Bundesliga Match Day 2: Preview and Forecast
Man, this is a what if scenario, but here we go...
What if Eintracht Frankfurt was able to retain Luka Jovic (Real Madrid) and Sebastien Haller (West Ham United)? How fun would this match be to think about Jovic and Haller joining the likes of Ante Rebic, Filip Kostic, Mijat Gacinovic, Martin Hinteregger, and Kevin Trapp to take on an RB Leipzig side powered by Timo Werner, Yussuf Poulsen, Emil Forsberg, Konrad Laimer, Marcel Sabitzer, Lukas Klostermann, Marcel Halstenberg, Willi Orban, and Peter Gulasci?
I mean...that would be a freaking blast. Still, even without Jovic and Haller, this should be an extremely fun game to watch as Die Roten Bullen hosts Die Adler. I like the potential of both teams for this season, but Leipzig clearly has the higher ceiling. Frankfurt figures to be solid, but without some of the aforementioned missing firepower, it could have a problem against some of the upper-echelon teams in the Bundesliga.
Clearly, RB Leipzig fits that billing as one of the league's best teams. It is hard not to be excited about the potential of this Die Roten Bullen squad and it should pick up where it left off last week when it dismantled an over-matched Union Berlin side.
It won't be quite that easy, but RB Leipzig should still pull away for the win.
Prediction: RB Leipzig 4, Eintracht Frankfurt 2
(Courtesy of @Bundesliga_EN)
(Courtesy of @Bundesliga_EN)
Borussia Dortmund 4, FC Koln 1: BVB looks lethal. I think there will be some games where they just decimate the competition. This will be one of those games. I can't see any way that the Billy Goats are able to slow down what looks to be a near-unstoppable train for Borussia Dortmund.
FC Augsburg 2, Union Berlin 1: Augsburg knows full-well how dangerous BVB is this season and is looking to rebound from the beating it took at the hands of Lucien Favre's crew last week. This feels like a game where Alfred Finnbogason puts home a brace. The early part of the season won't be easy for Union Berlin, but I think they'll be able to find their footing more and more each week.
Bayer Leverkusen 4, Fortuna Dusseldorf 2: Kai Havertz is the "next one" in Germany. With a goal last week and some very interesting rumors hitting the web this week, Havertz is clearly headed to a breakout season. He's already "broken through" and made himself a household name to Bundesliga fans, but this "break out" should make those non-BL fans far more award of exactly how damn good Havertz is.
F95 started out its season with a shocking an impressive win against Werder Bremen, but that run of good play will likely go on hiatus. I think F95 can mount some offense against Die Werkself, but will ultimately be overrun.
Werder Bremen 3, Hoffenheim 2: Werder Bremen's unexpected collapse last week against Fortuna Dusseldorf was the most shocking result of the weekend. Loaded with young talent, Werder Bremen could be primed to have a few of those "letdown"-type games until the squad's youthful roster can comprehend that their are no gimmes in the Bundesliga. Hoffenheim dropped a 1-0 decision to Eintracht Frankfurt and will no doubt be looking to grab a "W" this week.
It's a weird spot because neither of these teams deserve to start out 0-2, but that's exactly what could happen. This game will likely end a draw, but I'll go out on a limb and say that Die Werderaner will squeeze out a late goal for the win.
Borussia Monchengladbach 2, Mainz 1: M'Gladbach's primary goal in this one is to just score a goal after seeing last week's game against Schalke end in a scoreless tie. Die Fohlen should be in a good spot to get three points here despite being the away side. M'Gladbach simply has more talent, but Mainz always has the potential to muck up and game hope to grind out a victory. Unfortunately for the Carnival Club, that won't happen this week (until it does and I am proven wrong once again).
SC Freiburg 5, SC Paderborn 2: This could be the most fun match of the weekend. Freiburg has some excellent offensive potential and Paderborn could conceivably approach this one with a bit of reckless abandon.
Luca Waldschmidt is obviously the main man this season for Breisgau-Brasilianer. Christian Striech's mad scientist ways will be tested every week and we are confident he's brewing up a special attack to expose some of Paderborn's defensive deficiencies. Because Freiburg is not exactly locked down like Fort Knox on the back-line either, this one could be a thrill ride.
Bayern Munich 4, Schalke 1: Bayern's 2-2 draw with Hertha last week was extremely disappointing to many and very unlucky given the nature of Die Alte Dame's goals. In the time since, Bayern Munich has signed both Philippe Coutinho and Michael Cuisance. How Niko Kovac managed all of this talent will be fascinating to watch unfold.
Schalke is still feeling its way out. This might be a tough game to experiment or not be in sync. Bayern will he hungry for three points and should not have any trouble in grabbing them.
Wolfsburg 2, Hertha Berlin 1: Both of these clubs showed a lot of grit and toughness last week. More importantly, both of these teams showed their respective fanbases that there are some very good reasons to be excited this season.
The Wolves have really built a balanced and strong squad from top to bottom. While not in the same echelon as Bayern, Dortmund, or Leipzig, Wolfsburg looks full poised to make another run at the top six position. With Barrel-favorite Wout Wgehorst in the middle of the attack, Wolfsburg is almost never out of a game.
Hertha Berlin could be the team that scraps its way into top six contention. With some excellent talent on the roster, Die Alte Dame gave Bayern Munich fits last week. Hertha would do well to keep up its physical style. Niklas Stark thrived in laying that way last week and could be the catalyst in leading this team into top six contention that many did not see coming.
Random Thought
So I finally finished my binge-esque (not quite full binge) run through of The Americans and I have to say (NO SPOILERS) that it ended in just about the only way that it could and at the right time. Like all great shows (except Breaking Bad), the final season felt a bit rushed and made a few too many great leaps to help tie things up for my liking, but it was still a damn great show and worth the late night investment of time that I put.
I would recommend putting it on your watch list if you have not already.
So last week was okay for us here at The Barrel...not great...not terrible, but okay:
Weekly record: 5-4
Season record: 5-4
Perfect calls: 1
