Friday 26th September (all times local)

20:30  1 FC.Köln – Schalke

Saturday 27th September

15:30  Werder Bremen – 1899 Hoffenheim

15:30  Hamburg – Borussia Mönchengladbach

15:30  Hannover – Bayern Munich

15:30  Hertha Berlin – Energie Cottbus

15:30  VfL Bochum – Bayer Leverkusen

15:30  Borussia Dortmund – VfB Stuttgart

Sunday 28th September

17:00  Eintracht Frankfurt – Arminia Bielefeld

17:00  Karlsruher – VfL Wolfsburg

1 FC.Köln – Schalke

Köln held out for 74 minutes last weekend against Bielefeld before going down to a 2-0 defeat at the Schüco Arena.  That was their third loss in five games so trainer Christophe Daum will want to see at least a point against high-flying Schalke.

Daum may switch back to a 4-2-3-1 formation to combat Schalke and it could well be that Brecko starts at right back with Broich going into central midfield.  Striker Manesseh Ishiaku is still out injured while captain Umit Ozat is also still on the sidelines.

The Königsblauen continued their fine start to the season last weekend against Frankfurt even though they did make rather hard work of beating ten men after Chris was sent off for Eintracht in the first half.  An own goal from Ochs handed Fred Rutten’s side a 1-0 win and they will be looking to maintain their position at the top of the table with a win at the Rhein-Energie Stadion against Köln.

Fabian Ernst is suspended following his red card against Dortmund, but it could be that Vicente Sanchez keeps his place on the left after an impressive display in their midweek Cup win over Hannover.  Manuel Neuer is also a potential to return in goal.

Werder Bremen – 1899 Hoffenheim

Werder fans are on cloud nine after their 5-2 thrashing of Bayern Munich last weekend and they will want to se another three points gained against Hoffenheim.  Beating Bayern will count for less if they don’t follow it up with another win against the newly promoted minnows.

Trainer Thomas Schaaf  must decide whether to keep faith with the team that blitzed Bayern or freshen things up/ rest players ahead of next week’s Champions League tie with Inter.  Per Mertesacker has been suffering with flu and if he doesn’t make it, then Prödl would come in.  Petri Pasanen is an option in both full back positions.

This is the first time these two sides have met in the Bundesliga but Hoffenheim will go into the game in confident mood following their positive start to the season following their promotion from the second division.  Their bubble appeared to have burst a little when they lost 5-2 away to Leverkusen, but the responded superbly last weekend with a 4-1 win over Dortmund.

Ralf Rangnick should bring midfielder Luiz Gustavo back into the starting XI after he was rested for the midweek Cup tie, while Obasi is an option in attack.

Hamburg – Borussia Mönchengladbach

Hamburg lost for the first time last weekend to Wolfsburg and trainer Martin Jol will be hoping that it was temporary blip rather than a change in fortunes.  For the third successive league game, HSV went two goals down, but there was no way back against Felix Magath’s side and they went down to a 3-0 defeat.  They also faced a tough game in the Cup on Wednesday as Bochum made them work for their 2-0 win.

Martin Jol could opt to rotate his side with Olic and Alex Silva candidates to be given a rest.  That would see Bastian Reinhardt and midweek goal-hero Mladen Petric starting.

It’s been a bad week for Mönchengladbach with a 1-0 home defeat to Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga last weekend followed up with 3-0 loss at the hands of Energie Cottbus in the German Cup on Tuesday.  Trainer Jos Luhukay will be hoping to see a performance like the on that beat Werder Bremen three weeks ago, knowing that a loss could see his side bottom of the table this weekend.

Personnel wise, Luhukay has question marks over the availability of Patrick Paauwe and Karim Matmour, but forward Rob Friend will be fit to start.

Hannover – Bayern Munich

Both Hannover and Bayern conceded five goals last weekend so both trainers will want to see a positive reaction from their sides when they clash at the AWD Arena on Saturday.

Hannover lost 5-0 at the Bay-Arena to a rampant Bayer Leverkusen side last Friday and although they were hit with injuries, trainer Dieter Hecking will not be pleased with the fact that his side have gone from beating Gladbach 5-1 to losing 5-0 themselves.

His injury and illness ravaged side will be seriously depleted against Bayern this weekend so it could be a case of damage limitation.

A wounded Bayern Munich side will provide a tough game as they look to make amends for their own humiliation last week.  The Bavarians hadn’t lost at home since April 2007, and to go down to such a heavy defeat will have really hurt Bayern’s ego so expect a reaction on Saturday.

Trainer Jürgen Klinsmann reverted to a back four for their German Cup win over Nürnberg and it remains to be seen which formation he sends out this weekend.  Lell could come in for Oddo, Podolski is an option to replace Klose, while either Kroos or Sosa could come in for Schweinsteiger.  Franck Ribéry could also feature for the first time in the league this season.

Hertha Berlin – Energie Cottbus

Hertha sit in mid table right now with just one defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich as a black mark against them.  They secured their second win of the season last weekend away to Gladbach and will want to quickly grab their third this weekend against Cottbus.  They were unluckily knocked out of the Cup in midweek in extra time by Borussia Dortmund.

Trainer Lucien Favre hopes to have both Gojko Kacar and Patrick Ebert available after the duo were rested for their Cup tie with BVB due to injury.  Josip Simunic has completed his ban following his red card and could also return.

Cottbus managed to score their first goal of the season last week against Bochum, but the fact that that they also conceded one means that they remain bottom of the table with just two points from five games.  An away trip to East German neighbours Hertha will be  a tricky task for Bojan Prasnikar’s side but points are a must if they are not to lose further ground at this early stage of the season.

They scored three more in the Cup in midweek so will be hopeful of providing more of a goal threat.  Prasnikar could well keep faith with the side that won through to the next round of the Cup.

VfL Bochum – Bayer Leverkusen

Bochum host high-scoring Bayer Leverkusen at the Rewirpower Stadion with the tough task of stopping in form Patrick Helmes.  Marcell Koller’s side have had a win, loss and a draw in their last three matches so will be looking for a more consistent run in the league in their forthcoming games.

Bayer put on a scintillating display last week against Hannover and will be wanting to continue that away to Bochum on Saturday.  There shouldn’t be any reason for trainer Labbadia to change the XI that did so well last Friday with Patrick Helmes looking to add to the six goals he has scored in the Werkself’s first five games

Borussia Dortmund – VfB Stuttgart

Fresh from their midweek Cup win, Dortmund are back in action at the Signal-Iduna Park this weekend as they take on VfB Stuttgart.  Their extra time Cup victory over Hertha Berlin would have gone some way to wipe away the disappointment of losing last week to Hoffenheim, but trainer Jürgen Klopp will be demanding three points in the league to properly make up for their 4-1 defeat.

Antonio Rukavina missed the Cup win with a muscle injury and remain doubtful for Saturday.  Also missing for BVB are Zidan, Hummels, Blaszczykowski, Owomoyela and Dede.

Stuttgart have won their last three matches in a row in league, Cup and Europe, which has taken them up to third in the table.  They kept up their recent good form in the derby against Karlsruher with a  3-1 win at the Mercedes-Benz Arena  last week and trainer Armin Veh will be demanding more of the same against Dortmund.

For VfB the trio of Pavel Pardo, Mathieu Delpierre and Yildiray Bastürk will in all likelihood miss out through injury.  Ciprian Marica could start ahead of Cacau to give the Brazilian a rest.

Eintracht Frankfurt – Arminia Bielefeld

On Sunday Eintracht Frankfurt entertain Arminia Bielefeld at the Commerzbank Arena looking for points as they seek to improve their lowly league position which currently has them sitting in 17th.  Friedhelm Funkel’s side have played a game less, but have still only taken two points from their four games thus far.  To make matters worse they were dumped out of the Cup in midweek after losing 2-1 to Hansa Rostock in extra time.

Funkel may be without Patrick Ochs after he was injured against Rostock.  Should he miss out, then either Steinhöfer or Mahdavika could feature.

Bielefeld’s 2-0 win over Köln last week will have given them confidence and they will be looking to follow that up with another good performance against Frankfurt on Sunday.  Michael Lamey is back in contention following his suspension, while both Rudiger Kauf and Artur Wichniarek should also start after injury lay-offs.

Karlsruher – VfL Wolfsburg

The weekend action is concluded with Karlsruher taking on Wolfsburg at the Wildparkstadion.  KSC trainer Edmund Becker will be keen for his side to gain some points to make up for the loss last weekend in the derby match with local rivals Stuttgart.  The Badener have now lost their last three league matches so the rot will have to stop on Sunday.

Maik Franz and Joshua Kennedy were both injured in their midweek Cup win over Kickers Offenbach so Stöll and Timm could be called in.

Felix Magath’s Wolfsburg find themselves in a rich vein of goal scoring form with ten goals in the last two games.  An impressive 3-0 win over Hamburg last weekend was followed up by a 7-0 demolition of Oberneuland in the Cup on Wednesday.

Magath could switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation meaning that one of the two strikers would be sacrificed and possibly Hasebe coming into midfield.

source: goal.com

The task for Werder Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf will be to keep his players’ feet on the ground as they prepare to take on Erzgebirge Aue.  Following their 5-2 win over Bayern Munich on Saturday, Werder must feel like they can beat anybody.  Aue are clear outsiders sitting as they do second from bottom in the new third division.

The first of two all-Bundesliga clashes sees Energie Cottbus hosting Borussia Mönchengladbach.  Energie trainer Bojan Prasnikar will be looking for a good Cup performance to hand a boost to his side’s flagging league form which has seen them take just two points and score one goal in their first five matches.  Gladbach certainly have good Cup pedigree with three wins (1960, 1973, and 1995).  The Fohlen have taken just one more point than opponents Cottbus in the league so they too will want to win to kick-start their season.

If Werder are clear favourites against Aue, then Bundesliga leaders Schalke also start as the favourites against fellow top flight side Hannover.  The Königsblauen top the table at the moment and host a Hannover side that is in the midst of an injury crisis and who were thrashed 5-0 by Leverkusen on Friday.  Dieter Hecking looks to have only 14 healthy players available to him!

