The 2022-23 Bundesliga season kicked off with a bang last weekend as front-runners Bayern Munich smashed Eintracht Frankfurt 6-1 at Deutsche Bank Park, with Sadio Mané netting once again in his second appearance for the Bavarians while German starlet Jamal Musiala put in yet another man of the match performance.
Keep your eyes on Musiala 👀 https://t.co/rZc9qX3hqh
— Manuel Veth (@ManuelVeth) August 9, 2022
It was the start Bayern expected in what could be another season of dominance, but Borussia Dortmund responded in kind with their own three-point haul against a tricky Bayer Leverkusen, while everyone’s favorite neutral club SC Freiburg posted an emphatic 4-0 win against FC Augsburg.
Freiburg and Dortmund clash at the foot of the Black Forest on Friday night to open proceedings in match day two, while both Leverkusen and Augsburg look to put last weekend behind them.
Elsewhere, 1.FC Köln will travel to Saxony to clash with RB Leipzig without Anthony Modeste after his move to Dortmund earlier this week but remain hopeful of making it six points in six after RBL stuttered out of the blocks against VfB Stuttgart in a 1-1 draw.
Anthony Modeste will score goals for Dortmund if they play to his strengths. That means crosses & letting him prosper in the air. Timo Werner‘s return to Leipzig is exciting. Interesting to assess the fit given that RBL have changed a bit stylistically since he was last there.
— Derek Rae (@RaeComm) August 8, 2022
In another tasty fixture, 1.FSV Mainz 05 and Union Berlin both got off to winning starts to the season, and come to grips in Mainz on Sunday to help close out the matchday, with Bayern Munich to possibly open their home account against VfL Wolfsburg hours later.
To wrap up the round, TSG Hoffenheim host VfL Bochum, Hertha BSC welcome Frankfurt to the capital, Werder Bremen and Stuttgart lock horns, and Borussia Mönchengladbach hopes to make it two wins on the trot when they make the short trip to Gelsenkirchen to take on returning FC Schalke 04.
📰 Table Of Contents
SC Freiburg – Borussia Dortmund
Key personnel missing:
Freiburg – Lucas Höler, Lukas Kübler (doubt), Kevin Schade (doubt)
Dortmund – Sébastien Haller (out indefinitely) Niklas Süle, Karim Adeyemi (doubt)
Match-up preview: Freiburg host Dortmund at the foot of the Black Forest tomorrow night in an early season-defining clash in the Bundesliga, with Christian Streich’s men looking for another push for a top-four place after missing out last season. Dortmund has been bolstered by the arrival of Anthony Modeste, but Freiburg’s well-drilled system in front of the home support gives them every chance at earning something here.
Prediction: 1-1 Draw
Recommended bet:
Bayer Leverkusen – FC Augsburg
Form: Leverkusen (L; 0-1) – Augsburg (L; 0-4)
Key personnel missing:
Leverkusen – Florian Wirtz, Amine Adli (doubt), Karim Bellarabi (doubt), Robert Andrich (doubt), Timothy Fosu-Mensah (fitness), Lukás Hrádecky (red card)
Augsburg – Tobias Strobl, Noah Sarenren Bazee, Niklas Dorsch, Rubén Vargas (doubt), Reece Oxford (doubt)
Match-up preview: Leverkusen features at home for the first time on Saturday after last weekend’s narrow loss to Dortmund, while Augsburg is looking to put their heavy defeat against Freiburg in their rear view. Both sides have a cadre of question marks in the squad, but Leverkusen should be looking to comfortably come away with a win despite the continued absence of club starlet Florian Wirtz given the availability of both Patrick Schick and Moussa Diaby.
Prediction: 3-0 Leverkusen
Recommended bet:
RB Leipzig – 1.FC Köln
Form: RBL (D; 1-1) – Köln (W; 3-1)
Key personnel missing:
RBL – Lukas Klostermann, Yussuf Poulsen
Köln – Steffen Tigges, Mark Uth, Dimitrios Limnios
Match-up preview: RB Leipzig comes into the weekend sorely disappointed after only securing a 1-1- draw against Stuttgart last weekend, but a near fully fit squad for Domenico Tedesco should give him a platform for all three points at Red Bull Arena against a Köln outfit that are now bereft of Anthony Modeste after his move to Dortmund, and should be good for a comfortable win to get the 2022-23 season online.
