Familiar faces have already lept to the top of the table in the Bundesliga to start the 2022-23 campaign, with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund both out of the gates to the tune of six points from a possible six as the race for the Meisterschale is already on.
Bayern thrashed Eintracht Frankfurt 6-1 to open the season before a consummate 2-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg last weekend, while Dortmund outstripped top-four rivals Bayer Leverkusen in a close 1-0 affair and followed it up with a 3-1 comeback win against Christian Streich’s neutral favorite SC Freiburg thanks to starlet pair Youssoufa Moukoko and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens.
Bayern and Dortmund look to make it three wins from three to start the new campaign, with the Bavarians off to an away day against VfL Bochum while the Ruhr Valley giants host Werder Bremen at the Westfalenstadion.
The chasing pack of Borussia Mönchengladbach, 1.FC Köln, Union Berling, and 1.FSV Mainz 05 have all started well in their own right, with the quartet of clubs vying for the European places all resting on four points from a possible six, with weekend clashes against Hertha BSC, Eintracht Frankfurt, RB Leipzig, and FC Augsburg respectively.
To round out the weekend, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim look to pile more misery when they visit struggling Bayer Leverkusen who have started the season poorly and are currently propping up the Bundesliga table, VfL Wolfsburg and FC Schalke 04 square off in a bottom-half clash, and SC Freiburg looks to bounce back into the win column against VfB Stuttgart
Borussia Mönchengladbach (3rd) - Hertha BSC (15th)
Record/Form: Gladbach (1-1-0; W,D) - Hertha (0-1-1; L,D)
Key personnel missing:
Gladbach - Ramy Bensebaïni (doubt), Nico Elvedi (doubt), Ko Itakura (doubt), Lars Stindl (doubt)
Hertha - Marco Richter, Jessic Ngankam, Dong-Jun Lee, Rune Jarstein (disciplinary), Linus Gechter (flu), Myziane Maolida (doubt), Marvin Plattenhardt (doubt), Derry Scherhant (doubt), Kelian Nsona (doubt)
Match-up preview: Gladbach has started the season well after a disappointing 2021-22 campaign that saw them finish mid-table, with former Norwich City manager Daniel Farke finding his feet back in Germany and will relish his chances against a Hertha side ravaged with potential selection issues while already reverting to poor form that nearly saw them relegated last season. Gladbach should get all three points here.
Prediction: 2-1 Gladbach
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Borussia Dortmund (2nd) - SV Werder Bremen (10th)
Record/Form: Dortmund (2-0-0; W,W) - Werder (0-2-0; D,D)
Key personnel missing:
Dortmund - Sébastien Haller (out indefinitely), Niklas Süle
Werder - Jean-Manuel Mbom, Niclas Füllkrug (doubt), Marvin Ducksch (doubt), Amos Pieper (doubt)
Match-up preview: Dortmund has started the season in expected fashion with two wins from two, but struggled in certain areas in both matches including a comeback win against SC Freiburg, but should look to once again get all three points this weekend despite coming up against promoted Werder Bremen who have secured two draws to start the campaign. A nearly fully fit Dortmund side should come through here.
Prediction: 2-0 Dortmund
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Bayer Leverkusen (18th) - TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (8th)
Record/Form: Leverkusen (0-0-2; L,L) - Hoffenheim (1-0-1; W,L)
Key personnel missing:
Leverkusen - Florian Wirtz, Karim Bellarabi, Amine Adli, Andrey Lunev, Robert Andrich (doubt)
Hoffenheim - Benjamin Hübner, Philipp Pentke, Angelo Stiller (fitness), Ihlas Bebou (doubt), Ermin Bicakcic (doubt)
Match-up preview: Bayer Leverkusen has begun the 2022-23 Bundesliga with their worst start since 1979 and has struggled with a number of key absences in the creative department, with Hoffenheim coming to town at the weekend who have already scored four goals in the league this season. Leverkusen may be able to steal a point here but will have to get up to speed if they are to arrest an early season slide.
Prediction: 2-2 Draw
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VfL Wolfsburg (14th) - FC Schalke 04 (13th)
Record/Form: Wolfsburg (0-1-1; D,L) - Schalke (0-1-1; L,D)
Key personnel missing:
Wolfsburg - Jonas Wind, Yannick Gerhardt, Kilian Fischer (doubt)
Schalke - Dominick Drexler (red card)
Match-up preview: Both Wolfsburg and Schalke have earned just one point to start the campaign but the pair of bottom-half Bundesliga sides have perhaps shown potential last weekend. A draw could truly be on the cards here as both clubs have struggled at the back while creating chances has thus far come at somewhat of a premium. Jonas Wind and Yannick Gerhardt are big misses for Wolfsburg, so a draw seems a fair bet all things considered.