Another struggling Bundesliga side are in action against Hansa Rostock.  Eintracht Frankfurt are second from bottom although they have played a game less than the rest.  However, trainer Friedhelm Funkel knows that his side will have to raise their game against Rostock, who were relegated from the top division last season.  They find themselves in mid-table in the second division and will see a victory over the ‘Adler’ as an important confidence boost in their ultimate quest to return to the Bundesliga.

Mainz, who are unbeaten and second in the second division will be looking to take the scalp of Bundesliga side Köln when the two sides meet on Tuesday.  They were bitter rivals for promotion last season when the Geiβböcke pipped Jürgen Klopp’s side to a place in the top flight.  Christophe Daum however knows his side are in for a tough time of things.

One of the toughest tasks in the second round is faced by Augsburg, who take on the in-form Bayer Leverkusen.  The Werkself have hit 15 goals already this season so the Augsburg defence better be on its guard.  However Bruno Labbadia may decide to give top-scorer Patrick Helmes a rest and play Theofanis Gekas.

The final game from Tuesday’s batch of matches sees 1860 Munich taking on MSV Duisburg.  The Bavarians are struggling somewhat in the second division with four defeats in the first five matches, whereas the Zebras find themselves eighth after a fine start.

Tuesday’s games in full:

Erzgebirge Aue – Werder Bremen

Schalke – Hannover

Energie Cottbus – Bor. Mönchengladbach

Eintracht Frankfurt – Hansa Rostock

Mainz – 1.FC Köln

Augsburg – Bayer Leverkusen

1860 Munich – Duisburg

source: goal.com

The weekend witnessed some fantastic football with some absolutely outstanding individual and team performances.  Werder Bremen humiliated Bayern Munich 5-2 at the Allianz Arena, while Bayer Leverkusen hit five past a helpless Hannover on Friday.

Schalke gained a 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt to keep up their fine start and move top of the league thanks to Hamburg’s 3-0 loss to Wolfsburg.  Hoffenheim returned to their early season form with a 4-1 win over Borussia Dortmund while Stuttgart triumphed in the Baden-Württemberg derby with a 3-1 win over Karlsruher.

Goalkeeper

(1) Dennis Eilhoff (Arminia Bielefeld)

Bielefeld kept a clean sheet for the first time this season against Köln and one of the major reasons for that was keeper Eilhoff.  He was on top form throughout the 90 minutes and denied Novakovic in the second half with a fine parry.

Defenders

(2)  Michael Kadlec (Bayer Leverkusen)

The Czech defender signed from Sparta Prague made his first start of the season against Hannover and was highly impressive.  The young left back kept things tight at the back and ventured forward well to join in with a potent Werkself attack giving Bayer plenty of width alongside fellow full back Gonzalo Castro.

(3)  Naldo (Werder Bremen)

The giant Brazilian enjoyed himself against Bayern after Werder’s inconsistent start to the season.  The back line has come under some criticism in the early part of the season, but Naldo hit back with a strong defensive performance which saw him shut out both Luca Toni and Lukas Podolski.  He capped a fine display with Werder’s second goal of the game.

(4)  Alexander Madlung (Wolfsburg)

Defender Madlung kept his place in Felix Magath’s defence after an impressive showing in the midweek Uefa Cup game and was once again one of Wolfsburg’s top players.  He helped keep thins tight at the back against a dangerous Hamburg side and ventured forward well, scoring the second of the game in a 3-0 win.

Midfielders

(5)  Renato Augusto (Bayer Leverkusen)

Leverkusen put on a magnificent display on Friday to beat Hannover 5-0 at the Bay-Arena and Brazilian midfielder Renato Augusto was one of the main architects behind their dominance.  While the whole team played fantastically well, it is worth picking out Renato as the key midfielder in their sublime performance.  He seemed to have it all- dream passes, tantalising crosses and great shooting.  No wonder he is being dubbed the ‘new Kaka’.

(6)  Mesut Özil (Werder Bremen)

Werder celebrated a marvellous 5-2 win over rivals Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena and young midfielder Mesut Özil was arguably the Man of the Match for Thomas Schaaf’s side.  The 19 year old scored a tremendous third goal for the ‘Green and Whites’ and peppered a fine game with some great passing, vision and shooting.

(7)  Diego (Werder Bremen)

The general rule is that when Diego plays well, Werder play well and that was in evidence on Saturday against Bayern.  While the whole team played well and Mesut Özil stole the show a little, Diego was on top form pulling the strings that allowed Werder to score five.

(8)  Sejad Salihovic (Hoffenheim)

The Bosnian midfielder put in a fine display against Dortmund as Hoffenheim returned to the form they showed in their opening two games and climb to second in the table.  He curled in a superb direct free kick in the first half to help Ralf Rangnick’s side on their way.

Forwards

(9)  Markus Rosenberg (Werder Bremen)

Although the Bayern defence must take some of the blame for their 5-2 loss to Werder, Swedish striker Markus Rosenberg did what all good forwards do, and was on hand to profit when it counted.  His cool finish opened the scoring and he then added another in the second half following moment of madness from Michael Rensing.  He now has four goals in five games.

(10)  Vedad Ibisevic (Hoffenheim)

With five games gone this season the Bundesliga leading scorer is not Luca Toni, Mario Gomez or Kevin Kuranyi, but Vedad Ibisevic of newly promoted Hoffenheim with six goals in five games (joint with Patrick Helmes).  The Bosnian grabbed a double against Dortmund which isn’t bad from a player who started the campaign at the third choice striker at the club.

(11)  Patrick Helmes (Bayer Leverkusen)

New Leverkusen striker Patrick Helmes has a very bright future ahead of him.  He was unlucky to be omitted from the final German squad for Euro 2008, but his early season form puts him ahead of the likes of Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez.  He helped himself to a hat trick against Hannover on Friday and terrorised their defence all night with his pace.  He even set up the Werkself’s opener for team mate Simon Rolfes.

Formation: 3-4-3

Eilhoff

Kadlec   Naldo   Madlung

Renato   Özil   Diego   Salihovic

Rosenberg   Ibisevic   Helmes

Honourable mentions:

As always there are a number of players, who deserve a special mention despite having not made it into the final XI.

I could be forgiven for not just picking the entire Team of the Week from Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen; such was the quality on show from those two sides this weekend.  As it is they have to be content with seven of the eleven places on show.  Suffice to say that the rest of those players deserve an honourable mention.

Artur Wichniarek continued his good early season form for Bielefeld against Köln, while Rafinha and Jefferson Farfan were solid performers for Schalke as they went top of the table.  Josip Simunic played well for Hertha Berlin, while the only Bayern player to come away with any real credit was substitute Tim Borowksi.

source: goal.com

Bayern Munich 2-5 Werder Bremen

Bayern Munich’s 20 match unbeaten home record came crashing to the ground as Werder Bremen thrashed them 5-2 at the Allianz Arena.

Seconds after Bayern saw Lukas Podolski was called back for offside, Werder broke upfield and scored after 30 minutes.  A tremendous, incisive through ball from Mesut Özil found Markus Rosenberg through on goal and he clipped the ball past Michael Rensing with a clinical finish to hand Werder the lead.

Bayern then found themselves two goals down before the half time break when Naldo scored right on the stroke of the interval.  Özil bent in a superb free kick from the right which missed everybody and had to be saved low from Michael Rensing.  When his parry came out, it was Werder defender Naldo, who was on hand to poke the ball home.

Klinsmann reacted with a double substitution, but the Bavarians then went 3-0 down on 54 minutes when Mesut Özil produced a fantastic finish after being played in by Diego.  The former Schalke man hit a rasping shot that fizzed past keeper Rensing and into the top left corner.

The bad dream then turned into an absolute nightmare five minutes later when Werder scored a fourth.  Terrible defending inside the Bayern penalty area saw Rosenberg waltz through and Claudio Pizarro was allowed to steer the ball past Rensing.

A goalkeeping howler from Michael Rensing on 67 minutes then handed Werder their fifth goal of the afternoon.  The Bayern keeper came out to punch away a Diego free kick, but failed to connect properly and Markus Rosenberg was able to stab home with relative ease.

The Bayern fans were given a modicum to cheer about on 70 minutes when former Werder man Tim Borowski fired home after good work from Massimo Oddo.

Borowski then scored a second on 85 minutes, but few Bayern fans were celebrating with the result well beyond doubt by then.

Schalke 1-0 Eintracht Frankfurt

Schalke have gone top of the Bundesliga after a 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.  With Hamburg playing tomorrow, the Königsblauen now sit at the summit of the German top division on 11 points.

Brazilian Chris was sent off on 34 minutes for an elbow on Heiko Westermann.  It looked a harsh decision on the replay.

The opening goal at the Veltins Arena then arrived on 41 minutes via an own goal from Patrick Ochs.  Jefferson Farfan went through on goal and Ochs attempted to clear the ball away but only succeeded in deflecting the ball past keeper Nikolov into his own net.

The single goal proved enough to secure three points and top spot for Fred Rutten’s men.

Energie Cottbus 1-1 VfL Bochum

Cottbus remain bottom of the Bundesliga despite a point at home to VfL Bochum.  The Lausitzer scored their first goal of the season but failed to secure all three points against Marcell Koller’s side.

The first time the Cottbus attack were given any room they scored.  Jelic fed Sörensen from the left and the Dane scored from 12 meters out for the opening goal.

Following the early goal, Cottbus fell further and further back into defence and invited Bochum forward.  They were rather fortunate that the visitors didn’t take any of the chances that came their way in the first half.

They were however punished two minutes into the second half when Yahia grabbed a deserved equaliser.  Mimoun Azaouagh left Ziebig standing down the right hand side and put the ball onto the head of Yahia, who left Tremmel with no chance.

Arminia Bielefeld 1-0 1.FC Köln

Bielefeld condemned visitors Köln to another defeat the Schüco Arena with two quick goals in the final 15 minutes.

The opening goal didn’t arrive until the 74th minute when winger Jonas Kamper scored from a direct free kick conceded by Pierre Wome.  The Danish substitute was rather fortunate though as his effort took a wicked deflection off of the Köln wall.

The first goal may have taken 74 minutes to arrive, but their second arrived duly arrived three minutes later.  Köln centre back Kevin McKenna put through his own net attempting to clear a goal bound effort from Wichniarek after keeper Mondragon had failed to deal with a long ball.

Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-1 Hertha Berlin

Hertha Berlin grabbed an important away win at the Borussia Park to inflict a second successive defeat on Mönchengladbach.  The Fohlen now find themselves in the bottom three, while Hertha have climbed to seventh.

