Bundesliga Match Day 4: Preview and Forecast
The biggest game of this young season is upon us and we should be in for a treat when Bayern Munich visits RB Leipzig. Die Roten Bullen, of course, are sitting atop the Bundesliga table with Bayern in close pursuit. Aside of the obvious showdown between the league's top two scorers -- Robert Lewandowski and Timo Werner -- this match has unlimited potential to be a hell of a thrill ride.
Both teams are poised and deep, yet even with the experienced gained over the past three years, RB Leipzig still has not been through the battles like much of the Bayern Munich roster. One captivating aspect of this match is to see how Julian Nagelsmann matches up with Bayern now that he's got a roster full of talent. At Hoffenheim, Nagelsmann was always working against the odds with a shallow roster and marginal talent for the most part. Now, however, he can really cause Bayern Munich some problems. Will Nagelsmann target Benjamin Pavard should he start the game or will be use a different approach? He'll absolutely have Bayern Munich guessing either way even if Uli Hoeness thinks he needs a little more seasoning on the sidelines.
And Nagelsmann will present a challenge...but not enough to capture three points this weekend.
For all of its uncertainties from formation to line-up to health issues, Bayern Munich is still the best team in the league for a reason. It won't be easy -- especially because I have zero doubt that Nagelsmann will use all three of his center-backs to try and physically maul Lewandowski -- but the Bavarians will prevail....barely.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 3, RB Leipzig 2
Wolfsburg 2, Fortuna Dusseldorf 1: The Wolves are undoubtedly one of the top teams in the league and should be in fine form to dispatch F95 despite being on the road this week and potentially missing some key players. Xaver Schlager (broken ankle) and Daniel Ginczek (back surgery) are out, while John Brooks (groin), Jerome Roussillon (illness), and Josuha Guilavogui (illness) could also miss the game. Those absences could prove worrisome, especially on the road. Still, Wout Weghirst and Josip Brekalo present a very tough assignment for any defensive unit -- including the inconsistent back-line group for F95.
Fortuna Dusseldorf seems like it will be scuffling for the better part of this season and just striving to stay out relegation. Against the hungry Wolves, finding a point or three probably is not happening for F95. Despite the potential of missing quite a few players, Wolfsburg should be able to walk away with a victory.
Eintracht Frankfurt 3, FC Augsburg 2: This should be a pretty fascinating match-up with some quality offensive play. Die Adler is now officially without Ante Rebic (off to AC Milan 😢), so the final death of the Big Three has went down. Bas Dost, however, figures to shoulder some -- not all -- of the scoring load that Frankfurt will be missing without Rebic, Luka Jovic, and Sebastien Haller.
Dost, though, is not the only scoring option for Eintracht Frankfurt. Goncalo Paciencia, Filip Kostic, Mijat Gacinovic, Dejan Joveljic, and newcomer Andre Silva should all be able to help Die Adler generate some offense.
Augsburg, however, can score a little, too. With the currently scoreless Alfred Finnbogason as the offense's primary option, Die Fuggerstädter has a constant threat, but luck has not been on Augsburg's side so far this season. With a just a point so far, Martin Schmidt is going to need more consistency and higher offensive and defensive production from the likes of Michael Greogritsch, Philipp Max, Reece Oxford, Rani Khedira, Andre Hahn, Daniel Baier, and Stephan Lichsteiner and others if the team is going remain in the top flight.
Borussia Dortmund 3, Bayer Leverkusen 2: The league's other marquee match-up for the weekend features two teams that are expecting to challenge for the title this season in BVB and Die Werkself.
The biggest aspect of this game is Kai Havertz matching up against Dortmund's deep and skilled squad. Havertz is Germany's crown jewel of young players, who at 20, is being counted on to lead his team against some rugged competition domestically and in Europe. With Kevin Volland up-top, Havertz has a very good striker to work with, but this is the type of game where Leverkusen will miss Julian Brandt -- Havertz's best pal -- who moved to BVB.
It should be a blast to watch these two teams go at it and to see how Havertz responds to his role as the unquestioned "man" in the lineup for Die Werkself. Expect Dortmund, however, to use its own super-charged offense (led by Marco Reus, Jadon Sancho, Paco Alcacer, and a rotating cast of other quality players) to make this one exciting.
An interesting subplot to this game is the open recruitment that Reus andBrandt are undertaking to bring in Havertz. In reality, though, the BVB duo probably wasn't the only set of stars trying to lure Havertz away from Leverkusen. Still, this will be a phenomenal opportunity for Havertz to prove his mettle -- at home -- against a top-tier opponent. A victory for Die Werkself would be enormous, but probably won't happen in my estimation.
Borussia Monchengladbach 1, FC Koln 1: M'Gladbach will be on the road against what should be a fairly motivated Koln side. Die Fohlen has been solid so far this season, but might be in a tough spot against FC Koln here. The Billy Goats are going to play M'Gladbach extremely tough and while this game could conceivably go either way, I'm thinking it will end in a deadlock.
Hertha Berlin 2, Mainz 1: Someone needs to win this. We can't have a draw in this one...it CANNOT happen.
On a side note, why won't Joachim Low use Niklas Stark? He's got Jonathan Tah out there being terrible at center-back and absolutely no midfielders offering any type of defensive support when he's got a young, hungry, and physical player who could potentially solidify either the center-back or defensive midfield positions. It's puzzling and maddening all at the same time.
Werder Bremen 3, Union Berlin 1: This is sort of a must-win game for Die Werderaner already as Werder Bremen can ill-afford to drop any points to Union Berlin even at this early stage of the season.
With only three points after three games, Werder Bremen has fallen a bit short of the expectations many placed on them after steadily climbing up the ranks over the past three seasons. Now, with a lineup that should be competitive with the league's elite, the River Islanders will need to produce more than they have so far and also be able to get used to playing with a target on their back that comes with being on of the Bundesliga's most talented units.
Hoffenheim 2, SC Freiburg 1: This game could be a little saucy. SC Freiburg always has the potential to make a game fun. It would be great to see Luca Waldschmidt really break out and take over a game for Christian Streich, though it might be hard to do against a solid defensive side like TSG 1899.
For Hoffenheim, it's been a solid -- but not spectacular -- start to the post-Nagelsmann Era. This should be a game that TSG1899 can grab three points in.
Schalke 04 2, SC Paderborn 1: I can't believe I'm picking Schalke to win here, but here we are.
Random Thought
HBO's Hard Knocks series featuring the Oakland Raiders finished up and it was a solid season. Jon Gruden was -- as expected -- the star of the show. While the other subplots were not exactly enthralling, it would be great to know how much of the Antonio Brown drama was left on the cutting room floor.
Each team that participates has the right to a final edit, so we can only imagine what kind of things went down, were captured on film, and were ultimately edited out.
Season Record
This was bound to happen. There was no way, my string of good "luck" was going to continue without absorbing a week where not much went right:
Last match day record: 4-5
Season record: 16-11
Perfect calls: 2