Prediction: 1-1 Draw
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FC Augsburg (9th) - 1.FSV Mainz 05 (6th)
Record/Form: Augsburg (1-0-1; L,W) - Mainz (1-1-0; W,D)
Key personnel missing:
Augsburg - Tobias Strobl, Noah Sarenren Bazee, Niklas Dorsch, Rubén Vargas (doubt), Reece Oxford (doubt), Carlos Gruezo (doubt)
Mainz - Danny da Costa
Match-up preview: Mainz was one of the neutral fan favorites from last season in the Bundesliga and have started well in the table with four points from six coming their way including a well-fought 0-0 draw against Union Berlin. Augsburg can thank keeper Rafal Gikiewicz for their win against Leverkusen last weekend after a masterful performance, but a string of fitness concerns could leave them understrength with Mainz possibly sneaking a narrow win despite their away struggles in 2021-22.
Prediction: 1-0 Mainz
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VfB Stuttgart (11th) - SC Freiburg (7th)
Record/Form: Stuttgart (0-2-0; D,D) - Freiburg (1-0-1; W,L)
Key personnel missing:
Stuttgart - Wahidullah Faghir (doubt), Tanguy Coulibaly (doubt), Atakan Karazor (fitness)
Freiburg - Kimberly Ezekwem, Lucas Höler, Lukas Kübler (doubt), Kevin Schade (doubt)
Match-up preview: Stuttgart can take pride from an early-season draw against RB Leipzig but will have expected better of themselves when they took just one point off Werder Bremen and may fancy their chances against Freiburg who are coming off a frustrating loss at home against Dortmund despite taking the lead against the German giants. Freiburg remains a very competitive outfit and may get a narrow win here.
Prediction: 1-0 Freiburg
Recommended bet:
Union Berlin (5th) - RB Leipzig (12th)
Record/Form: Union (1-1-0; W,D) - Leipzig (0-2-0; D,D)
Key personnel missing:
Union - Timo Baumgartl (out indefinitely)
Leipzig - Péter Gulácsi, Yussuf Poulsen, Lukas Klostermann, Dominik Szoboszlai (red card)
Match-up preview: Union Berlin has continued their hot form from last season that saw them secure Europa League football and remain unbeaten across both seasons after last weekend, having not tasted defeat in their last nine matches. By contrast, Leipzig has stumbled out of the gates and the absence of Péter Gulácsi could prove decisive, with Dominik Szoboszlai also unavailable. A draw is a good bet, though either side could squeak this.
Prediction: 1-1 Draw
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Eintracht Frankfurt (16th) - 1.FC Köln (4th)
Record/Form: Frankfurt (0-1-1; L,D) - Köln (1-1-0; W,D)
Key personnel missing:
Frankfurt - Almamy Touré, Jérôme Onguéné, Aurélio Buta
Köln - Mark Uth, Dimitris Limnios
Match-up preview: Eintracht Frankfurt put their 6-1 defeat to Bayern Munich behind them last weekend though only earned a disappointing point against Hertha Berlin, with last season’s Europa League finalists looking to get back on track without Filip Kostić and host FC Köln bereft of key man Anthony Modeste after his move to Dortmund. Köln has started the season well, however, and could steal all three points in what could prove a close fixture.
Prediction: 2-1 Köln
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VfL Bochum (17th) - Bayern Munich (1st)
Record/Form: Bochum (0-0-2; L,L) - Bayern (2-0-0; W,W)
Key personnel missing:
Bochum - Patrick Osterhage, Jacek Góralski, Danilo Soares (doubt), Jannes Horn (doubt), Konstantinos Stafylidis (doubt)
Bayern - Leon Goretzka, Eric Choupo-Moting, Serge Gnabry (doubt)
Match-up preview: Bochum did incredibly well last season after their return to the top flight of German football but have crashed back down to earth to open the 2022-23 campaign with two losses on the spin including a 3-2 loss to Hoffenheim after being 2-0 up. Bayern should comfortably get a result away from the Allianz Arena here after their expected strong start to the campaign with Jamal Musiala stealing headlines while the Bavarians have not skipped a beat without Robert Lewandowski.
Prediction: 3-0 Bayern
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