Five weeks of action and now only 4 teams left unbeaten, Bayern Munich, 1899 Hoffenheim, Mainz 05 and Borussia Mönchengladbach. The ‘Revierderby’ is definitely the standout game of the weekend but there are many other exciting games to look out for.
Matchday 6 Fixtures:
Schalke - Borussia Dortmund
Mainz - Hoffenheim
Freiburg - Leverkusen
Stuttgart - Hannover
Köln - Bayern Munich
Paderborn - Borussia Mönchengladbach
Wolfsburg - Werder Bremen
Augsburg - Hertha
Hamburg - Eintracht Frankfurt
Mainz - Hoffenheim (Friday):
A battle between two unbeaten sides awaits on Friday evening. The sides are currently exactly equal, both sitting on 9 points and having scored 9 goals and conceded 5. Mainz came up with a magnificent performance at the weekend to beat Borussia Dortmund but during the week they gave up a two goal lead against Eintracht Frankfurt. Hoffenheim meanwhile showed some of the very costly defensive errors from last season in their 3-3 draw against Freiburg on Wednesday. They were quite unfortunate in that Freiburg were awarded a penalty after the foul was committed outside the box for the third goal but their defending was terrible for the previous two goals.
Prediction: Both sides are completely equal at the moment and are probably likely to stay that way after Friday night’s affair. Mainz 2-2 Hoffenheim.
Schalke - Dortmund (Saturday):
One of the biggest fixtures in German football sees these two rivals from the Ruhr region collide again, this time at the Veltins Arena. Both sides have made poor starts to the season by their own standards, both sides have lost two of their opening five matches. Dortmund were lucky to gain a point midweek against struggling Stuttgart at home whilst Schalke finally got a win under their belt after beating Bremen 3-0 away from home. Last year this fixture ended 3-1 to Dortmund with goals from Aubameyang, Sahin and Blaszczykowski and a consolation from Max Meyer for Schalke.
Prediction: Hopefully this fixture will be devoid of the fan trouble that was seen at last season’s game. With Schalke finally picking up a win and Dortmund struggling these sides will be pretty even and the derby is always a tense affair. Schalke 1-1 Dortmund
Freiburg - Leverkusen (Saturday):
Freiburg were involved in a thriller on Wednesday when they travelled to Hoffenheim, ahead twice during the game they will be disappointed that they ended up drawing the game 3-3. Leverkusen on the other hand won 1-0 at home Augsburg but some of the confidence gained from opening day win at Dortmund has been lost due to poor defending at times and losing to Wolfsburg 4-1. Last year Freiburg pulled off something of an upset winning the game 3-2 with Felix Klaus scoring the winner at the death.
Prediction: Leverkusen are desperate to get back on track after drawing with Bremen and losing to Wolfsburg and the Augsburg win will have given them a boost in confidence. Freiburg 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen.
Stuttgart - Hannover (Saturday):
Stuttgart made their worst ever start to a season this year, in the first 4 games they lost 3 and drew one without scoring a goal. Sporting Director Fredi Bobic was relieved of his duties just hours before the Dortmund game midweek and it looked almost certain that Dortmund would compound their misery. But Stuttgart played very well and had it not been for a Sven Ulreich mistake late on then they would’ve left the Signal Iduna Park with 3 points, a very impressive accolade. Now there seems to be renewed hope in the side, Daniel Didavi looks to have finally overcome his injuries and new signing Filip Kostic is now available to play after injury. Hannover have made a brilliant start to the season and sit level on 10 points with Leverkusen, having won 3 of their opening 5 games.
Prediction: Stuttgart may have significantly improved in their last game but Hannover’s great start to the season is hard to overlook. Stuttgart 1-2 Hannover.
Köln - Bayern Munich (Saturday):
One of the games of the weekend sees these two giants of German football collide, between them they hold 25 Bundesliga titles and 21 DFB Pokals. By their own very high standards Bayern have made a difficult start to they season despite having not lost a single game and only conceded two goals. They drew with Schalke and also very disappointingly with Hamburg who are bringing up the rear in the current Bundesliga standings. Köln meanwhile have made a decent return to the Bundesliga sitting on 6 points having only lost one game and conceded one goal, the best defence in the Bundesliga right now.
Prediction:Bayern have to be favourites for this game but Köln resolute defence will certainly give the Bayern attack a stern test. Köln 0-1 Bayern.
Paderborn - Borussia Mönchengladbach (Saturday):
This game sees Paderborn’s Elias Kachunga and Lukas Rupp go up against their old side in this North Rhein Derby. Both have made excellent starts to the season and they have helped Paderborn surprise everyone this season when they were table toppers after 4 games of the season The defeat to Bayern has somewhat dampened spirits but they will still be well up for the game. Gladbach have made an ok start to the season winning twice and drawing the other three games.
Prediction: Both teams have showed their attacking prowess this season so a high-scoring affair is to be expected. Paderborn 2-3 Mönchengladbach.
Wolfsburg - Werder Bremen (Saturday):
Both teams have not made great starts to the season, Bremen sit in the bottom three whilst Wolfsburg aren’t much better off, only 2 points ahead. Wolfsburg looked as if they had finally got going when they humiliated Champions League rivals Leverkusen 4-1 but that was followed up by a defeat to Hertha Berlin. Bremen drew their first 3 games of the season which wasn’t so bad but they have lost their last two, the latest against Schalke where they barely put up a fight.
Prediction: Wolfsburg showed what they can do against Leverkusen and Bremen don’t look like they’re going to do much this season. Bremen 0-3 Wolfsburg.
Augsburg - Hertha (Sunday):
Only one point separates these two side going into Matchday 6, Hertha beat Wolfsburg at home whilst Augsburg lost away to Leverkusen. Augsburg have done quite well considering the players they lost this summer like Hahn and Ostrzolek, whilst Hertha’s problem is that they’re conceding too many goals. only Bremen have conceded more so far. They have however done quite well in the goals department which was one concern before the season started after Adrian Ramos left for Dortmund.
Prediction: There isn’t much to separate these sides but Augsburg are probably slight favourites due to the fact that they’re at home. Augsburg 2-1 Hertha.
Hamburg - Eintracht Frankfurt (Sunday):
The last game of the weekend sees a another game between two big teams in German football. In Hamburg’s case it’s just same old, same old, £25 million spent over the summer yet they still languish at the bottom of the table with only 2 points. The point against Bayern should give them confidence and their last game was against Gladbach away which is tough for anyone. Frankfurt like many other teams have made a mediocre start to the season. They have only won one game but have only lost one as well, drawing the other three.
Prediction: Neither team is particularly potent upfront and whilst neither team has conceded an excessive amount of goals. Hamburg 0-0 Frankfurt.