Matchday seven of the 2022-23 Bundesliga season continues the surprise trend from last week which sees German giants Bayern Munich yet to regain control of the top spot in the league after three successive draws, with an upcoming Bavarian derby against FC Augsburg offering a potential avenue to climb back to their usual perch.
Julian Nagelsmann’s men come off a 2-0 statement win last night against visiting Barcelona and former striker and club legend Robert Lewandowski in the Champions League, and morale should be bolstered for the short trip to WWK Arena.
Table-topping Union Berlin and second-sitting FC Freiburg continue their storyboard runs in the opening weeks of the season against struggling VfL Wolfsburg and credible fourth-place outfit TSG 1899 Hoffenheim respectively, with Christian Streich’s Freiburg facing the possibility of clearing a path for those behind them when they visit Sinsheim.
But the match of the weekend undoubtedly comes via the return of the Rivier Derby with bitter rivals Borussia Dortmund and FC Schalke 04 locking horns at the Westfalenstadion as the Ruhr valley pair both look to reverse their fortunes this season. Schalke earned their first win of the season last weekend and is hopeful of continued progress in the wake of having to come through the 2.Bundesliga last season after a heartbreaking relegation campaign in 2020-21 while Dortmund has once again struggled to perform to expectations in a loss last weekend against former boss Marco Rose and RB Leipzig.
To wrap up the weekend program, 1.FC Köln look to pile on pointless VfL Bochum in their attempt to keep pace with the top six race, 1.FSV Mainz 05 hope to benefit from a clash against frustrating capital outfit Hertha Berlin, Bayer Leverkusen aims to climb out of the cellar against a patchy SV Werder Bremen, Borussia Mönchengladbach look to stop RB Leipzig in their tracks in a surprising mid-table battle, and draw-specialists VfB Stuttgart searches for their first win of the season against visiting Eintracht Frankfurt.
Here are the weekend match previews, predictions, and betting tip information for matchday seven in the Bundesliga.
1. FSV Mainz 05 (6th) - Hertha BSC (15th)
Form: Mainz (3-1-2) - Hertha (1-2-3)
Key personnel missing:
Mainz - Marcus Ingvartsen (doubt), Jonathan Burkardt (doubt), Alexander Hack (red card)
Hertha - Jessic Ngankam (fitness), Linus Gechter (fitness), Rune Jarstein (disciplinary), Suat Serdar (virus), Davie Selke (virus), Kelian Nsona (doubt)
Match-up preview:
Neither Mainz nor Hertha can boast data profiles this season that show one or the other should be a clear favorite when the two clash on Friday night considering both have a negative goal difference after six weeks of play, but Mainz is still capable of fielding a six-match unbeaten run (4-2-0) over the capital side in their recent meetings. Hertha will still fancy their chances however given that Mainz has taken just one point in their two home ties thus far which is in stark contrast to how good they were in front of home support in 2021-22. Still, a narrow win for the home side could be a good shout in a very even fixture.
Prediction: Mainz 1-0 Hertha
Borussia Dortmund (5th) - FC Schalke 04 (12th)
Form: Dortmund (4-0-2) - Schalke (1-3-2)
Key personnel missing:
Dortmund - Sébastien Haller (out indefinitely), Gregor Kobel, Mahmoud Dahoud, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Mateu Morey, Nico Schlotterbeck (doubt)
Schalke - Marcin Kaminski, Cédric Brunner (doubt)
Match-up preview:
Dortmund comes into the return of the Rivierderby on the back of consecutive defeats both at home and abroad after a 3-0 loss at RB Leipzig last weekend was followed up with a late defeat against Manchester City, but they will still fancy their chances against bitter rivals Schalke at the Westfalenstadion with a cadre of key players back in contention for Edin Terzić. Schalke finally got their first win of the season last time out against Bochum, but Dortmund should really be taking all three points here in what still could end up being a closer affair than paper suggests.
Prediction: Dortmund 2-1 Schalke
Bayer Leverkusen (17th) - SV Werder Bremen (9th)
Form: Leverkusen (1-1-4) - Bremen (2-2-2)
Key personnel missing:
Leverkusen - Florian Wirtz, Karim Bellarabi, Amine Adli, Andrey Lunev, Exequiel Palacios (doubt)
Bremen - Jean-Manuel Mbom, Leonardo Bittencourt (doubt), Jirí Pavlenka (doubt), Dikeni-Rafid Salifou (doubt)
Match-up preview:
Leverkusen looked good in midweek when they fought to a very credible 2-0 win against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League and have avoided the necessity of travel coming into the weekend program against a visiting Werder outfit that has had the better domestic start by comparison while also proving to be capable opponents with wins against Dortmund and bottom-sitting Bochum. But Leverkusen, who are still without the key presence of Florian Wirtz, is too good to keep their poor start to the Bundesliga much longer and could well come into proceedings confident after midweek despite the goalscoring form of Bremen’s Niclas Füllkrug.
Prediction: Leverkusen 2-1 Bremen
FC Augsburg (13th) - Bayern Munich (3rd)
Form: Augsburg (2-0-4) - Bayern (3-3-0)
Key personnel missing:
Augsburg - Niklas Dorsch, Tobias Strobl, Felix Uduokhai, Noah Sarenren Bazee, Reece Oxford (doubt)
Bayern - Kingsley Coman, Lucas Hernández, Bouna Sarr, Benjamin Pavard (doubt), Dayot Upamecano (doubt)
Match-up preview:
The shock of the 2022-23 Bundesliga campaign remains the fact serial league winners Bayern Munich are not comfortably leading the pack from high atop their usual perch this season but nevertheless come into matchday seven on a high after condemning Robert Leverkusen and Barcelona to a 2-0 loss in the Champions League. Augsburg, a usual tricky customer that sustains itself just enough year on year, did manage to beat Bayern last season but the Bavarian giants should come into the away day full bore against an Augsburg outfit that has managed just four goals this season thus far.