Prediction: 3-0 Leipzig
Recommended bet:
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim – VfL Bochum
Form: Hoffenheim (L; 1-3) – Bochum (L; 1-2)
Key personnel missing:
Hoffenheim – Benjamin Hübner, Angelo Stiller (fitness), Ermin Bicakcic (doubt), Ihlas Bebou (doubt), Stefan Posch (red card)
Bochum – Jacek Góralski, Tim Oermann, Danilo Soares (doubt), Jannes Horn (doubt), Konstantinos Stafylidis (doubt)
Match-up preview: Hoffenheim’s troubling start to the new campaign mirrored how they ended proceedings last season with just one point from their last six outings and are desperate to stop the rot from setting in early doors when they host Bochum in Sinsheim. Bochum’s struggles away from home from last term could carry over here despite having a good recent head-to-head record, but Hoffenheim’s considerable firepower up front could be enough to just tip the balance.
Prediction: 2-1 Hoffenheim
Recommended bet:
Hertha BSC – Eintracht Frankfurt
Form: Hertha (L; 1-3) – Frankfurt (L; 1-6)
Key personnel missing:
Hertha – Jessic Ngankam, Dong-Jun Lee, Marco Richter, Omar Alderete (fitness)
Frankfurt – Jérôme Onguéné, Aurélio Buta
Match-up preview: Last season’s Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt received a dose of reality last weekend after being thrashed by Bayern Munich at home and must try to rebound quickly without Juventus-bound Filip Kostić. The vast majority of the squad is fit and available, however, and really should be good enough to take advantage of a directionless Hertha outfit who were put to the sword in the Berlin derby, with their leaky defense already rearing its ugly head in the process.
Prediction: 2-1 Frankfurt
Recommended bet:
Werder Bremen – VfB Stuttgart
Form: Bremen (D; 2-2) – Stuttgart (D; 1-1)
Key personnel missing:
Bremen – Jean-Manuel Mbom, Dikeni Salifou, Benjamin Goller, Niclas Füllkrug (doubt), Eren Dinkçi (doubt), Romano Schmid (fitness)
Stuttgart – Saša Kalajdžić (doubt), Borna Sosa (doubt), Tanguy Coulibaly (doubt), Nikolas Nartey (doubt), Wahid Faghir (doubt), Atakan Karazor (fitness)
Match-up preview: Werder Bremen and Stuttgart both earned credible draws last weekend against Wolfsburg and RB Leipzig respectfully, but that same point haul could be found again here with both sides capable of canceling each other out on a tactical level in conjunction with their possible selection issues. Stuttgart dominate their recent clashes but are poor away from home in recent years (1-8-8 last season) which could bite them slightly here.
Prediction: 1-1 Draw
Recommended bet:
FC Schalke 04 – Borussia Mönchengladbach
Form: Schalke (L; 1-3) – Gladbach (W; 3-1)
Key personnel missing:
Schalke – Dominick Drexler (red card)
Gladbach – Lars Stindl, Luca Netz (doubt)
Match-up preview: Schalke received a difficult welcome back to the Bundesliga last weekend at the hands of Köln and may suffer a similar fate in Gelsenkirchen on Saturday when they welcome a Gladbach outfit that started the season smartly against Hoffenheim. Despite the absence of the influential Lars Stindl, there is more than enough firepower for Gladbach to come away with a comfortable win to make it six points in six.
Prediction: 2-0 Gladbach
Recommended bet:
1.FSV Mainz 05 – Union Berlin
Form: Mainz (W; 2-1) – Union (W; 3-1)
Key personnel missing:
Mainz – Jonathan Burkardt, Danny da Costa, Niklas Tauer
Union – Timo Baumgartl (Out indefinitely), Tymoteusz Puchacz (fitness)
Match-up preview: Sunday sees this pair of neutral fan favorites clash as Union Berlin prepares for a Europa League campaign this season, with both clubs starting the season on the front foot last weekend. Union has quickly become one of the more formidable sides in the league since their promotion, while Mainz remains dangerous – especially at home – despite the continued absence of Jonathan Burkhardt. A draw is a tempting prediction, but Union could do just enough here.
Prediction: 2-1 Union
Recommended bet:
Bayern Munich – VfL Wolfsburg
Form: Bayern (W; 6-1) – Wolfsburg (D; 2-2)
Key personnel missing:
Bayern – Leon Goretzka, Eric Choupo-Moting, Kingsley Coman (Red card)
Wolfsburg – Yannick Gerhardt, Jonas Wind, Bartol Franjic (doubt), Kilian Fischer (doubt)
Match-up preview: Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich feature at the Allianz Arena for the first time this season after a mammoth 6-1 win last weekend in Frankfurt, and welcome a Wolfsburg outfit that could only manage a disappointing home draw against promoted outfit Werder Bremen. Bayern looks phenomenal despite the summer departure of Robert Lewandowski and should be good value for another comfortable home win after Sadio Mané has settled in seamlessly in his new home.
Prediction: 3-1 Bayern
Recommended bet:
