The race to catch German juggernaut Bayern Munich has already begun after just three match days in the 2022-23 Bundesliga campaign after Julian Nagelsmann’s rampant Bavarian outfit utterly annihilated VfL Bochum in a 7-0 rout last weekend on their travels. Bayern is now sitting in sole possession of top spot in the league as they lock horns with Borussia Mönchengladbach in a top of the table clash on Saturday night.
Our best ever start to a season in Bundesliga history 🌟📊#MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/OYH8s3wB2i
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) August 22, 2022
Borussia Dortmund already slipped up massively this season after their 2-0 lead against Werder Bremen ended in a catastrophic 3-2 loss after an inexplicable meltdown in the latter stages of proceedings at the Westfalenstadion, with Bremen bagging three goals in the final five minutes of action, two of which came in the final two minutes of stoppage time. Dortmund will hope for normal service to be resumed when they visit the capital and struggling Hertha BSC.
Borussia Dortmund became the first team in 𝗕𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗮 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 to concede three goals from the 89th minute onwards in their 3-2 loss against Werder last weekend 🤯😬 pic.twitter.com/dshKCb9GeH
— LiveScore (@livescore) August 23, 2022
But the likes of Gladbach, Union Berlin, and 1.FSV Mainz 05 will thank the Ruhr valley outfit for the slip up after the trio continued their undefeated run to start the season with all three sitting on seven points from a possible nine. Gladbach clash with Bayern at the Allianz Arena as previously mentioned, while Union pays a visit to FC Schalke 04 and Mainz hoping to continue their early form as they host bottom-feeding Bayer Leverkusen, who have lost three straight to start the season and currently sit in seventeenth.
Elsewhere, neutral fan-favorite SC Freiburg hosts bottom outfit VfL Bochum at the foot of the Black Forest with a chance to jump into the top four, while RB Leipzig and VfL Wolfsburg lock horns in a midtable clash after RBL have stuttered out of the gates.
Give @SCFreiburg a free-kick at your own peril. ⚡⚡
Which of these strikes from distance was Vincenzo Grifo’s best in the #Bundesliga? 🤔👇 pic.twitter.com/iyPKWk3wJK
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) August 19, 2022
Finally, 1.FC Köln hosts VfB Stuttgart in the cathedral city, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim hosts FC Augsburg with their own top four ambitions being put to the test, and finally, Werder Bremen look to keep their undefeated record in tack against Eintracht Frankfurt who has yet to get rolling in 2022-23.
📰 Table Of Contents
- 1 SC Freiburg (5th) – VfL Bochum (18th)
- 2 RB Leipzig (11th) – VfL Wolfsburg (14th)
- 3 1.FSV Mainz 05 (4th) – Bayer Leverkusen (17th)
- 4 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (6th) – FC Augsburg (10th)
- 5 Hertha BSC (16th) – Borussia Dortmund (7th)
- 6 FC Schalke 04 (13th) – Union Berlin (3rd)
- 7 Bayern Munich (1st) – Borussia Mönchengladbach (2nd)
- 8 1.FC Köln (8th) – VfB Stuttgart (12th)
- 9 Werder Bremen (9th) – Eintracht Frankfurt (15th)
SC Freiburg (5th) – VfL Bochum (18th)
Record/Form: Freiburg (2-0-1; W,L,W) – Bochum (0-0-3; L,L,L)
Freiburg – Lucas Höler, Kimberly Ezekwem, Lukas Kübler (doubt), Maximilian Eggestein (doubt), Kevin Schade (doubt)
Bochum – Christopher Antwi-Adjei, Paul Grave, Jannes Horn (doubt), Danilo Soares (doubt), Jacek Góralski (doubt)
Match-up preview: Freiburg bounced back after their loss to Borussia Dortmund with a narrow win at Stuttgart last weekend, and head back home to the foot of the Black Forest to welcome bottom-sitting Bochum after the Ruhr valley side has started abysmally and could still be reeling after a 7-0 thrashing by Bayern Munich. Freiburg should take all three points here and kick Bochum while they’re down.
Prediction: 2-0 Freiburg
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RB Leipzig (11th) – VfL Wolfsburg (14th)
Record/Form: Leipzig (0-2-1; D,D,L) – Wolfsburg (0-2-1; D,L,D)
Key personnel missing:
Leipzig – Lukas Klostermann, Dominik Szoboszlai, (red card), Péter Gulácsi (doubt), Willi Orbán (doubt), Josko Gvardiol (doubt), Yussuf Poulsen (doubt)
Wolfsburg – Yannick Gerhardt, Jonas Wind, Patrick Wimmer (doubt), Kilian Fischer (doubt)
Match-up preview: No one would have expected RB Leipzig to be winless going into match day but the Saxony-based side has been a shadow of previous seasons thus far and there are no guarantees when they welcome Wolfsburg to Red Bull Arena. The fact that RBL has a better goal output thus far in 2022-23 could be enough to give them the edge, however, but only just.
Prediction: 1-0 Leipzig
Recommended bet:
1.FSV Mainz 05 (4th) – Bayer Leverkusen (17th)
Record/Form: Mainz (2-1-0; W,D,W) – Leverkusen (0-0-3; L,L,L)
Key personnel missing:
Mainz – Marcus Ingvartsen
Leverkusen – Florian Wirtz, Amine Adli, Karim Bellarabi, Andrey Lunev, Charles Aránguiz (doubt)
Match-up preview: Mainz has picked up from where they left off in the final few weeks of last season and have started strongly to the tune of seven points from a possible nine despite some key losses in the transfer market and will fancy their chances against a Bayer Leverkusen outfit that sorely miss Floria Wirtz despite Moussa Diaby still being available. With a strong recent history at home Mainz could be could for all three points.