Prediction: Augsburg 0-2 Bayern
VfB Stuttgart (14th) - Eintracht Frankfurt (11th)
Form: Stuttgart (0-5-1) - Frankfurt (2-2-2)
Key personnel missing:
Stuttgart - Nikolas Nartey, Laurin Ulrich, Tanguy Coulibaly (doubt), Luca Pfeiffer (red card),
Frankfurt - Almamy Touré, Aurélio Buta, Christopher Lenz, Luca Pellegrini (doubt), Jérôme Onguéné (doubt)
Match-up preview:
Current draw specialists Stuttgart have found a way to make themselves difficult to beat this season thus far while marrying it with the idea that winning would be too much after the club has drawn five of their six league fixtures and despite just the one loss on their record, they remain just outside the bottom three and now must contend with a Frankfurt outfit buoyed by a Champions League win in midweek. Despite the summer sale of Filip Kostić, Frankfurt have enough firepower to put themselves back in European contention and should be winning on their travels here on the back of a credible attacking record.
Prediction: Stuttgart 0-1 Frankfurt
Borussia Mönchengladbach (8th) - RB Leipzig (10th)
Form: Gladbach (2-3-1) - RBL (2-2-2)
Key personnel missing:
Gladbach - Florian Neuhaus, Ko Itakura, Alassane Plea (doubt), Nico Elvedi (doubt)
RBL - Dani Olmo, Konrad Laimer, Lukas Klostermann
Match-up preview:
A 2-0 loss to Real Madrid (their second in two CL group stage matches) should not deter Leipzig under new manager and hometown hero Marco Rose as they travel to Gladbach to close out the Saturday match program, with a 3-0 win against Borussia Dortmund last weekend far more meaningful on the domestic landscape. RBL may be struggling domestically but it could be revitalized under Rose but will have to contend with Yann Sommer and a Gladbach outfit that has lost just once this season. Their performance in Madrid was better than the scoreline suggested so a win for the visitors is not out of the realm of possibility.
Prediction: Gladbach 1-2 RBL
Union Berlin (1st) - VfL Wolfsburg (16th)
Form: Union (4-2-0) - Wolfsburg (1-2-3)
Key personnel missing:
Union - Timo Baumgartl (out indefinitely), Diogo Leite (doubt)
Wolfsburg - Jonas Wind, Mattias Svanberg (doubt), Patrick Wimmer (doubt)
Match-up preview:
Union Berlin has not enjoyed a strong start in their Europa League campaign after losing their opening fixtures against Union Saint-Gilloise and Braga, but the capital side is another animal on the homefront and comes into their clash with Wolfsburg on the back of a Bundesliga-leading thirteen-match unbeaten run dating back to last season. Wolfsburg may potentially come into proceedings emboldened by their first win of the domestic campaign last weekend and certainly, will be the fresher of the two sides, but Union is a better outfit in all respects and will have home support at their back. It’s a match they should be winning if their challenge is a serious one.
Prediction: Union 2-0 Wolfsburg
VfL Bochum (18th) - 1. FC Köln (7th)
Form: Bochum (0-0-6) - Köln (2-3-1)
Key personnel missing:
Bochum - Takuma Asano, Paul Grave, Konstantinos Stafylidis (doubt), Danilo Soares (doubt), Dominique Heintz (doubt), Jannes Horn (doubt)
Köln - Mark Uth, Sebastian Andersson, Dimitris Limnios, Mathias Olesen, Julian Chabot, Benno Schmitz (doubt), Eric Martel (fitness), Luca Kilian (red card)
Match-up preview:
Home support may not be enough for winless Bochum on Sunday against one of last season’s overachievers in Köln after the home side has lost all six of their Bundesliga fixtures this season while boasting the worst defensive record in the top flight of German football after allowing a staggering 18-goals in the process. Köln has only tasted defeat once - last weekend against top outfit Union Berlin - and Die Geißböcke are still proving they can compete even after losing star man Anthony Modeste to Borussia Dortmund. Truthfully, even though both outfits have considerable fitness concerns, Köln has no excuses for not coming away with a win here.
Prediction: Bochum 0-2 Köln
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (4th) - SC Freiburg (2nd)
Form: Hoffenheim (4-0-2) - Freiburg (4-1-1)
Key personnel missing:
Hoffenheim - Benjamin Hübner, Philipp Pentke, Ihlas Bebou (doubt), Ermin Bicakcic (doubt)
Freiburg - Roland Sallai, Lucas Höler, Kimberly Ezekwem
Match-up preview:
A share of the points could be on the cards on Sunday when fourth-sitting Hoffenheim welcomes neutral fan favorite Freiburg to Sinsheim in one of the highlights of the weekend program. In a match that pits the best home side in the Bundesliga (3-0-0) against the top traveling outfit (3-0-0), a share of the spoils could be on the cards for two sides who continue to do a credible job at upsetting the established order of things in Germany. Though Freiburg sits second and has only lost once while boasting a better defensive record, Hoffenheim is as strong as anyone when at home and no side has more goals at home. A draw here.
Prediction: Hoffenheim 1-1 Freiburg