The first chance that came Hertha’s way was converted by Gojko Kacar for the opening goal.  A dream pass from Cicero to the Serbian saw him convert from inside the penalty area into the corner of the goal.

That goal proved to be the only one of the game and saw Hertha grab a vital three points away from home.

source: goal.com

Friday 19th September (all times local)

20:30  Bayer Leverkusen – Hannover

Saturday 20th September

15:30  Bayern Munich – Werder Bremen

15:30  Schalke – Eintracht Frankfurt

15:30  Energie Cottbus – VfL Bochum

15:30  Arminia Bielefeld – 1.FC Köln

15:30  Borussia Mönchengladbach – Hertha Berlin

Sunday 21st September

17:00  VfL Wolfsburg – Hamburg

17:00  VfB Stuttgart – Karlsruhe

17:00  Hoffenheim – Borussia Dortmund

Bayer Leverkusen – Hannover

Bayer Leverkusen will be looking to get back to winning ways after they gave up a two-goal lead last weekend against Hamburg before finally losing 3-2.  The sending off of key defender Manuel Friedrich was an obvious turning point, but it would have disappointed trainer Bruno Labbadia not to have been able to build upon the 5-2 win over Hoffenheim achieved the week before.

His side have scored 11goals so far this season and as such are the most potent team in the league right now.  Stefan Reinartz and Michael Kadlec could be brought into the defence, while Gonzalo Castro is also fit again. Theofanis Gekas though is a doubt with a thigh injury.  Manuel Friedrich is suspended.

Hannover grabbed their first win of the season in some style last weekend against ‘Gladbach with five goals.  Jan Schlaudraff looked particularly impressive and he will want to get back amongst the goals and prove that he isn’t just a Bayern Munich flop.

The three points would have delighted trainer Dieter Hecking, but he will want to secure at least a point away to Leverkusen to keep up the momentum.  Mario Eggimann is a doubt and Vinicius could play in defence.  The availability of Mikael Forssell is also in question following his injury sustained for Finland.  Mike Hanke has also been suffering from flu.

Bayern Munich – Werder Bremen

The two top favourites for this season’s Bundesliga crown clash at the Allianz Arena in what could prove a very important game come the end of the season.  Both sides were in Champions League action in midweek with quite differing outcomes.  Bayern got off to a winning start in Romania against Steaua Bucharest, while Werder were disappointingly held at home by Cypriots side Anorthosis.

The outcome of this clash of the titans could have a big bearing on the title race although neither side have been firing on full cylinders so far this season.  Bayer have won their last two league matches after consecutive draws, while Werder grabbed their first win last weekend against Cottbus following two draws and a win.

Bayern trainer Jürgen Klinsmann could line up with his alternate 3-5-2 system with the same line up that faced Bucharest on Wednesday.  Willy Sagnol and Hamit Altintop remain out injured but otherwise he has a full squad to choose from.  Franck Ribery may make an appearance too!

For Werder, Thomas Schaaf could opt to bring in Petri Pasanen at full back after he recovered from a bout of flu.  Sebastian Boenisch or Clemens Fritz could give way after poor recent performances.

Schalke – Eintracht Frankfurt

Schalke welcome Eintracht Frankfurt to the Veltins Arena looking to continue their positive start to the new season.  Eight points from their first four games sees them third in the table level on points with Bayern Munich and it certainly seems that their disappointment at missing out on the Champions League has not unduly affected their league form.

They did however throw away a 3-0 lead last Saturday in the Ruhr-derby with Borussia Dortmund to finish 3-3.  Trainer Fred Rutten saw his side win rather easily in midweek in the Uefa Cup against APOEL, and will be targeting three points this weekend.

Fabian Ernst and Christian Pander are both out suspended following their red cards against Dortmund last weekend.  Kevin Kuranyi is a slight injury worry with a hip problem, and if he doesn’t make it then either Halil Altintop, Vicente Sanchez or Gerald Asamoah will fill in.  Manuel Neuer could make an appearance on the substitute’s bench.

Frankfurt trainer Friedhelm Funkel will not be altogether happy with the start his side have made this season.  They lost their opener to Hertha Berlin before taking successive points from Wolfsburg and Köln.  Their match last Friday however had to be postponed thanks to a Madonna concert leaving the Commerzbank Arena pitch unplayable.

The Adler should have Marco Russ back in their back four meaning Brazilian Chris will return to his role in defensive midfield.  Frankfurt’s injury list still contains the likes of Christoph Preuβ, Zlatan Bajramovic, Umit Korkmaz, and Ioannis Amanatidis.

Energie Cottbus – VfL Bochum

Bottom side Energie Cottbus take on VfL Bochum at the Stadion der Freundschaft with three points an absolute must for Bojan Prasnikar’s side.  Talk before the season was of a struggle against relegation, and the first four games of the season have done nothing to dispel that.

The East German side are the only side in the league not to have scored yet this season and with just one point to their name find themselves in arrears already this season.  Savo Pavicevic is a doubt with stomach problems so Radeljic could feature instead at right back.  Stiven Rivic has also not been able to train for a week because of the same problem so a role as a substitute is the most he can hope for.

Visitors Bochum have had a varied start to the season with a win, a draw and two defeats.  Those losses both came away from home and they failed to score in either so a change is required against Cottbus.

They will be without the suspended Christian Fuchs, who will see Bönig take his place at full back.  Vahid Hashemian could start if Stanislav Sestak is forced to withdraw.

Arminia Bielefeld – 1.FC Köln

Both Bielefeld and Köln will be viewing this fixture as an opportunity to grab a vital three points after struggling to amass points in their early games.

Michael Frontzeck’s side have still yet to win a game win just two draws to their name.  They opened their season with consecutive draws but have now lost their last two games at the hands of Hamburg and Bochum.  They led Hamburg 2-0 at the Schüco Arena before going down 4-2.  Three points at home to newly promoted Köln are very important as they are currently down in the bottom three.

Nico Herzig could be given a chance in defence in place of Markus Bollmann, while Robert Tesche could come into midfield for the injured Torben Marx.

Köln went down to a 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich last weekend to take the gloss away a little from their previous debut win over Karlsruhe.  If the Geißböcke are to survive this season then wins against teams like Bielefeld will go a long way to helping their cause.

Köln have Pierre Wome back from suspension so Miso Brecko should move from the left to the right in defence.

Borussia Mönchengladbach – Hertha Berlin

Mönchengladbach welcome capital club Hertha Berlin to the Borussia Park looking for a repeat performance of their last home game when they impressively beat Werder Bremen 3-2.   The ‘Fohlen’ have conceded 11 goals though in their first four games and came crashing down to earth with a bump last weekend when thrashed 5-1 at the hands of Hannover.

A return to form at home then is much in need.  Oliver Neuville could be set to make his first start, whereas Patrick Paauwe is a doubt.

Hertha started well with an opening win over Frankfurt, but since then have drawn with Wolfsburg and Bielefeld and lost to Bayern.  The season’s goal is European qualification so a more consistent run of results is needed.

Ebert is a doubt for Hertha so Piszczek could deputise.  Raffael, who missed the midweek Uefa Cup tie to be at the birth of his child, should return to the side.

VfL Wolfsburg – Hamburg

With four games gone Hamburg are the leaders of the Bundesliga by two points and Martin Jol will want to see another three points racked up against Wolfsburg on Sunday.  His side were in action in midweek at home to Romanian side Unirea Urziceni, but they were below par and held to a 0-0 draw.

The line-up will very much depend on any knocks picked up and whether Jol feels the need to make any changes to freshen up the side.  One option is to start with transfer window signing Mladen Petric.

Wolfsburg were many people’s tip as outsiders for Champions League qualification this season but Felix Magath’s side have not set the league alight so far this season with one win and three draws.  A home win against leaders HSV would be just the tonic.

Defender Jan Simunek is the only Wolfsburg absentee of note through injury.

VfB Stuttgart – Karlsruhe

It’s derby day in Baden Württemberg as Stuttgart host Karlsruhe at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.  Form can often go out of the window in derbies but it is Stuttgart who have started the season the better of the two sides.

The Swabians were in Uefa Cup action on Thursday and overcame Cherno More Varna 2-0 with Mario Gomez bagging a brace.  A win against local rivals KSC would cap a fine week for Armin Veh’s side.

Edmund Becker saw his side win their first game at home to Bochum, but have since lost their last two before seeing their game last Friday against Frankfurt cancelled.  A positive result against VfB is therefore important in order to boost confidence and prevent them from sliding down the table any further.

Hoffenheim – Borussia Dortmund

Next up for Hoffenheim are last season’s Cup finalists Borussia Dortmund.   Hoffenheim recovered well from their 5-2 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 3 to hold VfB Stuttgart to a goalless draw last week and the newcomers could be forgiven for feeling hard done by that they didn’t take all three points against the 2007 league champions.

Their fantastic start has faded somewhat, but a win against BVB, who were involved in Europe midweek, would lift the mood in Sinsheim.  Trainer Ralf Rangnick has a headache in attack with all four strikers now fit and fighting for the two starting places.

Dortmund staged the comeback of the season so far last Saturday when they fought back from 3-0 down at home to Schalke to finish all-square.

Two-goal hero Alex Frei could start, particularly as Mohamed Zidan was injured in their Uefa Cup tie with Udinese.   BVB lost that first leg tie 2-0 so will want to get back to winning ways straight away against Hoffenheim.

source: goal.com

Both Hamburg and Borussia Dortmund staged comebacks in their respective games, while Bayer Munich secured their second win of the season against Köln.  Werder beat Cottbus with three late goals, while Hannover cruised to a 5-1 win over Mönchengladbach.

This week’s line up appears as a traditional 4-4-2 as follows:

Goalkeeper

(1) Jens Lehmann (Stuttgart)

Many people believed that Stuttgart had taken a gamble on 38 year old Jens Lehmann in the summer after he was released by Arsenal, but the ex-national team keeper rolled back the years on Saturday to help secure a point against Hoffenheim.  He pulled off a number of top saves to keep Hoffenheim at bay and earn VfB a point.

Defenders

(2)  Andreas Beck (Hoffenheim)

Full back Andreas Beck played a blinder against his former side as Hoffenheim recovered well from their 5-2 loss to Bayer Leverkusen in their last match to draw 0-0 with Stuttgart.  Whereas Jens Lehmann was decisive in keeping Hoffenheim out, right back Beck was a key part of Hoffenheim’s clean sheet.

(3)  Heiko Westermann (Schalke)

German international Heiko Westermann is really cementing himself as one of the most consistent players in the Bundesliga after his performance against Borussia Dortmund in the Revier-derby.  The versatile defender racked up his third goal of the season in only the fourth game of the season.

(4)  Andrea Barzagli (Wolfsburg)

Italian World Cup winner Andrea Barzagli proved his worth on Saturday against Hertha Berlin as he kept new signing Andrei Voronin at bay.  The Ukrainian was very lively on his debut, but ex-Palermo defender Barzagli always seemed to have the upper hand as Wolfsburg took a point from the Olympiastadion.

(5)  Timothee Atouba (Hamburg)

Hamburg defender Atouba was sound at the back and got forward eagerly to provide plenty of crosses from the flanks.  The Cameroonian was recently linked with a move away from HSV, but he now looks set to enjoy a new lease of life under Martin Jol, under whom he played while at Tottenham.

Midfielders

(6)  Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg)

HSV came back from two goals down at home to beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-2, and midfielder Piotr Trochowski was one of the chief instigators behind their win.  The German international was on fire in the second half and it seemed that everything good that Hamburg did, went through him.

(7)  Zé Roberto (Bayern Munich)

The Brazilian midfielder was at his dynamic best against Energie Cottbus with a tireless display in the Bayern engine room.  He set up the first goal for Luca Toni and proved his all-round worth with a top display for the Bavarians.

(8)  Diego (Werder Bremen)

Diego was one of the inspirations behind Werder’s first win of the season and scored his second goal in his second appearance of the season.  Following his return from the Olympics the mercurial midfielder has certainly showed signs that he is willing to make up for lost time.

(9)  Szabolcs Huszti (Hannover)

Hungarian international Szabolcs Huszti made up for a missed penalty in the first half of his side’s clash with Borussia Mönchengladbach by chipping in with two further goals.  Hannover eventually ran out 5-1 winners at the AWD Arena and Huszti was a major contributor to that victory.

Forwards

(10)  Luca Toni (Bayern Munich)

Last season’s Bundesliga top-scorer Luca Toni got himself on the score sheet twice against Köln and it brought back the scenes from last season with a vengeance when he seemed to be scoring twice in every game he played.  He scored Bayern’s first two goals with his head and his right foot before turning provider for Lukas Podolski’s late goal.

(11)  Jan Schlaudraff (Hannover)

Hannover’s season exploded into action with a 5-1 home win over Mönchengladbach and former Bayern Munich striker Jan Schlaudraff hit the back of the net with two extremely well taken goals.  Both of his goals were sublime finishes and showed just what he is capable of and were a reminder of why Bayern signed him from Alemannia Aachen.  Hannover could be about to gain from Bayern’s loss.

Lehmann

Beck   Westermann   Barzagli   Atouba

Trochowski   Diego   Zé Roberto   Huszti

Toni   Schlaudraff

Honourable mentions:

As always there are a number of players, who deserve a special mention despite having not made it into the final XI.

Jaroslav Drobny was on top form for Hertha Berlin as the capital club secured a point at home against Felix Magath’s Wolfsburg.  He pulled off a number of good saves to keep his side I the game at the Olympiastadion.  Hoffenheim midfielder Luiz Gustavo put in a good performance against Stuttgart as did attacker Demba Ba.

For Bayern Munich, Philipp Lahm, Andreas Ottl and Martin Demichelis were also noteworthy as the Bavarians sealed their second successive victory of the season.  Paulo Guerrero was a top performer for Hamburg as they came back to beat Bayer Leverkusen at the HSH Nordbank Arena.   In the same game Bayer striker Patrick Helmes continued his early season form and was unlucky not to have scored more than one.

Torsten Frings put in a top performance for Werder smashing home a great goal, while Alexander Frei was a two-goal hero for Borussia Dortmund as they staged a remarkable comeback from 3-0 down to take a point from Schalke in the Revier-derby.  The Swiss start came on at half time to help swing the game back the way of the home side (even though one of his goals was clearly offside).

source: goal.com

Hamburg 3-2 Bayer Leverkusen

Köln 0-3 Bayern Munich

Borussia Dortmund 3-3 Schalke

Werder Bremen 3-0 Energie Cottbus

Hoffenheim 0-0 Stuttgart

Hertha Berlin 2-2 Wolfsburg

Hamburg 3-2 Bayer Leverkusen

For the second league game in a row, Martin Jol’s Hamburg were forced to come back from a two-goal deficit to win.

With just four minutes on the clock, Leverkusen took the lead at the HSH Nordbank Arena.  A misplaced pass in midfield from HSV saw Helmes through on goal.  His run took him a little wide, but his cross into the six yard box found the head of Kießling.  His effort struck the post however, but Tranquillo Barnetta reacted the quickest to fire the ball home.

The second goal of the game arrived on 24 minutes and it was again the visitors who scored it.  A perfect counter attack was crowned with a goal from Patrick Helmes after strike partner Stefan Kießling played him in with a sublime pass.  The German international kept his nerve to lift the ball coolly over the advancing keeper Rost.

Then nine minutes before the break, Hamburg pulled a goal back from a set-piece situation.  Piotr Trochowski sent in a perfectly flighted free kick from the right after Djakpa had been adjudged to have handled.  Paulo Guerrero was in the right place in the six yard box to head home with little challenge from a Bayer defender.

The fist half action hotted up even more on 40 minutes when Leverkusen defender Manuel Friedrich was sent off for a second bookable offence.  Both yellow cards were largely merited and the referee looked to be explaining to Friedrich that he had little choice but to send him off.

The second half saw the fight back completed with further goals from Croatians Ivica Olic and Mladen Petric.

Köln 0-3 Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich produced a good second half performance to beat a Köln side that showed a little too much respect to their opponents.

A rather poor first half finished goalless inside the Rhein-Energie Stadion, but Bayern woke up in the second half.  Eight minutes into the second period last season’s top scorer Luca Toni opened his account for the season.

Bastian Schweinsteiger sent in a free kick to the centre where Toni out jumped Pedro Geromel to power a header past Mondragon in the Köln goal.  Four minutes later and Jürgen Klinsmann sent on Lukas Podolski to face his old club for Miroslav Klose.

The ex-Köln man was quickly into the action and helped set up Bayern’s second on the hour mark.  Poldi sent Zé Roberto through and his ball saw Luca Toni turn superbly to fire home his second of the game.

Podolski, who is still being linked with an exit from the Bavarian club, sealed the three points with a goal in injury time.  Toni and Zé Roberto had both missed good chances before old boy Podolski fired home after 91 minutes.

Borussia Dortmund 3-3 Schalke

The first Ruhr derby of the season produced six goals and a tremendous fight back from hosts Borussia Dortmund who found themselves 3-0 down at one stage.

The Revier-derby took place under perfect footballing conditions at the Signal Iduna Park and both sides began with attacking intent but it was the visitors from Gelsenkirchen who took the lead after 19 minutes.   BVB defender Neven Subotic, who has been highly impressive so far this season, handled the ball in the area as he looked to challenge Kevin Kuranyi and Peruvian Jefferson Farfan converted clinically from the spot.

Six minutes before the half time interval and the lead was doubled by Schalke as Rafinha scored their second of the afternoon.  Heiko Westermann latched onto a loose ball from Kehl before playing in the advancing Rafinha.  The Brazilian fullback converted with a shot that left Roman Weidenfeller no chance.

The derby went from bad to worse for Dortmund on 54 with Schalke bagging a third goal through the highly impressive Heiko Westermann.    Fabian Ernst crossed from the right to the far post where Weidenfeller was unable to properly clear the ball under a challenge from Kuranyi. The ball landed in the six-yard box where Westermann was on hand to outjump Subotic and head in the Königsblauen’s third goal of the afternoon.

On 67 minutes Neven Subotic, who had had a hand in two of Schalke’s goals made partial amends with headed goal following a Frei corner.  That goal prompted a magnificent comeback from the home side.

Three minutes later and Frei got his name on the score sheet firing home after good work from Tinga.  The Swiss forward looked offside but the goal stood.   Christian Pander then saw red on 73 minutes for a second yellow card before team mate Fabian Ernst followed him into the dressing room on 76 after receiving a straight red for a foul on Blaszczykowski.

The action wasn’t over there though as Dortmund scored their equaliser with a minute left from the penalty spot after Krstajic was adjudged to have handled in the area.  Alex Frei stepped up to secure a point with his second of the game.

Werder Bremen 3-0 Energie Cottbus

Werder grabbed their first win of the season with a 3-0 victory over struggling Energie Cottbus.

It took 75 minutes for Thomas Schaaf’s side to find a way past a resolute Cottbus side, but then three goals arrived in quick succession.   Diego opened the scoring with fifteen minutes remaining after being fed by Mesut Özil.  The Brazilian beat Gerhard Tremmel with a right foot shot into the top right corner.

Five minutes later and their lead was doubled through Torsten Frings.   Cvitanovic cleared the ball only as far as Frings, who hammered the ball in from 20 meters with an unstoppable effort.

The three points were well and truly sealed three minutes later when Boubacar Sanogo scored his first of the season.   Per Mertesacker laid the ball into the Ivorian’s path and the substitute took his chance well albeit from a suspicious offside position.

Hoffenheim 0-0 Stuttgart

The Baden-Württemburg derby ended all-square with Hoffenheim and VfB Stuttgart playing out a 0-0 draw.   The first Bundesliga meeting between the two rivals ended deservedly in a point apiece after a game lacking in sparkle.

The 2007 Bundesliga champions have to thank keeper Jens Lehmann for keeping them in the game after he produced a fabulous late save.

Hertha Berlin 2-2 Wolfsburg

Hertha Berlin and Wolfsburg were not to be separated after 90 minutes at the Olympiastadion after a late Sascha Riether goal ended an exciting game.

Wolfsburg dominated for large spells but did not convert the chances that came their way and were made to pay in the end.  The ‘Old Lady’ looked to have punished them before Riether’s late goal.

