Bundesliga Match Day 1: Preview and Forecast
- Chuck Smith
- Aug 16, 2019
- 5 min read
There is no more fitting place to start our first preview and forecast piece than with the defending champions Bayern Munch as the Rekordmeister will take on a new look Hertha Berlin side that could be a bit more dangerous offensively than in years past.
Bayern Munich has been under a bit of scrutiny for the entire offseason for more of what it hasn’t done as opposed to what it has done. The Bayern faithful yearned for Manchester City’s Leroy Sane, only to see his ACL shred in the Community Shield contest against Liverpool. Before that, Bavarian fans were fixated on Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi before he ultimately opted to stay at Stamford Bridge (though he still hasn’t signed that rumored contract extension).
Regardless of who isn’t in Munich, Die Roten has a pretty damn good cast of characters for Niko Kovac to work with. For as much as I’ve been on the #KovacIn side, the 47-year-old coach can’t seem to stay out of his own way. With a roster that seems perfectly set up to run a 4-2-3-1, the Croatian seems intent on running a 4-3-3, which gives Bayern less stability on the back end and makes them far more susceptible to counter attacks — which brings up to Hertha Berlin’s Dodi Lukebakio, who scorched the Bavarians for a hat trick last season as a member of Fortuna Düsseldorf. With Lukebakio lurking up-top for Die Alte Dame, the game plan is no doubt set to try and smother Bayern Munich defensively and hope to hit a home run to Lukebakio, Salomon Kalou, or Vedad Ibisevic.
Bayern’s ability to work through two of its primary weaknesses (breaking down a parked bus and stunting counter attacks) will be tested, but they aren’t the reigning champs for nothing. Expect Robert Lewandowski to get creative as break through for a brace as Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry will terrorize Hertha Berlin from the flanks.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 3, Hertha Berlin 1
Bayer Leverkusen 3, SC Paderborn 0: Welcome to the top flight SCP, you get the honor of dealing with Kai Havertz, Kevin Volland, and Leon Bailey on opening weekend...enjoy! In all seriousness, drawing Leverkusen right away was a tough gig, but it is good to see a fresh squad like Paderborn in the Bundesliga.
Borussia Dortmund 4, FC Augsburg 1: If we know a couple of things about this season it’s that BVB is completely stacked and that FC Augsburg often plays with copious amounts of testicular fortitude. I would be hard-pressed to pick Die Fuggerstädter here, but at least it will be fun to watch Alfred Finnbogason back and healthy (for now). Finnbogason is a Barrel favorite, but can never seem to stay fit for long. The Iceman Cometh, but not for a win this week.
SC Freiburg 3, Mainz 2: This might not be the most appealing match on paper, but it could be a lot of fun on the pitch. Luca Waldschmidt (recently linked to Benfica) has a phenomenal run with the Germany U-21 squad this summer and will join Nils Petersen to form a pretty impressive offensive pairing for Breisgau-Brasilianer.
Mainz is not quite as formidable as it was last season, but if Sandro Schwartz maintains the tough and gritty mentality that he instilled last year, there could be some hope to avoid relegation.
Wolfsburg 2, FC Koln 1: After a year in the hinterlands, Koln has returned to the top flight. With a nice cast of players in hand, Koln looks like a squad that will be in safely in the middle of the pack. Wolfsburg, however, has real expectations on it after clinching a spot in European play last season. This is a big Wout Weghorst house and the Dutch big man will have to exert his will on Koln to give the Wolves a win in week one.
Werder Bremen 4, Fortuna Düsseldorf 2: In Milot Rashica, Josh Sargent, and Max and Johannes Eggestein, Werder Bremen has one of the most exiting young core groups in the Bundesliga. Die Werderaner has a terrific mix of youth and veterans, which should have a legitimate shit at a top-six position. If (RIP) Hannover 96 transfer Niclas Fullkrug can find his form the squad will be even more dangerous.
Werder Bremen is truly one of the teams that fans should be excited about this season. Plus, they still have the angriest man in Germany, Davvy Klaassen, so there is that.
F95, meanwhile, is likely one of the favorites to be relegated, so there is that. Things don’t looks great for Fortuna, but they didn’t last year either and F95 fought its way to another year in the top flight.
Borussia Monchengladbach 2, Schalke 1: Last season’s collapse by Schalke was nothing short of a total trainwreck. S04 can't possibly be THAT bad again, right? M'Gladbach, however, lost its big gun in Thorgan Hazard, which has brought them back down to Earth a bit. I would not be shocked it Schalke came out swinging and got itself started with a victory, but something just tells me that M'Gadbach has matured just enough -- even without Hazard -- to handle a quality opponent this early in the season.
Eintracht Frankfurt 2, Hoffenheim 2: Two teams that looked oh so different last season will hook-up for an interesting match-up on Match Day 1. Eintracht Frankfurt's Big Three was condensed down to a Big One as Ante Rebic is the only remaining player from that grouping left.
Hoffenheim, meanwhile, lost Julian Nagelsmann to RB Leipzig. It is hard to say which team will be more likely pull out an early victory just based on the dramatic changes that both sides have underwent. The feeling here is that they will draw, but Die Adler could pull it out on a late goal (I'm just too much of a coward to not pick at least one tie on this slate!).
RB Leipzig 4, Union Berlin 1: I am genuinely excited for Union Berlin. If you don't know about the club, do yourself a favor and listen to this brief podcast by my guy Marcus Iredahl. Marcus broke down the history of Union Berlin and why the club us so special. If you are not a fan now, you will be by the time you are done listening to Marcus.
Anyway, despite all of that goodwill, Leipzig might be poised to put a beating on Union Berlin in this clash of East German clubs. Julian Nagelsmann will be making his debut and as of today, he still has Timo Werner to work with, which create a little bit of magic. Werner will be surrounded by a lot of familiar faces in Yussuf Poulsen, Emil Forsberg, Lukas Klosterman, Konrad Laimer, and others, which should provide more than enough fire power to give Union Berlin a rude welcome back to the Bundesliga.
(Hint for most Bundesliga teams above, there is a link to a brief podcast in the event you want more info...some episodes, however, have yet to be released)
Random Thought
I got into The Americans this summer and damn I was really stupid for never giving it a try before. This has been one of great shows that I have seen and has kept me captivated throughout the series. I am almost through the entire series and have not felt cheated through many episodes. The Americans has truly been a show that has kept my attention and really never took a show off (like The Sopranos was wont to do).
Admittedly, the whole "super grain" storyline was the weakest of the series (at least to the point of where I am), but even that did not compare to the down periods that many great shows have had.
I have no record for you to laugh at yet!
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