By Rich

​Hertha Berlin has finally begun turning its season around, winning 2:1 at home over visitors SpVgg Greuther Fürth. The match’s 1st goal did not come until the 57th minute, when Fürth’s Branimir Hrgota converted a penalty kick, but that goal immediately resulted in the game’s turning around. Hertha coach Pal Dardai brought on summer signing Jurgen Ekkelenkamp to make his league debut, who seconds later headed in an equalizer goal from Marton Dardai’s corner. Hertha sealed the game in the 79th minute, when Fürth defender Maximilian Bauer conceded an own goal. This match was the 1st Bundesliga meeting between Hertha and Fürth, becoming the 933rd different fixture between teams in the league. The win puts Hertha in a more comfortable 9th place going into the rest of the weekend’s contests. Perhaps the biggest of those contests will be that between hosts Mainz and visitors Freiburg, as both clubs have had exceptional starts to the season. Mainz are going into the weekend in 4th place, and only league leader Wolfsburg have conceded fewer goals. Mainz will, however, be without captain Moussa Niakhate, who suffered a thigh injury in last weekend’s win over Hoffenheim. Freiburg are enjoying their best-ever start to a Bundesliga season, and finally dropped points just last weekend in a 1:1 draw with Köln. The statistics going into this match are favorable for Mainz: they won the last contest with Freiburg, and the club has recorded more wins against Freiburg than against any other opponent in their Bundesliga history. Bayern will host Bochum on Saturday, at a time when the annual Oktoberfest celebration is taking place. That celebration has been canceled again this year because of the pandemic, so Bayern’s players will be wearing a 1-time jersey on Saturday to mark the festival. The jersey is dark green, has a gold logo, and accents on the arms to make it resemble classic lederhosen. Even if Bayern wins against Bochum, they will have to wait until Sunday for the rest of the spots at the top of the table to be decided. Dortmund, in 3rd place at the moment, will host Union Berlin on Sunday, and Wolfsburg, currently in 1st place, will host Frankfurt in the weekend’s final match. Wolfsburg have only conceded 1 goal in 4 matches this season, and striker Wout Weghorst has scored 4 goals in 6 Bundesliga appearances against Frankfurt. Eintracht are still looking for their first win, and the last time they went 4 games without a win to start the season, they were relegated.

By Rich

​The Bundesliga season resumes on Saturday following last week’s international break, and Saturday will features several contests among the league’s top teams. Dortmund will travel to Leverkusen on Saturday, and the match is likely to feature no shortage of goals. The 2 games between the 2 clubs in both the last season and the season before resulted in 11 goals and included thrilling comebacks from both sides. In total, there have been 43 goals in 10 matches over the past 5 seasons between these 2 clubs. Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick was the joint top-scorer at UEFA Euro 2020 and contributed to Leverkusen’s wins over Gladbach and Augsburg, and he will face Dortmund’s Erling Haaland, who has scored 3 goals in 3 matches, including the game-winning goal against Hoffenheim on Matchday 3. Later on Saturday, Leipzig will host Bayern in another fixture featuring a couple of the league’s top scorers. Leipzig’s Andre Silva scored 28 goals for Frankfurt last season, which was a club record. Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski has scored in all 4 of his appearances so far this season, extending his scoring streak to 13 straight Bundesliga matches, and has scored 5 times in 9 league meetings with Bayern. Bayern have lost only 1 of 10 Bundesliga matches against Leipzig, but Leipzig were the last team to stop Bayern from scoring in competition, back in February 2020. Another match to watch on Saturday will be that between Freiburg and Köln, as both clubs are enjoying a stellar start to the season and are separated by just 1 point in the table. Köln’s Anthony Modeste seems to have finally found a return to form since returning to the club from Asia, and it has been 5 years since the club has booked 2 wins in their first 3 season contests. Their opponents, Freiburg, are enjoying their best-ever start to a campaign, and will play just 2 more contests in their current stadium before moving to the 34,000-seat Europa-Park Stadion to host Leipzig on Matchday 8. Looking ahead to Sunday, Hertha remain in the hunt for their first point of the season when they travel to league newcomers Bochum. The club is in the midst of their worst start to a top-flight campaign, and have turned to the transfer market in the search for reinforcements, bringing in Kevin-Prince Boateng, Stevan Jovetic, Ishak Belfodil, Jurgen Ekkelenkamp, Myziane Maolida, Marco Richter, and Suat Serdar. Although Bochum have won their last 5 home matches across seasons, Hertha have won 8 out of 11 Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga matches with Bochum, losing just once. One more match to watch on Sunday will be that between hosts Frankfurt and visitors Stuttgart, as both clubs struggle in the bottom half of the table, separated by just 1 point.

