By GERMAN BUNDESLIGA PREVIEW
SAT. 14TH OCTOBER FIXTURES
BAYERN MUNICH VS FREIBURG
Bayern Munich have been in an unusual win-less streak in their last 3 matches, as they were held to a couple of 2-2 draws for the Bundesliga, and suffered a tough loss to PSG in the Champions League.
They will now return home for their next match after the international break, where they will play host to Freiburg on Saturday, October 14th.
Freiburg have been in tragic form so far in the season, but they managed to record their first win of the season just before the international break.
Bayern Munich (4-2-1) were stuck at a really frustrating 2-2 draw on the road against Hertha Berlin just before the international break. They had actually taken a two goal lead in that match, but despite the fact that they were better overall, their opponents managed to pull even with two goals in a 5 minute span.
Bayern Munich have actually been unable to win any of their last 3 matches in all competitions (0-2-1), having conceded 7 goals in that span, against 4 scored.
Even so, they are still sitting at the 2nd spot of the Bundesliga with 14 points, having scored 16 goals against 7 conceded.
They have been solid at home so far (2-1-0), where they have recorded easy wins against Bayer Leverkusen and Mainz, but were held to a 2-2 draw against Wolfsburg.
Freiburg (1-4-2) made a really poor start in the season, as they failed to win any of their first 6 matches, but they managed to record their first win of the season right before the international break.
They were hosting Hoffenheim, and saw their opponents take an early lead, but Freiburg had already overturned the lead in the next 4 minutes, and eventually won much more comfortably than the final 3-2 score suggests.
Freiburg are now sitting at the 15th spot of the Bundesliga with 7 points after 7 matches, having scored 5 goals against 11 conceded.
Moreover, they have been really bad on the road so far, as they conceded 4 goals in each of their first two road matches of the season, where they suffered equal losses to Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen.
However, they held Werder Bremen to a goal-less draw in their most recent road match.
Bayern Munich won both matches against Freiburg last season, a 1-2 victory on the road, before a 4-1 triumph in this venue.
They have been dominant in this match-up over the years, having lost just a single match against Freiburg (23-3-1).
Moreover, Bayern Munich have bene flawless as hosts against Freiburg over the years, having won all 13 matches since 1999, having kept 8 clean sheets in that span.
BORUSSIA DORTMUND VS LEIPZIG
All eyes will be on the Signal Iduna Park on Saturday evening as leaders Borussia Dortmund entertain RB Leipzig in the standout encounter of Matchday 8.
Dortmund are off to their best ever start in the Bundesliga, with an impressive total of 19 points from seven games and an astonishing goal difference of +19. New coach Bosz has hit the ground sprinting, let alone running, and his resolutely attacking 4-3-3 appears tailor-made for the wealth of talent at his disposal.
His side have scored 13 goals in just three Bundesliga home outings this term, and remain unbeaten at the Signal Iduna Park in 41 league games.
Leipzig haven’t quite found the consistency that saw them kick off their maiden top-flight campaign with a 13-game unbeaten run, but they seem to be heading in the right direction after back-to-back wins over Eintracht Frankfurt and Cologne.
Last season’s runners-up are currently six points adrift of Dortmund in fourth place, and won’t want to be left behind in the 2017/18 title race, which is shaping up to be more open than it has been for many a Bayern Munich-dominated season.
Both sides claimed narrow 1-0 victories in keenly-contested encounters last term.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s blistering start to 2017/18 is one of the other reasons why Dortmund are currently sitting pretty at the top of the Bundesliga.
The Gabon captain has already netted 13 goals in all competition including eight in the league and looks determined to win a second consecutive Torj erkanone after finishing last season as the division’s top scorer.
Aubameyang got the goal that gave BVB a measure of revenge over Leipzig in February’s 1-0 win at the Signal Iduna Park, and he will now be hoping to pull clear of his perennial rival Robert Lewandowski in the current season’s scoring charts the Bayern frontman has also notched up eight goals after seven games.
Leipzig will be frantically hoping that Timo Werner recovers in time to face Dortmund, having missed the last three outings for club and country with a neck injury.
The Germany forward returned to training on Tuesday, but may be lacking sufficient match fitness to start on Saturday evening – or to threaten BVB’s imperturbable backline.
Clearly, both sides have other tricks up their sleeves going forward. Maximilian Philipp has settled in very nicely at Signal Iduna Park since his summer transfer from Freiburg scoring braces in his last two home outings while Andrey Yarmolenko opened his Bundesliga account with a cheeky backheel against Augsburg on Matchday 7.
Meanwhile, Leipzig look to have done a shrewd bit of business in snapping up Jean-Kevin Augustin from Paris Saint-Germain – the 20-year-old French forward has already grabbed two goals and two assists in his first five league appearances.
Yet Aubameyang – and, if he features, Werner – will inevitably be out to hog the limelight, and the rewards could be considerable. Dortmund have an opportunity to pull nine points clear of a potential title rival, while Leipzig could get themselves right back in the mix.
Hannover 96 VS Eintracht Frankfurt
Hertha Berlin VS Schalke 04
Hoffenheim VS Augsburg
Mainz 05 VS Hamburger SV
SUN. 15TH OCTOBER FIXTURES
Bayer Leverkusen VS Wolfsburg
Werder Bremen VS Borussia Moenchengladbach