Felix Magath’s side got off to the perfect start inside the Olympiastadion with a goal in the very first minute of the match.  Grafite was denied by Drobny with the first attack of the game and had to settle for a corner.   The resulting corner from the right saw Misimovic cross into the six-yard box where defender Ricardo Costa beat both Marc Stein and Cicero to the ball to head in from six meters.

Hertha equalised on 57 through Kacar after the Serb headed home a free kick from Patrick Ebert.  The hosts then took the lead on 64 after Marko Pantelic converted from the penalty spot following a handball.

However with a home win looking on the cards, Sascha Riether popped up in the 90th minute to score after good combination play from Misimovic and Dzeko.

source: goal.com

Friday 12th September (all times local)

20:30  Eintracht Frankfurt – Karlsruhe

Saturday 13th September

15:30  Borussia Dortmund – Schalke

15:30  1.FC Köln – Bayern Munich

15:30  Werder Bremen – Energie Cottbus

15:30  Hamburg – Bayer Leverkusen

15:30  Hertha Berlin – Wolfsburg

15:30  1899 Hoffenheim – VfB Stuttgart

Sunday 14th September

17:00  Hannover – Borussia Mönchengladbach

17:00  VfL Bochum – Arminia Bielefeld

Eintracht Frankfurt – Karlsruhe

The Friday evening game sees Eintracht Frankfurt hosting Karlsruhe at the Commerzbank Arena.  Neither side has made a sparkling start to the new season and will want to gain a morale boosting three points.

Friedhelm Funkel’s Frankfurt side have taken just two points from their opening three games- they lost their first game against Hertha Berlin before sharing the spoils against Köln and Wolfsburg.

The injury list at the club is still lengthy though with Preuβ, Vasoski, Bajramovic, Russ, and Korkmaz all on the sidelines.  They have been joined by key forward Ioannis Amanatidis.  Alex Meier and Benni Köhler have recovered from injuries and could feature.

Karlsruhe for their part are on a bit of a downward spiral after losing their last two games.  A win over Bochum on Matchday 1 was followed by successive losses to Hamburg and Köln.

Andreas Görlitz is back in training but will not feature, while midfielder Godfried Aduobe is also missing with a knee injury.  Christian Timm is well again after a bout of flu and could return to the starting XI.

Borussia Dortmund – Schalke

The first Revier-derby of the season takes place on Saturday with Borussia Dortmund hosting arch-rivals Schalke at the Signal-Iduna Park.  80,000 fans are sure to pack out the stadium and create an electric atmosphere for the arrival of the Königsblauen.

Dortmund fans were hoping for a positive change under new trainer Jürgen Klopp and they can certainly be happy with the start they have made.  Wins over Cottbus and Bayer Leverkusen coupled with a creditable draw with Bayern has seen BVB take seven points from a possible nine.

Despite a slight injury, Florian Kringe should be fit to play, while Alexander Frei will be fighting with Mohamed Zidan for the chance to start up front alongside Valdez.

Schalke too have made an impressive start to the new campaign, the only blight of which has been their Champions League elimination against Atletico Madrid.  They too have taken seven points from nine so this weekend’s game has extra spice in terms of potentially going top of the table.

Fred Rutten may opt to rest Rafinha as he will only return from Brazil on Friday.  That means Westermann would switch to right back with either Höwedes or Krstajic partnering Bordon in the centre.  Orlando Engelaar is still a little off his return, so Levan Kobiashvili will continue to deputise.

1.FC Köln – Bayern Munich

When Köln achieved promotion to the top flight it was games like this against Bayern Munich that would have whetted the home fans appetites.  It has been three years since the two sides met at the Rhein-Energie Stadion and this weekend sees Christoph Daum’s troops looking to test themselves against last season’s champions.

The ‘Geiβböcke’ have steadily improved this season after their opening day loss to Wolfsburg.  They sealed a point against Frankfurt, before gaining their first three points of the season last time out against Karlsruhe.  That win was however overshadowed by the collapse of defender Ümit Özat.

Pierre Wome is suspended for the Bayern game, while Manasseh Ishiaku is also out injured.

Bayern too have improved in their last game following an average start to their title defence.  Two draws against Hamburg and Dortmund had the doom-mongers out in force, but an impressive win over Hertha Berlin has put things in a little more perspective.

The question for Jürgen Klinsmann is whether to go with a back three or a back four, and whether to partner Lukas Podolski or Miroslav Klose with Luca Toni.  Klose’s hat trick for Germany against Poland in midweek may see him win out, but that will once again have the Podolski exit rumours starting again.

Massimo Oddo could be set to make his debut, and we may even see Franck Ribéry on the bench.

Werder Bremen – Energie Cottbus

Werder desperately need a win and a good performance to kick start their season and give them a boost going into next week’s Champions League fixtures.  The Green and Whites have certainly looked any but one of Europe’s elite so far this season in the league.

Consecutive draws against Bielefeld and Schalke were followed by their 3-2 defeat at the hands of Borussia Mönchengladbach the week before last.  A win and three points are very much the order of the day at the Weser Stadion.  The good news is that both Torsten Frings and Naldo should be fit to start, but Per Mertesacker may have to settle for a place on the bench.

Cottbus trainer Bojan Prasnikar has already received a ‘vote of confidence’ from the club’s hierarchy, which is often a sign that a team is struggling.

Their opening day loss at home to newly promoted Hoffenheim got them off to a bad start, which has been compounded by a bore-draw with Hannover and a loss to Borussia Dortmund.  Another defeat to Werder would see them playing serious catch-up already.

Daniel Ziebig should return from suspension, while Igor Mitreski will also hope to feature.

Hamburg – Bayer Leverkusen

Both HSV and Leverkusen have made bright starts to the season and will want to continue that on Saturday at the HSH Nordbank Arena.  Following their draw with Bayern Munich on the opening Friday, Hamburg have notched up two successive wins against Karlsruhe and Bielefeld but have not had things all their own way.

New Brazilian signing Thiago Neves looks set to start, which means that Jonathan Pitroipa will drop to the bench.  Jerome Boateng and Marcell Jansen will vie for the right back slot.

Bayer have recovered well from their loss at home to Dortmund and have beaten both Stuttgart and Hoffenheim in the last two outings.  Their 5-2 win over high-flying Hoffenheim was particularly impressive with forwards Kiessling and Helmes on top form.

Bruno Labbadia should be able to call upon goalkeeper Rene Adler for the first time this season, but it remains to be seen whether Arturo Vidal will feature after his long midweek trek to South America.  Gonzalo Castro, Hans Sarpei, Vratislav Gresko, and Bernd Schneider are definitely out.

Hertha Berlin – Wolfsburg

Unbeaten Wolfsburg travel to the nation’s capital to take on Hertha Berlin this weekend.  Felix Magath’s side haven’t exactly lived up to their pre-season hype as yet with a number of new players trying to integrate into the side, but will be looking for an away win to boost their confidence.

Consecutive draws against Frankfurt and Bochum have seen them stutter somewhat despite the massive investment of the summer.  A solitary win over Köln is all they have to shout about.

If Josué doesn’t feature, then Riether will occupy the defensive midfield role and Zaccardo will drop back into defence.  Ashkan Dejagah and Makoto Hasebe provide Magath with options in midfield.

Berlin were well beaten last time out against Bayern Munich, but they will not be the only side blown away by the Bavarians this season.  They have a good opportunity though to take all three points against Wolfsburg to go with the three they won on the opening day against Frankfurt.

Hertha trainer Lucien Favre has two big selection questions to answer.  Which two from Simunic, von Bergen, Kaka, and Friedrich will line up in the centre of defence, and does he play new signing Andrei Voronin from the start?

1899 Hoffenheim – VfB Stuttgart

Hoffenheim face another one of the Bundesliga heavyweights on Saturday as Stuttgart arrive in town.  With two opening wins over Cottbus and Gladbach under their belts, their bubble was burst last time out as they went down to a 5-2 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.  The visit of 2007 champions Stuttgart will provide another serious test of their capabilities and will show them where they stand in the top flight.

Andreas Ibertsberger is fit again so Matthias Jaissle may have to drop to the bench.  Tobias Weis and Selim Teber are battling for the right hand midfield berth, while Obasi is in contention too.  However Demba Ba and Ibisevic should start.

Stuttgart have been up and down in the first three games this season.  An impressive  3-1 win over Mönchengladbach was followed by a 2-0 home loss to Leverkusen.  However two weeks ago they beat Hannover 2-0 at the Mercedes Benz Arena.

Armin Veh has personnel worries in attack with Cacau injured and Marica, Fischer and Ljuboja also doubtful.  He may opt for a 4-2-3-1 system with Mario Gomez as the lone striker.

Hannover – Borussia Mönchengladbach

The embryonic Bundesliga table currently has Hannover sitting bottom of the pile after three games and that is a situation that trainer Dieter Hecking will want to see change on Sunday as his side take on Borussia Mönchengladbach.

A drab goalless draw with Energie Cottbus has been their only source of points so far with two defeats against Schalke and Stuttgart their other results.  With the club’s management looking for European qualification this season, games like this at home must surely be won.

Defender Valerien Ismael and midfielder Szabolcs Huszti are back in contention, but a big question mark hangs over striker Mikael Forssell who limped off in Finland’s midweek World Cup qualifier against Germany.  Hanke and Jan Schlaudraff should start in attack.

Mönchengladbach must surely still be on a high following their superb win over Werder Bremen and trainer Jos Luhukay will want to see that form continue against Hannover.  Two successive defeats wasn’t the best start for the Fohlen, but the Werder result has their season up and running.

Oliver Neuville is fit again but may have to settle for a place on the bench with the winning formula against Werder tried once more.  New signing Michael Bradley should also feature on the subs bench.

VfL Bochum – Arminia Bielefeld

The final match of the weekend pits VfL Bochum against fellow strugglers Arminia Bielefeld at the Rewirpower Stadion.

Neither side has won yet this season with Bochum suffering two defeats and Bielefeld one.  Both of Bochum’s losses came away from home while they drew their only home game against Schalke.

Christoph Fuchs is suspended, for Bochum following his earlier sending off, and Marcin Mieciel is on stand-by should Stanislav Sestak miss out.    Michael Frontzeck’s Bielefeld side opened with two draws with Artur Wichniarek in fine form, but suffered a 4-2 loss to Hamburg in their last match despite leading 2-0 at one stage.

