Dortmund particularly love to play on Fridays, Leverkusen’s Patrick Schick turns into a random death and Union Berlin’s “Iron” deserves a different nickname. All you need to know about Matchday 5 of the Bundesliga.
Borussia Dortmund’s streak on Friday is a bit scary. BVB have not lost in their last 32 Bundesliga home games on Friday night, winning 24 and drawing eight. For the last time there was a home defeat on this day of the week in January 2004, when they were defeated by historical rivals Schalke 04. Hoffenheim also felt the good mood on Friday. The last visit to Dortmund was a 2: 3 defeat.
Interestingly, both teams are currently considered unpredictable. Borussia have scored ten official goals this season and there have been ten different shooters! This is mainly due to the fact that Erling Haaland is now scoring Manchester City power. It is similar to Hoffenheim. The Kraichgauers have scored eight Bundesliga goals so far and they came from seven different players.
Hoffenheim’s Traner André Breitenreiter will not like recalling his last visit to Dortmund as he went 1: 5 badly under the wheels with Hannover in January 2019 and was released. His BVB colleague Edin Terzic, on the other hand, celebrated his first in the Bundesliga against Hoffenheim as a replacement for then-ailing coach Lucien Favre in February 2019 – final score 3: 3.
Against Hoffenheim, Dortmund manager Edin Terzic sat on the bench for the first time as head coach. On the other hand, André Breitenreiter has an account to settle with Dortmund.
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1. FC Union Berlin – Bayern Munich (Saturday, 15:30)
Urs Fischer’s favorite word is “compact” – in all variations. “Stand compact”, “stay compact”, sometimes also means “compactness”. Perhaps the “iron” of Union Berlin should therefore be renamed “compact”. In any case, this compactness often results in fast counter-attacks and then in goals, which catapulted the Berliners to second place in the league. The Union has remained undefeated in eleven Bundesliga games in all seasons, longer than any other team.
That’s why we can also speak of a real top game when Fischer’s team expects the leaders from Monaco. After all, the Köpenickers have the second best offensive in the Bundesliga behind FC Bayern (16). The record champions already lost their teeth to Borussia Mönchengladbach last weekend, or rather to goalkeeper Yann Sommer. He was also very compact.
Union Berlin is second in the standings and welcomes Bayern Munich. The most important facts about the game.
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Bayer Leverkusen – SC Freiburg (Saturday, 15:30)
Leverkusen scored their top three of the season last day and calmed the nerves of everyone involved under Bayer Cross a bit. With SC Freiburg, on the other hand, a great team arrives in the Rhineland: nine points, two away wins, third in the standings before the matchday. Leverkusen also paid dearly for the victory in Mainz, because two Giallorossi players were sent off from Piero Hincapie and Mitchel Bakker.
Vincenzo Grifo is particularly good in Freiburg. Not only is he currently Freiburg’s top scorer, but he can now also call himself the best Italian scorer in Bundesliga history. Most recently, he joined former Bayern striker Luca Toni in the standings.
What are the secrets of success at SC Freiburg? A behind-the-scenes look at the Bundesligafootball team. Also present: captain Christian Günter, coach Christian Streich, sporting director Jochen Saier as well as fans and club mates.
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At Leverkusen, Patrick Schick – who is actually also a top scorer – has meanwhile mutated in Chanent’s death. He has already left four crystal clear chances, no Bundesliga player has missed more. Perhaps he will work better now in interaction with Callun Hudson-Odoi. The winger arrived on loan from FC during the week Chelsea.
VfB Stuttgart – FC Schalke 04 (Saturday, 15:30)
FC Schalke managed to get promotion straight to the Bundesliga last season and VfB Stuttgart accomplished the same feat in the 2019/20 season. After that, the Swabians played a great season as a promoted team and survived the damn second year with a bang. Schalke can take an example above all from the fact that the VfB kept calm even in difficult moments and attached themselves to coach Pellegrino Matarazzo.
Stuttgart and Schalke are among five Bundesliga teams that have not yet won a match this season. This should change now. Curious for the statisticians: for both clubs it is against their respective favorite opponents. Stuttgart have celebrated the most Bundesliga wins against Schalke (43 times), but vice versa Schalke have not won more often against VfB than against VfB (38 times). And there was only one draw in 17 of the previous 98 duels. So there is a good chance that one of the two teams will manage to score the first trio of the season in a head-to-head duel.
