August is past and the autumnal days of September lie in front of us. Following on from another action-packed matchday 4 comes Bundesliga matchday 5 and there are a number of talking points to consider ahead of the weekend’s action.
1. Can Union Berlin stand up to Bayern Munich?
Matchday 5 sees a top of the table, first versus second clash even if one of the protagonists may sound a little strange. Rekordmeister Bayern Munich travel to Köpenick to take on a Union Berlin side that have matched the Bavarians for points so far this season. Bayern top the table on ten points courtesy of goal difference.
Under normal circumstances Bayern would be clear favourites but die Eisernen have shown last season and in the first four games this season that they cannot be underestimated or written off- just ask RB Leipzig. Sheraldo Becker and Jordan Pefok have hit it off instantly, while the likes of Julian Ryerson and Rani Khedira have also started the season in fine form.
Bayern were held last weekend by the heroics of Mönchengladbach keeper Yann Sommer, and for the first time a chink was found in their seemingly unbeatable aura. Julian Nagelsmann will also have to contend with the exertions of their midweek 5-0 DFB Pokal win over Viktoria Köln. Last season Bayern emerged as 5-2 winners. Whether it will be as comfortable this time around remains to be seen. Do Bayern even start as the favourites? (Funny as that sounds).
2. Will Bochum remain pointless?
At the other of the Bundesliga table still with no points on the board sit VfL Bochum. They will feel very hard done by that they find themselves pointless after four games as they have actually not played too badly and were unlucky to lose to Mainz and Hoffenheim and could easily have taken a point against Freiburg last week. The less said about the Bayern hammering the better for Thomas Reis’ side.
There are no easy matches in the Bundesliga, but Bochum face another stern test this weekend as they finally look to break their points duck. Werder Bremen are the visitors to the Vonovia-Ruhrstadion, and they have been showing a very positive side during the opening matches this season.
“We finally want to get our first points” Thomas Reis has said in his pre-match press conference. “The team makes a very good impression. We now want to tackle Saturday’s game together and show what we can do. I’m not interested yet in what will be after that.”
3. Have Leverkusen and Leipzig really turned a corner?
Both the Werkself and the Roten Bullen secured their first win of the season last weekend and will be keen to build upon that going into matchday 5. After an impressive 3-0 win over Mainz, Gerardo Seoane’s Leverkusen face a Freiburg side, who currently sit third in the table after a fine start to the season. New signing Callum Hudson-Odoi could be set for an instant debut after completing his loan move from Chelsea.
Leipzig will also be hoping last weekend’s maiden win wasn’t a false dawn. A comfortable 8-0 win in midweek in their DFB Pokal match with FC Teutonia Ottensen would have added to their confidence. However, a tough away trip to Frankfurt beckons with the Adler slowly starting to click and get their season going after the drubbing they received on matchday 1 from Bayern.
4. Can Hertha afford not to beat Augsburg?
The league table doesn’t lie and after the opening four weeks of the season, Hertha find themselves in the bottom two with just a solitary point. Having spent too much of last season battling to avoid the drop, it was meant to be a different story this time around.
Yes, there have positives to take from their games thus far, but failure to beat Augsburg this weekend will surely just add more pressure on the capital club and give fans an eerie sense of déjà vu.
Both sides have made last-minute additions in the transfer window with Hertha signing defender Agustín Rogel from Argentina, while Augsburg have brought in striker Mergim Berisha from Turkish side Fenerbahce.
5. Will Dortmund finally click?
It is probably safe to say that Borussia Dortmund haven’t clicked 100% so far this season, but are things slowly coming together for the Schwarzgelben? A 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin courtesy of a first goal from Anthony Modeste showed an improvement on previous outing s with both Freiburg and Werder Bremen. Salih Özcan’s debut in midfield was impressive and seemed to give BVB the insurance policy they needed to go forward.
The likes of Modeste and Julian Brandt have shown glimpses of their potential, but Edin Terzic will want to see more. A home match under the lights on Friday kicks off the weekend’s action and they would dearly love to ‘stay overnight’ at the top of the table with a win over Hoffenheim.