Bielefeld have no injury or suspension worries so trainer Frontzeck could well send out an unchanged line-up for the fourth consecutive game.

source: goal.com

Heimeroth

Lahm   Reinhardt   Subotic   Friedrich

Barnetta  Westermann  Baumjohann  Zé Roberto

Marin

Kießling

Goalkeeper

(1) Christopher Heimeroth (Borussia M’gladbach)

The Fohlen keeper put his and Borussia’s nightmare start behind him by putting in a top performance against Werder on Saturday to help ensure that their first points were secured.  He pulled off a number of great saves, even if at times he made the simple things look difficult.

Defenders

(2)  Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich)

Lahm has been one of Bayern’s top players this season and he continued that form against Hertha on Sunday.  With Jürgen Klinsmann playing with a back three for a change, Lahm was given licence to get forward and he claimed a long awaited Bundesliga goal with a fine strike reminiscent of his 2006 World Cup goal.  He still managed to track back when required to make some vital tackles though.

(3)  Bastian Reinhardt (Hamburg)

HSV defender Reinhardt was the instigator of Hamburg’s comeback from their two-goal deficit against Bielefeld.  He scored three goals last season and has now nearly matched that with his strikes against his former club.  Hamburg may have invested heavily to purchase Petric, Jansen and Neves, but it was an old-hand who proved the star on Saturday.

(4)  Neven Subotic (Borussia Dortmund)

BVB defender Subotic has taken to the Bundesliga like a duck to water since his move from second division Mainz in the summer and this is now his second consecutive appearance in the Goal.com Bundesliga Team of the Week.  He proved to be the match winner for Dortmund with his second goal of the season, and once again the Borussia defence is looking much more assured with him at the heart of it.

(5)  Manuel Friedrich (Bayer Leverkusen)

The German international defender cleared up the danger at the back for Leverkusen against a lively Hoffenheim side and involved himself in the Werkself attacks whenever possible.  He scored the second goal of the game, heading home a Barnetta corner.

Midfielders

(6)  Heiko Westermann (Schalke)

Westermann was pushed up into a midfield role for the Ruhr derby against Bochum, and showed his versatility with a fine performance capped with the only goal of the game.  Rafinha’s cross from the right was headed home by the impressive Westermann to send Schalke top of the table on goal difference.

(7)  Zé Roberto (Bayern Munich)

The Brazilian put in a highly polished performance for Bayern in midfield against Berlin.  He was always involved, and made numerous excellent forward runs.  He was the heart and soul of Bayern’s side in their first win of the season.

(8)  Tranquillo Barnetta (Bayer Leverkusen)

Swiss midfielder Barnetta was the start of the show in Leverkusen’s 5-2 over Hoffenheim.  He was heavily involved in three of Bayer’s goals. He created the first two for Haggui and Friedrich from excellent set-piece delivery, before scoring the fourth himself seven minutes from time to  make the three points safe for the Werkself.

(9)  Alexander Baumjohann (Borussia M’gladbach)

The former Schalke youngster’s goal against Werder must surely be a main contender for goal of the season, and ranks up there with Lionel Messi’s wonder strike from last season.  He picked up the ball inside his own half, before dribbling the past Frings, Naldo, and Prödl and firing in past Wiese.  His all-round game was very good even disregarding the goal.

(10)  Marko Marin (Borussia M’gladbach)

Marin was on sizzling form against Werder as Borussia secured their first win of the season.  He showed fantastic vision and pass selection for the opening goal, and was a constant thorn in the side of the Werder defence.  They just had no answer to his ability at times, especially when he ran at them with his dazzling dribbling and close control.

Forwards

(11)  Stefan Kießling (Bayer Leverkusen)

Kießling scored his first double for Leverkusen as he helped Bayer to a 5-2 win over Hoffenheim.  With Patrick Helmes shining in the first two games, Kießling has now shown that he could also be a prolific marksman this season.

Honourable mentions:

As always there are a number of players, who deserve a special mention despite having not made it into the final XI.

Farid Mondragon, Geromel, Portuguese midfielder Petit and striker Novakovic were all in impressive form as Köln secured their first win of the season.  Brazilian forward Grafite was on form in his first game of the season for Wolfsburg after completing his suspension.

Mats Hummels and Tamas Hajnal are worthy of note for Borussia Dortmund as is Artur Wichniarek, who grabbed his fourth goal of the season for Bielefeld.

The whole Mönchengladbach team could be deemed worthy of a mention here but I’ve picked out Brouwers, Daems, Albermann, and Friend.   As for Bayern, who won their first game of the season, Bastian Schweinsteiger impressed with his all-round display and he continues to be one of the Bavarians most consistent performers this season.

source: goal.com

Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-2 Werder Bremen

Schalke 1-0 Bochum

Arminia Bielefeld 2-4 Hamburg

Bayer Leverkusen 5-2 1899 Hoffenheim

Wolfsburg 2-2 Eintracht Frankfurt

Energie Cottbus 0-1 Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-2 Werder Bremen

Gladbach put on a superb team performance to clinch their first points of the season with a 3-2 win over Werder Bremen, who continue to struggle at the start of the season.

The opening goal inside the Borussia Park fell to the home side and Marko Marin was the architect.  A divine pass from the young midfielder split open the Werder defence and Matmour found himself clean-through on Tim Wiese.  The Algerian then thumped the ball past a hapless keeper to make it 1-0.

On the half hour mark Gladbach produced a superb flowing move which resulted in a second goal.  Ndjeng overlapped on the right hand side, and his pin-point cross saw Rob Friend beat Prödl to the ball, before glancing a powerfully directed header past Tim Wiese.

The icing was put on the Mönchengladbach cake on 71 minutes with a dazzling goal from Alexander Baumjohann.  He picked the ball up inside his own half before setting off on a powerful run.  He shook off a challenge from Torsten Frings, rounded Naldo and Boenisch before firing past Tim Wiese.  It was reminiscent of Lionel Messi at his best.

Werder did grab a consolation on 79 minutes through Peruvian Claudio Pizarro.  Almeida flicked on a corner and the ball was cleared off the line.  The ball however rebounded back and Heimeroth had to save from on the line.  Pizarro was on hand to stab home his first goal since his recent return to the club.

A nervous finale was set up on 89 minutes when Brazilian Diego curled in a direct free kick from on the edge of the area, but it proved too little too late and trainer Jos Luhukay was left to celebrate his first Bundesliga win of the season.

Schalke 1-0 Bochum

A rather disappointing game was settled by a single goal and Schalke deserved the three points against a rather toothless Bochum side.  The visitors put in a lot of energy but were largely unable to threaten the Königsblauen goal.

The first half was brought to life on 36 minutes with Heiko Westermann heading in the opening goal.  A long ball from defence released Rafinha, and the Brazilian full back’s cross to the near post found Westermann, who headed in from four meters out.

The home side had chances to increase their lead in the second half but were wasteful and had some nervous moments towards the end.

Arminia Bielefeld 2-4 Hamburg

Bielefeld and Hamburg shared six goals at the Schüco Arena, but it was the Hanseaten who triumphed after coming back from two goals down.

Minutes after hitting the post, Christopher Katongo put the home side in front after nine minutes.  A poor touch from Joris Mathijsen put the ball into the penalty area where Artur Wichniarek was quicker than Frank Rost and Guy Demel and headed the ball to Zambian Katongo, who calmly slotted home.

That lead was doubled on 37 minutes when Artur Wichniarek helped himself to his fourth goal of the season.  The Polish striker left Mathijsen for dead before firing past Frank Rost from about ten meters.

Hamburg however hit back quickly and five minutes before the break they pulled one back.  A long free kick arrived at Demel in the area and he laid it off to Reinhardt, who scored against his former club with a left-foot shot.

Five minutes after the restart, and Bastian Reinhardt grabbed his second of the game to put Hamburg on level terms again.  Trochowski flighted in a perfect cross from the right hand side and the centre back was again on hand to head in.

The Hanseaten comeback was complete on 64 when Ivica Olic put them in front for the first time in the game.  Paulo Guerrero was the provider after a storming run into the Bielefeld area.  His ball set up Olic for a relatively easy chance.

From two down, the ‘Rothosen’ then made it 4-2 on 77 minutes.  Guerrero picked out captain David Jarolim inside the area and the Czech took the ball on his chest, before firing in from 20 meters with a slight deflection.

Bayer Leverkusen 5-2 1899 Hoffenheim

Hoffenheim were given a rude awakening at the Bay-Arena with a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen.  Despite never giving up, Bruno Labbadia’s side proved too strong and fired home five goals.

The home side took the lead on eight minutes with Karim Haggui getting the goal.  A free kick cross from Tranquillo Barnetta saw Haggui out-jump Luiz Gustavo and his header shot into the top corner.

With 17 minutes on the clock another set-piece resulted in the second goal of the afternoon for Leverkusen.  Barnetta delivered the corner and this time it was Manuel Friedrich, who was on the spot to power an unstoppable header past keeper Özcan.

Four minutes later however and the visitors had regained their composure and grabbed a goal back.  A poor free kick from Djakpa allowed Hoffenheim to counter.  Salihovic was able to cross quite unopposed from the left and Vedad Ibisevic was alone in the middle to head in his fourth goal of the season.

An eventful first half concluded with a third deserved goal for Bayer.  A Barnetta corner was cleared only as far as Djakpa, who put the ball back in.  Kiessling was in the six yard box, but not offside, and he fired in to make it 3-1.

The table toppers from Sinsheim however, were given a lifeline on 58 minutes when Salihovic stroked home a penalty awarded after Djakpa was adjudged to have fouled Ibisevic.

The result however was put beyond doubt on 83 minutes with a fourth goal.  Barnetta the creator of the first three this time got his name on the scoresheet.

The goal-fest continued four minutes later with Kiessling grabbing his second of the afternoon.  Substitute Gekas beat Nilsson into the penalty area, before serving the German striker who slotted home the seventh goal of the game.

Wolfsburg 2-2 Eintracht Frankfurt

Wolfsburg’s rather disappointing start to the season continues after a 2-2 home draw with Frankfurt.  Despite twice going in front, the Wölfe were twice pegged back and had to settle for a point against the Adler.

