Bundesliga, Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen is on a full points lead and hunting for a third win. Freiburg on stage in Stuttgart.
Fourteen goals scored, only two conceded, full points and top of the table. That is Bayer Leverkusen’s score in its first three official matches, between the German Cup and Bundesliga.
The Xabi Alonso-coached team started the new season just as it had ended the previous one: the market, despite Diaby’s painful transfer to Aston Villa, has so far moved little. And if it has, it has done so for the better. Leaving aside the cup match, in which Werkself overwhelmed the very modest Teutonia 8-0, in the league came two victories and as many convincing performances, at the expense of Leipzig, beaten 3-2 at the BayArena, and Borussia Monchengladbach, annihilated with a clear 3-0 away win. Of no particular concern is newly promoted Darmstadt, which, like Heidenheim, the other club promoted from the Zweite Liga, is still on zero points in the standings. The Lilien a week ago cashed in four goals from Union Berlin (1-4) and are unlikely to contain an inspired and healthy attack like Leverkusen’s. Also among the matches scheduled for 3:30 p.m. is a possible salvation clash between Augsburg and Bochum. The guests as usual pulled out their claws in the derby against Borussia Dortmund, which was stopped at 1-1. Thomas Letsch’s team thus archived the disastrous debut at home to Stuttgart (5-0) and now aims to at least avoid defeat in Bavaria.
The predictions on the other matches
Mainz, which last May interrupted Borussia Dortmund’s dream of winning the title, did not get off on the right foot. Bo Svensson’s men picked up a point between Union Berlin (4-1) and Eintracht Frankfurt (1-1) and are hunting for their first success.
It could come in the away match in Bremen, against a Werder that has so far lost them all – including the first round of the German Cup – without scoring a single goal (0-4 with Bayern Munich and 1-0 with Freiburg) and that has just sold its goal scorer as well as most representative player, Fullkrug, to Borussia Dortmund. In the last round, on the other hand, Pellegrino Matarazzo’s Hoffenheim got its first win, able to come back two goals in the second half to Heidenheim, from 2-0 down to 2-3. It was a far from perfect but characterful performance by the Sinsheim club, which should be able to hold its own against Wolfsburg as well. The Wolves, however, start slightly favored after their two successes against Heidenheim and Cologne. Finally, we close with the interesting challenge between Sebastian Hoeness’s Stuttgart and Freiburg. The Swabians had overwhelmed Bochum 5-0 in the opener but immediately came back down to earth: Leipzig gave them the same treatment (5-1). It will not be easy to avoid defeat against a solid Freiburg side still on full points.
Bundesliga: possible winners
- Bayer Leverkusen (in Bayer Leverkusen-Darmstadt).
- Bochum or draw (in Augsburg-Bochum)
- Mainz or draw (in Werder Bremen-Mainz)
- Freiburg or draw (in Stuttgart-Freiburg)
The match by at least one goal per team
- Werder Bremen-Mainz
Bundesliga: matches by at least three goals total
- Bayer Leverkusen-Darmstadt
- Hoffenheim-Wolfsburg
- Stuttgart-Freiburg