VfL Bochum – Werder Bremen (Saturday, 15:30)
VfL Bochum are the only Bundesliga team without a point after four days. This should change against Werder Bremen, preferably with a win. After all, such a climber at home is a godsend, right?
Quite not. Because the green-and-whites are a real enrichment for the championship and gave a decent show in the 3: 2 in Dortmund and in the 3: 4 against Frankfurt. They have already scored ten goals, but they’ve also swallowed ten. That’s why some observers are now wondering if the Hanseatic League will survive the season well with this hitherto flawed defense.
For statisticians, the question is crystal clear. The green-and-whites have been unbeaten away from home since 12 March. Heidenheim’s 1: 2 is the only away defeat so far under coach Ole Werner. VfL Bochum, on the other hand, have lost all of their last five Bundesliga games during the season. And the house blessing is crooked. Coach Thomas Reis is said to have negotiated a change with FC Schalke in the summer.
VfL Wolfsburg v 1. FC Cologne (Saturday, 15:30)
Statistics don’t lie, they say. In some ways, the Cologne team have always been a little better than the Wolfsburg team this season. VfL had 55% of possession this season, Köln 56%, Wolfsburg made 82% of passes to teammates, Köln 83%. Wolfsburg won 49 per cent of its duels, Cologne 50 per cent. Wolfsburg ran 448 kilometers, Cologne 465. Wolfsburg scored 45 shots on goal, Cologne 55. This makes the difference between an unbeaten team and a team still without a win.
Wolfsburg is still winless. Everything should be better under new manager Niko Kovac. But the team is still struggling with the new game system, designed primarily for control. The “wolves” forget to score goals, so far they have only been two goals. If you don’t even win the home game against Cologne, things could get uncomfortable. There was no victory in the first three home games of the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons, after which VfL Wolfsburg only managed to stay in the table.
The teams, yes in the spring with the triumph in Europe League and the victory in the DFB Cup caused a sensation, celebrating the first victory of the season only on the last day. It’s clear as day that they both want to add more now. The direct duel, however, is a draw. There have been seven draws in the previous twelve games, including the last four Bundesliga matches that ended without a winner.
In terms of the card, Frankfurt manager Oliver Glasner also plays an important role. He has met RB Leipzig six times in the Bundesliga and all six games ended in a draw (four with Wolfsburg and two with Frankfurt). Draw number seven would be a new Bundesliga record. If a team has ever come out victorious in this pair, it has always been the home team.
Leipzig coach Domenico Tedesco explains the shortening of the transfer phase at a press conference before the match against Frankfurt.
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Even after Timo Werner’s return, almost everything at Leipzig is centered around Christopher Nkunku. The Frenchman has made the most shots on goal at RB, has scored two thirds of Leipzig’s Bundesliga goals (four out of six) and is currently the top scorer alongside Union Sheraldo Becker. But perhaps the drawing king Glasner will think of something on the subject.
FC Augsburg – Hertha BSC (Sunday, 15:30)
It is the duel of two problematic children. Augsburg have only scored three points after four matches, Hertha are still winless after five competitive games under new coach Sandro Schwarz. Pal Dardai made the last false start as Hertha manager in his second term. Dardai was therefore able to win his sixth match with the Berliners, against FC Augsburg.
However, the Swabian Bavarians are the favorite opponents of the Berliners. Hertha have had no more success against any Bundesliga club than against FCA, and the Berliners have a better record against any other top-tier club today than Augsburg. To expand it, however, things must improve on the offensive. Hertha have not scored in 267 minutes after three 0-1 straight losses.
There is a reunion for Marco Richter. The Hertha player returned to the field against Dortmund a few weeks after being diagnosed with cancer, and is now returning home. In FCA, Richter moved from the youth department to the second team to a Bundesliga player and the U21 national team.
Borussia Mönchengladbach are still undefeated under new manager Daniel Farke. Eight points after four rounds is the best result in 35 years. Even FC Bayern Munich was only enough for a 1: 1, which the “foals” owe above all to their goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
Mainz also remained undefeated for a long time, more than four months. But then Leverkusen came and they won 3-0. But now the 05ers can play away again, where they have been more successful so far and have scored six of their eight points. A trio in Gladbach and Mainz would set their club’s record. Wins against Gladbach are rare for Mainz. The 05ers have only been able to win one of their last twelve games.
Marcus Thuram’s development is remarkable in Gladbach. The left fielder is constantly inserted as a center forward by Daniel Farke. The Frenchman has scored in three of four Bundesliga games this season and has now matched his full season tally with three goals.