A dream goal opened the scoring on 22 minutes and it was Eintracht who scored it.  An error in midfield from Josue let Amanatidis through on goal and the Greek forward looped a superb ball over the advancing keeper and into the net.

The lead only lasted a matter of five minutes, when Grafite levelled from the penalty spot.  Aaron Galindo was judged to have fouled Grafite from behind, and the Brazilian stepped up to convert the spot kick himself.

Felix Magath’s side then got their noses in front six minutes into the second half.  A good cross from Schäfer bypassed keeper Nikolov and Dejagah was in the right place inside the six-yard box to volley home from a tight angle.

A point however was rescued by Frankfurt with Toski scoring six minutes from time.  Ochs passed to Toski, who gave keeper Lenz no chance with his right footed shot.

Energie Cottbus 0-1 Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund kept up their recent good record at the Stadion der Freundschaft with a 1-0 win over the Lausitzer.  One goal was enough to clinch all three points for Jürgen Klopp’s men.

Just before the half-time whistle, Dortmund took the lead.  Hajnal’s corner from the left was headed back into the middle at the far post by Kringe where Subotic was on hand to score his second goal of the season.

source: goal.com

Friday 29th August (all times local)

20:30  Karlsruhe – 1.FC Köln Saturday

Saturday 30th August

15:30  Schalke – Bochum

15:30  Wolfsburg – Eintracht Frankfurt

15:30  Bayer Leverkusen – 1899 Hoffenheim

15:30  Energie Cottbus – Borussia Dortmund

15:30  Arminia Bielefeld – Hamburg

15:30  Borussia Mönchengladbach – Werder Bremen

Sunday 31st August

17:00  Bayern Munich – Hertha Berlin

17:00  VfB Stuttgart – Hannover

Karlsruhe – 1.FC Köln

The Friday night match-up sees Karlsruhe welcome Köln to the Wildparkstadion with both sides in need of the points for differing reasons.

Edmund Becker’s side were unlucky to come away from Hamburg without a point last week after Joris Mathijsen downed them with a last-minute winner.  After winning their opener against Bochum, they very nearly made the ideal start to the season, but the signs are already there that KSC are going to be a difficult side to beat again this season.

Köln are still rueing the missed penalty against Frankfurt at home last Sunday.  Had Antar converted just before half-time, then the Geißböcke could well have grabbed all three points, but an equaliser from Fenin denied them the win.

It’s important for Christoph Daum’s side to pick up points at the start of the season so as not to be playing catch-up from the very start.  An away win against Karlsruhe would be just the tonic.

Schalke – Bochum

Schalke will be looking to wipe away the huge disappointment of their midweek Champions League exit to Atletico Madrid with a win in the Bundesliga on Saturday against Bochum.

The Königsblauen followed up their opening day demolition of Hannover with a 1-1 draw against Werder last week.  How much trainer Fred Rutten adjusts his team remains to be seen, but definitely out are Manuel Neuer and Orlando Engelaar.  Jefferson Farfan however, could be in contention to return.

Bochum have just one point to their name thus far- achieved last week against Wolfsburg, and trainer Marcel Koller knows he has a tough time on his hands in this Ruhr derby.

Thomas Zdebel and Shinji Ono could come into the team but apart from that he looks set to keep the faith in those that held Wolfsburg on Sunday.

Wolfsburg – Eintracht Frankfurt

Tipped by many to be an outside bet to break into the top three this season, Wolfsburg have struggled a little so far this season, but have the chance to get their campaign really off and running against an Eintracht Frankfurt side that have also failed to set the league alight in their opening fixtures.

An opening day win over Köln was followed last Sunday with a rather listless draw away to Bochum which had trainer Felix Magath far from satisfied.  The good news is that striker Grafite should be back in contention for the Wölfe after serving his two-match suspension following his sending off in a friendly against Palermo.

Frankfurt have also had a far from inspiring start to the new campaign with a defeat to Hertha Berlin and a draw against Köln.  Friedhelm Funkel saw his side grab their first point of the campaign and he will be looking to at least repeat that feat at the Volkswagen Arena.

Goalscorer from last week, Martin Fenin, could start alongside Ioannis Amanatidis, while Liberopoulos is also looking for a starting berth.

Bayer Leverkusen – 1899 Hoffenheim

Leverkusen welcome the current table toppers to the Bay-Arena on Saturday looking to build upon their well deserved win last weekend against VfB Stuttgart.

The Werkself recovered well from their opening home defeat to Dortmund to beat the Swabians and will want to give their home fans something to smile about by beating new boys Hoffenheim.  A home win is long overdue for Bayer having lost their last three at the Bay-Arena.

Hoffenheim on the other hand will want to continue their good start to the season and show that it is no flash in the pan that they are top of the season.  Consecutive wins against Cottbus and Mönchengladbach see them as the only side with a 100% record and with no goals conceded.

Summer signing Wellington could be set for his first start after recovering from a muscle tear.  He may however have to settle for a place on the bench after Demba Ba and Vedad Ibisevic’s great start to the season.

Energie Cottbus – Borussia Dortmund

Cottbus took the metaphorical bus to Hannover last week and parked it in front of their goal, but at home to Dortmund they will have to play more offensively as they look to secure their first home win of the season.

Last season was a constant battle against relegation for the Lausitzer and trainer Bojan Prasnikar will want to get points on the board early in the season in order to take the pressure off his side.

Dortmund have made a positive start to the new season under Jürgen Klopp and held Bayern to a point last weekend.  They will however be feeling they could have caused a bigger shock by taking all three points.

New signing Young-Pyo Lee may have to settle for a place on the bench, while midfielder Tinga is still a little way off returning from injury.

Arminia Bielefeld – Hamburg

Two successive draws have started off Bielefeld’s season and they will be looking to grab their first three points with the visit of Hamburg.  The omens/ stats however are not good as Bielefeld have only taken one point from their last four home games against Hamburg.

Defender Michael Lamey is a doubt with a virus infection.  If he does miss out, then trainer Michael Frontzeck has two options.  Either Bollmann moves to right back with Herzig coming into the team, or Kirch goes in at right back and Tesche starts in midfield.

Martin Jol will be looking to maintain HSV’s decent start to the season with an away win against Bielefeld.  New signings Marcel Jansen and Mladen Petric could be set to make their debuts, while Bastian Reinhardt could be set to return after injury.

Borussia Mönchengladbach – Werder Bremen

Last season’s second division champions have had a tough start to life in the top flight and Jos Luhukay’s side have yet to secure any points.  Life however doesn’t get any easier with Werder Bremen their visitors this weekend.

Successive losses against Stuttgart and Hoffenheim has seen the Fohlen as the only side without a point- they will be looking to rectify that on Saturday.

Werder will welcome back Brazilian maestro Diego back from the Olympics and he should go straight back into the side.  Despite a good performance last week against Schalke, Mesut Özil looks set to move down to the bench.

Bayern Munich – Hertha Berlin

The first Sunday fixture sees Bayern Munich hosting Hertha Berlin at the Allianz Arena in a repeat of Bayern’s final match of last season.  That afternoon was quite a party for the Bavarians, and they will be hoping to be celebrating their first win of the season this weekend.

After two consecutive draws, Bayern need a win to keep the critics off their backs.  Martin Demichelis is poised to return to the heart of the Bayern defence, whereas Lukas Podolski will be hoping for his first start of the season in attack alongside Luca Toni.

Van Bommel is suspended following his red card last week and will be replaced by Tim Borowski.  Franck Ribéry is still out injured as is Hamit Altintop.  New signing Massimo Oddo is not in contention.

Hertha will be looking to throw a spanner in the works at the Allianz Arena after their midweek Uefa Cup win.

VfB Stuttgart – Hannover

Stuttgart suffered their first defeat of the season last week when beaten 2-0 by Leverkusen and will want to make an immediate to winning ways at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

The Swabians will want to put last week’s home defeat to Leverkusen behind them.  Their 4-1 midweek win over Györ in the Uefa Cup will surely give them a boost.

Cacau, Magnin and Sami Khedira are unavailable through injury.

Hannover have started this season with a loss and a draw, and will be looking to go one better with a win this weekend.  After a poor start, Eggimann and Mikael Forssell could be set to earn their first starts.

source: goal.com

Schober

Compper   Naldo   Subotic   Jaissle

Ebert   Blaszczykowski   Borowski   Özil

Wichniarek   Helmes

Goalkeeper:

(1) Mathias Schober (Schalke)

If Schalke fans were worrying about the effect of the absence of Manuel Neuer, they needn’t bother as in Mathias Schober they have a more than decent back-up.  He pulled off a number of top saves to deny Werder Bremen on Saturday and went a long way to helping the Königsblauen secure a point.  He denied debutant Claudio Pizarro twice and pulled off a great save to deny Mesut Özil too.

Defenders:

(2)  Marvin Compper (Hoffenheim)

Compper came back to haunt his former club on Saturday with a fine defensive performance to help Hoffenheim clinch their second win in a row, and secure their second clean sheet in succession.  Gladbach forwards Colautti and Matmour were shut out and Marko Marin hardly given a sniff- he won 69% of all his tackles.

(3)  Naldo (Werder Bremen)

The Brazilian has been called upon to take on even more defensive responsibility with the injury to Per Mertesacker and he certainly stepped up to the mark against Schalke with a solid display to thwart Kuranyi and Co.  The visitors started to boss the game midway through the first half, but Naldo always seemed to get in where it mattered to deny them.

(4)  Neven Subotic (Borussia Dortmund)

19 year old Neven Subotic, playing in only his second Bundesliga match, came up against the mighty Luca Toni and the youngster did remarkably well.  He wasn’t overawed and kept last season’s top-scorer largely under wraps throughout the game.  He was very fortunate not to concede a penalty in the second half, when the referee wrongly judged that Toni had dived in the area.  Combined well with Mats Hummels and the Dortmund defence this season already looks a lot better than last year.

(5)  Matthias Jaissle (Hoffenheim)

Two games, two wins, and two clean sheets is the perfect start for Hoffenheim.  While Ibisevic is grabbing the headlines with his goals, the defence also deserves some credit.  Against Mönchengladbach, 21 year old left back Matthias Jaissle was particularly impressive both in a defensive role and going forward down the flank.  He was only in the team due to other injuries, but took his chance well and must surely be in line for more outings this season.

