league games (since a 2-0 defeat to Braunschweig in October 2013). They bounced back from their 4-1 defeat to Everton in the Europa League, with a 4-1 win over Leverkusen on Sunday, inspired by the magnificent Ricardo Rodriguez, who was also fantastic at Goodison Park. Best left-back in the world right now?
Prediction: It should be a game packed with goals, with most of them going to the visitors. Hertha Berlin 2-4 Wolfsburg.