Prediction: 2-1 Mainz
Recommended bet:
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (6th) – FC Augsburg (10th)
Record/Form: Hoffenheim (2-0-1; L,W,W) – Augsburg (1-0-2; L,W,L)
Key personnel missing:
Hoffenheim – Benjamin Hübner, Philipp Pentke, Ermin Bicakcic (doubt), Ihlas Bebou (doubt)
Augsburg – Felix Uduokhai, Tobias Strobl, Niklas Dorsch, Noah Sarenren Bazee, Rubén Vargas (doubt), André Hahn (doubt), Carlos Gruezo (doubt), Reece Oxford (doubt)
Match-up preview: Two wins on the spin for Hoffenheim have corrected their match-day one error when they were dealt with by Gladbach comfortably, and the high-scoring side from Sinsheim come up against an Augsburg outfit who have already shipped seven goals in their first three matches. The Bavarians are always tricky customers, but their struggles at the back should tilt the scales in Hoffenheim’s favor as well as a massive fitness concern for boss Enrico Maaßen.
Prediction: 2-1 Hoffenheim
Recommended bet:
Hertha BSC (16th) – Borussia Dortmund (7th)
Record/Form: Hertha (0-1-2; L,D,L) – Dortmund (2-0-1; W,W,L)
Key personnel missing:
Hertha – Jessic Ngankam, Dong-Jun Lee, Linus Gechter (flu), Rune Jarstein (disciplinary), Filip Uremovic (red card), Marvin Plattenhardt (doubt), Myziane Maolida (doubt), Derry Scherhant (doubt), Kelian Nsona (doubt)
Dortmund – Sébastien Haller (out indefinitely), Donyell Malen (doubt), Karim Adeyemi (doubt), Mahmoud Dahoud (doubt)
Match-up preview: Dortmund will be looking to put their historic loss behind them after surrendering three goals in the final five minutes (including stoppage time) seeing their 2-0 lead disappear against Werder Bremen and will be under pressure to get it right in the capital against Hertha. Thankfully for Dortmund, the capital club has started poorly once more so Edin Terzić’s men may have enough in the tank though possibly not as dominant as many would have hoped for.
Prediction: 2-1 Dortmund
Recommended bet:
FC Schalke 04 (13th) – Union Berlin (3rd)
Record/Form: Schalke (0-2-1; L,D,D) – Union (2-1-0; W,D,W)
Key personnel missing:
Schalke – Sebastian Polter (doubt)
Union – Timo Baumgartl (out indefinitely)
Match-up preview: Europa League-bound Union Berlin travels to the Veltins Arena to clash with promoted Schalke who have earned two consecutive draws and present a tricky opponent for the capital side who have yet to taste defeat early this season. This could come down to the finer margins given Schalke’s ability to test their opposition at the other end but Union should really be coming out on top if their ambitions are genuine.
Prediction: 2-1 Union
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Bayern Munich (1st) – Borussia Mönchengladbach (2nd)
Record/Form: Bayern (3-0-0; W,W,W) – Gladbach (2-1-0; W,D,W)
Key personnel missing:
Bayern – Leon Goretzka, Bouna Sarr (fitness), Eric Choupo-Moting (fitness)
Gladbach – Ramy Bensebaïni (doubt), Ko Itakura (doubt)
Match-up preview: Gladbach can take plenty of positives from their strong start in the early doors of the new Bundesliga season after a poor mid-table finish in 2021-22, but they face the daunting task of a trip to the Allianz Arena to clash with a rampant and improved Bayern Munich in front of their home support. Gladbach will put in a valiant effort no doubt, but Bayern has been superb – even better than last term – and should win again here.
Prediction: 3-1 Bayern
Recommended bet:
1.FC Köln (8th) – VfB Stuttgart (12th)
Record/Form: Köln (1-2-0; W,D,D) – Stuttgart (0-2-1; D,D,L)
Key personnel missing:
Köln – Mark Uth, Dimitris Limnios
Stuttgart – Nikolas Nartey, Wahidullah Faghir (doubt), Tanguy Coulibaly (doubt)
Match-up preview: An undefeated start for Köln without former star man Anthony Modeste is just what the doctor ordered along the Rhine and will be confident at the RheinEnergieStadion when they welcome Stuttgart who tasted their first defeat of the season last weekend but may fancy a point on their travels after only narrowly losing to Freiburg while earning draws against Bremen and Leipzig.
Prediction: 1-1 Draw
Recommended bet:
Werder Bremen (9th) – Eintracht Frankfurt (15th)
Record/Form: Bremen (1-2-0; D,D,W) – Frankfurt (0-2-1; L,D,D)
Key personnel missing:
Bremen – Jean-Manuel Mbom, Eren Dinkçi (doubt), Dikeni-Rafid Salifou (doubt)
Frankfurt – Jérôme Onguéné, Almamy Touré, Aurélio Buta
Match-up preview: Werder Bremen have welcomed themselves back to the Bundesliga in solid fashion thus far and have taken five points while having not suffered a loss along the way, though their solitary win comes at the expense of a massive Dortmund meltdown. On the surface, they should be the favorites against visiting Frankfurt but something has to give for last season’s Europa League finalists could spring a win on the road after improved performances in the wake of their demolition by Bayern.
Prediction: 2-1 Frankfurt
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