By Rich

​Hosts Borussia Dortmund edged out visitors TSG 1899 Hoffenheim with a 3:2 victory that went down to the match’s final seconds. The game’s first goal didn’t come until the 49th minute, when Dortmund’s Gio Reyna scored on the same day he became the youngest player to make 50 Bundesliga appearances. Hoffenheim’s Christoph Baumgartner equalized in the 61st minute, and Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham made it 2:1 with a half-volley into the bottom corner. Hoffenheim tied the score again in the 90th minute when Munas Dabbur put away a corner on to the far post, but Erling Haaland sealed the victory in extra time with a successful shot from just a few meters out.  Haaland became the youngest player to score 43 Bundesliga goals, having scored them in just 46 games, and the win puts Dortmund in first place at the top of the table going into the rest of this weekend’s contests. Those contests will include a few between clubs that are close neighbors in the table. Bielefeld will host Frankfurt, and both clubs are looking for their first victory of the season. Bielefeld have drawn each of their first 2 games, but are coming off a victory over Bayreuth in the first round of the DFB Pokal. Frankfurt’s new coach, Oliver Glasner, is coming off elimination from the Pokal against Borussia Dortmund and a goalless draw last weekend against Augsburg. Frankfurt did emerge victorious, 5:1, the last time the two clubs met. Köln will host nearby Bochum, and each time has accumulated 3 points so far. Köln’s Anthony Modeste will be looking to score in 3 consecutive Bundesliga matches for the first time since 2017, and the club has been impressive so far this season, defeating Hertha Berlin 3:1 on Matchday 1 and narrowly losing to Bayern 3:2 last weekend. Bochum had a notable 2:0 win over Mainz last weekend, and the 2 goalscorers are expected to start on Saturday. The clubs last met in the Bundesliga in April 2010, when Köln won 2:0. Saturday will also feature the derby between hosts Stuttgart and nearby Freiburg. The hosts have had a wild ride this season, having started the season with a 5:1 win over Fürth before losing 4:0 against Leipzig. Although Freiburg have been without striker Nils Petersen, who was sidelined with a knee injury, they managed a 2:1 victory over Borussia Dortmund, and could feature summer arrival Maximilian Eggestein as they look to extend their unbeaten streak. Looking ahead to Sunday, two of the league’s top clubs will face off when Leipzig travel to Wolfsburg. The hosts are the only club to have won their first 2 matches this season, but they are winless in 5 Bundesliga matches against Leipzig. 

By Rich

RB Leipzig’s Dominik Szoboszlai scored his first 2 Bundesliga goals for the club on Friday in a dominating 4:0 shutout of visitors VfB Stuttgart. Szoboszlai’s first goal came in the 38th minute of the match, when he advanced to the right-hand corner of Stuttgart’s box and dipped the ball past Florian Müller into the far corner. The match’s second goal came in the 46th minute, when Emil Forsberg scored off a flick from Andre Silva, and his goal was followed 6 minutes later by Szoboszlai’s second goal off a free kick. The match’s final goal came in the 65th minute, when Silva scored his first penalty kick goal for Leipzig. Leipzig have now won 6 of the last 7 Bundesliga meetings with Stuttgart, scoring 13 goals and conceding just 1. Going into Saturday’s contests, 7 clubs are all at the top of the table with 3 points each, and the weekend’s remaining contests will be important for any club looking for a permanent perch in the club’s top third. Dortmund will travel to Freiburg on Saturday and Erling Haaland will face off against Freiburg center-back Philipp Lienhart busy. Lienhart was key for Freiburg’s defense in last weekend’s scoreless draw against Bielefeld, while Haaland has had a hand in 7 goals across 2 the matches against Wehen Wiesbaden in the cup competition and Frankfurt on Matchday 1. Dortmund are currently on an 8-game winning streak in the Bundesliga, which ties their club record from 2011-2012 under Jürgen Klopp. Mainz will travel to Bochum on Saturday, and Mainz have continued their solid form since last season’s Rückrunde. Several club players had to self-isolate prior to Matchday 1, but their absences didn’t prevent Mainz from defeating Leipzig 1:0. Bochum returned to the top flight this season, but lost to Wolfsburg last weekend, meaning they have gone 13 Bundesliga matches without a win - and they have never beaten Mainz in the Bundesliga. On Sunday, Hoffenheim will host Union Berlin, which could end as the most exciting match of the weekend. The contest will feature 2 of the league’s best attackers in Andrej Kramaric and Max Kruse. Kramaric had 3 assists last weekend in Hoffenheim’s 4:0 win over Augsburg, while Kruse set up Taiwo Awoniyi’s goal in Union’s 1:1 draw last weekend against Leverkusen. Finally on Sunday, Bayern will host Köln, and Robert Lewandowski will no doubt be looking to extend his tradition of scoring against the Billy Goats - he has 14 goals in 15 outings against the club. Köln, however, have shown renewed vigor under new coach Steffen Baumgart, and the club beat Bayern 3:2 in a friendly earlier in the summer.