The matchday three opener is important, since one of the two or both sides will give up points. Dortmund with the home game advantage and last season's Champions League finalist, has the clear advantage over Bremen and should emerge victorious. Juergen Klopp with his star alignment will want to make sure of that. Bremen has won its first two matches by one goal each and will have to do much better against the Borussen. While improving its scoring ability the defence will have to be solid.
On Saturday FC Bayern Muenchen hosts 1.FC Nuernberg in the Bavarian derby, which has a long history. FC Bayern has been the overwhelming winner of the derby, but Nuernberg has been known to pull out all the stops. Bayern trails Dortmund by two goals with 4-1 goals in two matches. Nuernberg currently holds seventh place in the top flight having drawn their first two matches. Regardless the match will be interesting and Bayern is the hands down favourite.
Bayer Leverkusen hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach and currently is tied with Bayern for goals with 4-1 after two games. Gladbach won one match and lost the other with goals even at 3-3. Leverkusen is the favourite in this match, but the side should not underestimate Gladbach, which held Bayern to one goal last weekend. This should be a close match.
Mainz 05 hosts Wolfburg and has won its first two matches with a goal difference of 5-3. Wolfsburg on the other hand has won one and lost one with a respectable goal difference of 4-2. Mainz has had an excellent start to the season and this match should be a particular tough challenge. Wolfsburg has the ability to defeat Mainz. No clear favourite in this match.
Schalke will be traveling to ¸Hannover. The club from Gelsenkirchen, considered one of the top four sides in the Bundesliga has only gained one point in two matches. In its Champions League debut on Wednesday, the Royal Blues put in a disappointing performance, only getting a draw at home against PAOK. With Klass Jan Huntelaar injured, if the Knappen can come up with a successful match in Hannover is a good question. Hannover has won one and lost one match and is currently in tenth spot. This will be a closely contested match, which could end up in a draw or a win for Hannover.
Hoffenheim and Freiburg are both trying to establish themselves in the upper half of the league. Hoffenheim has a win and a draw, while Freiburg has lost their first two starts and finds itself in the bottom three. The match in Sinsheim should provide good entertainment and tension for the fans and should end up with a narrow win or a draw.
Scheduled on Sunday, Eintracht meets Eintracht. That is Eintracht Braunschweig hosts Eintracht Frankfurt. Braunschweig, new to the Bundesliga this year is still without a point, while Frankfurt is at the bottom of the league after two starts and have scored one goal, but have been scored on seven times. A positive sign was the sides Euro League debute against Quarabag, where Frankfurt won 2-0. How the stress of travel affects the side remains to be seen. It would appear however that Alexander Meier has found his scoring boots. Frankfurt should win this match.
The final match on Sunday has Stuttgart traveling down the road to Augsburg. Both teams have not netted a point in two games. Augsburg has been scored on five times, while scoring none. Stuttgart scored twice and took four goals. The result is a toss up with both sides having equal chances to pick up the three points. The joker for Stuttgart is how the side was affected in its disappointing Euro League debut.
It is still too early to examine trends within the league, but each matchday comes closer. Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and FC Bayern Muenchen are on target. Schalke, Frankfurt and Stuttgart have some work to do.
23 August
Borussia Dortmund vs Werder Bremen 1-0
24 August
FC Bayern vs Nürnberg
Bayer Leverkusen vs M'gladbach
Hannover 96 vs Schalke 04
1899 Hoffenheim vs SC Freiburg
FSV Mainz 05 vs VfL Wolfsburg
Hertha BSC vs Hamburger SV
25 August
Eintracht Braunschweig vs Eintracht Frankfurt
FC Augsburg vs VFB Stuttgart
Place-----Team-----------------------GP---W---D----L---GF/GA ---Pts
1--------Borussia Dortmund-----------3----3----0-----0-------7:1--------9
2--------Bayer Leverkusen-------------2----2----0-----0-------4:1-------6
3--------FC Bayern Muenchen--------2----2----0-----0-------4-1--------6
4--------Mainz 05------------------------2----2----0-----0------5:3--------6
5--------Werder Bremen----------------3----2----0-----1------2:1---------6
6------- Hertha BSC Berlin-------------2----1----1-----0------8:3---------4
7--------1899 Hoffenheim---------------2----1----1-----0------7:3--------4
8--------VFL Wolfsburg-----------------2----1----0-----1------4:2---------3
9--------Borussia M'gladbach-----------2----1----0-----1------3:3---------3
10-------Hannover 96--------------------2----1----0-----1-------2:2--------3
11-------1. FC Nürnberg-----------------2----0----2-----0------4:4---------2
12--------Hamburg------------------------2----0----1-----1-------4:8--------1
13--------FC Schalke 04-----------------2----0----1-----1-------3:7---------1
14-------VFB Stuttgart-------------------2----0----0-----2-------2:4--------0
15--------Eintracht Braunschweig------2----0----0-----2-------1:3--------0
16-------SC Freiburg---------------------2----0----0-----2------2:5---------0
17--------FC Augsburg-------------------2----0----0-----2-------0:5--------0
18--------Eintracht Frankfurt------------2----0----0-----2-------1:7--------0
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