Midfielders:

(6)  Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund)

‘Kuba’ makes his second consecutive appearance in the Team of the Week this season after a great display against Bayern Munich.  The Pole had a storming first half and opened the scoring after just 8 minutes with a superbly executed shot.  He was a constant threat down the right hand side and caused Bayern all sorts of problems.  He was quieter in the second period as Bayern came back, but nonetheless another top performance.

(7)  Patrick Ebert (Hertha Berlin)

Ebert was impressive last week against Eintracht Frankfurt and his early season form continued on Saturday against Bielefeld as Hertha were held to a draw.  He constant raiding down the right flank caused the Arminia defence a whole host of problems.  He set up Marko Pantelic for the opening goal and was involved in 15 of Hertha’s 29 attempts on goal

(8)  Tim Borowski (Bayern Munich)

Bayern’s second half performance with ten men against Dortmund was superb and they fully deserved their point.  It was no coincidence that their fight back occurred after the introduction of midfielder Tim Borowski.  The former Werder man scored the equaliser, but was also involved in 6 of Bayern’s 11 second half efforts on goal.  He may well just have played himself into the starting XI for the next game.

(9)  Mesut Özil (Werder Bremen)

The scene was set for Mesut Özil to take centre stage against his old club and take revenge and he certainly showed what they could be missing out on.  With Diego still absent on Olympic duty, Özil was tasked with filling in and he did so admirably.  The youngster set up the opener for Torsten Frings and was unlucky not to get himself on the score sheet.

Forwards:

(10)  Artur Wichniarek (Arminia Bielefeld)

If Bielefeld are going to stay up this season, then the goals of Artur Wichniarek are going to be vital in their cause.  Two goals against Werder last week were a good start and he was once again the man for the ‘Arminen’ against Hertha as he hit the equaliser shortly after Pantelic had given the home side the lead.  He showed a cool head to round Drobny before scoring against his former club.

(11)  Patrick Helmes (Bayer Leverkusen)

Helmes was disappointed not to get on the field for Germany’s midweek win over Belgium, but he made up for it by scoring in his second successive Bundesliga match.  If this keeps up his chance for the national team will surely be just a matter of time.  He set Bayer on the road to victory over Stuttgart with a well taken goal in the first half.

Honourable mentions:

As always there are a number of players, who deserve a special mention despite having not made it into the final XI.    Goalkeeping trio Robert Enke (Hannover), Christofer Heimeroth (Mönchengladbach) and Benedikt Fernandez (Leverkusen) all had fine games and produced some fine saves.

Hoffenheim sit top of the table and got two players into this week’s Team of the Week, but honourable mentions must also go to midfielders Tobias Weis, Carlos Eduardo and striker Vedad Ibisevic, who grabbed his third goal of the season.

Joris Mathijsen was the match winner for Hamburg against Karlsruhe, while Brazilian midfielder Renato Augusto was again impressive for Bayer Leverkusen.  Right back Gonzalo Castro also deserves a mention for his all-round display.

Torsten Frings was at his imperious best in the big match against Schalke and relished the midfield battle.  Marko Pantelic also got his scoring account opened against Bielefeld with a well taken goal.

source: goal.com

Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Bayern Munich

Werder Bremen 1-1 Schalke

Hamburg 2-1 Karlsruhe

VfB Stuttgart 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen

Hertha Berlin 1-1 Arminia Bielefeld

1899 Hoffenheim 1-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach

Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich fought back from a goal down and a man down to draw 1-1 with Borussia Dortmund.

The Signal-Iduna Park erupted on nine minutes when Dortmund hit the opening goal.  Polish international Blaszczykowski moved infield from the right beating Philipp Lahm, before playing a one-two with Valdez.  ‘Kuba’ then hit a superb strike with the outside of his right foot to beat Rensing in the Bayern goal.

22 minutes in and Bayern were reduced to ten men when Mark van Bommel received his second yellow card of the game.  To be fair, his first booking could very well have been a red.

The second period saw Bayern playing like they had a man extra, not one less.  They were denied a penalty when the referee wrongly deemed that Luca Toni had dived, but then made up for that minutes later when Tim Borowski fired in a deserved equaliser.

Toni Kroos sent across a corner from the left and poor defending from Dortmund saw Tim Borowski take a touch before drilling the ball into the net.  In the end a point was fully deserved by the Bavarians.

Werder Bremen 1-1 Schalke

After last year’s 5-1 win, Werder had to settle for a point as a fine game finished 1-1.

An entertaining first half finished goalless at the Weser Stadion, but it could well have been 3-3 if all the chances had been converted.

A goal did finally arrive on 63 minutes and it was Werder who scored it.  Mesut Özil picked up a long ball from Tim Wiese and danced around Benedikt Höwedes on the left side of the penalty area, before laying the ball off to Rosenberg.  The Swede dummied the ball to Torsten Frings, who unleashed a shot from around the penalty spot to give Bremen the lead.

Schalke however kept going and grabbed the equaliser five minutes from time.  Ivan Rakitic crossed from the right, Höwedes forced a fine save from Tim Wiese with a header, but Heiko Westermann was on hand to stab home from close range.

Hamburg 2-1 Karlsruhe

Hamburg left it late to secure their first three points of the season beating Karlsruhe 2-1 at home.

The first goal at the HSH Nordbank Arena fell to the home side on 33 minutes and it arrived via an own-goal.  Timothee Atouba crossed from the left hand side, where summer signing Tim Sebastian looked to clear.  All he did though was arc the ball over a helpless Markus Miller and into his own net to hand HSV the lead.

Karlsruhe began the second period brightly, and were rewarded with an equaliser after 67 minutes through Sebastian Freis.  Midfielder da Silva set Freis free on the edge of the box, and he turned and fired in a shot that went through the legs of a rather embarrassed Frank Rost.

Just when it looked like a point apiece was to be the result, Joris Mathijsen popped up with a 90th minute winner.  Substitute Petric flicked on a corner and the Dutch defender was on hand to convert from close range and hand Hamburg their first win of the season.

VfB Stuttgart 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen

After last week’s home loss to Dortmund, Leverkusen trainer Bruno Labbadia was a much happier man this afternoon after watching his side beat Stuttgart 2-0 in the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

After a number of missed opportunities, Bayer Leverkusen opened the scoring ten minutes before half time through German international Patrick Helmes.  Vidal found Helmes open in the centre, and the former Köln striker shot in from close range to beat Jens Lehmann.

The second goal didn’t arrive until the 79th minute and it was again Leverkusen, who scored it.  Substitute Theofanis Gekas, who had only been on the pitch for five minutes scored on the counter attack.  Vidal, Kiessling and Castro combined well, before the Greek forward hammered the ball underneath Jens Lehmann’s crossbar with aplomb.

Hertha Berlin 1-1 Arminia Bielefeld

Bielefeld followed up last weekend’s draw with another one as they held Hertha Berlin 1-1.

The game at the Olympiastadion took a little while to warm up, but then produced two goals within five minutes of each other.  On 32 minutes Marko Pantelic opened his scoring account for the season when the Serbian lifted the ball over the advancing keeper following a through ball from Ebert.

The lead however lasted just five minutes and it was two-goal hero from last week, Artur Wichniarek, who equalised.  The goal came from nothing with Kaka gifting the ball to the Polish striker, who rounded keeper Drobny before slotting home his first chance of the game.

1899 Hoffenheim 1-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach

Hoffenheim now have six points from a possible six after beating Mönchengladbach 1-0 at home.  The Fohlen however remain pointless after their opening two games.

It took half an hour for the first goal to arrive, but when it did it was Hoffenheim who got their noses in front.  A wondrous pass from Carlos Eduardo found Ibisevic, who beat Filip Daems before firing home.

The minnows from Sinsheim must be rubbing their eyes when they look at the league table right now.

Friday 22nd August (all times local)

20:30 Hannover – Energie Cottbus

Saturday 23rd August

15:30 Werder Bremen – Schalke

15:30 Hamburg – Karlsruhe

15:30 Borussia Dortmund – Bayern Munich

15:30 VfB Stuttgart – Bayer Leverkusen

15:30 Hertha Berlin – Arminia Bielefeld

15:30 1899 Hoffenheim – Borussia Mönchengladbach

Sunday 24th August

17:00 Bochum – Wolfsburg

17:00 1.FC Köln – Eintracht Frankfurt

Hannover – Energie Cottbus

The weekend action gets underway at the AWD Arena as Hannover entertain Energie Cottbus.  Both sides suffered 3-0 defeats on the opening weekend and will be keen to avoid a second consecutive loss at the start of the season.

Hannover were beaten away to Schalke, whereas Energie Cottbus, who had a season-long battle against relegation last time round were soundly beaten by newly promoted Hoffenheim.

Dieter Hecking was disappointed with the defending against Schalke with all three goals coming from set-pieces.  Equally worrying was the lack of chances at the other end and an improvement against Cottbus will be needed.

Having struggled last season only to claw themselves clear of relegation, Cottbus trainer Bojan Prasnikar was looking to start the new season on a positive note against Hoffenheim.  What he got however was a poor display and a 3-0 home defeat.  Another defeat to Hannover will have the talk of another relegation struggle raising its head.

Werder Bremen – Schalke

The first meeting of the ‘big guns’ takes place at the Weser Stadion on Saturday as Werder Bremen entertain Schalke.  Two genuine title contenders go head to head and these results against each other may have a huge bearing on their eventual title hopes.

Just like last season, Werder opened with a 2-2 draw away from home (to Bielefeld) despite the fact they should have won.  Thomas Schaaf and Torsten Frings have been highly critical of the defence this week and that back four is sure to be put under pressure by the visitors this weekend.

Claudio Pizarro is expected to make his debut for the club after signing a one-year loan deal from Chelsea.  This will be his second spell at the club and he will be hoping to add to his 100 Bundesliga goals and three league titles.

The Königsblauen maintained their momentum after their Champions League win over Atletico Madrid by beating Hannover last week.  A brace from Kevin Kuranyi and one from Marcelo Bordon (all from set-pieces) set up the win and Fred Rutten will no doubt we wanting more of the same at the Weser Stadion.  Jermaine Jones will be missing after injuring his ankle last week.

Hamburg – Karlsruhe

With all the headlines being about Bayern not winning, some of the attention has been taken away from what a good performance Hamburg put in.  The loss of Rafael van der Vaart wasn’t noticeable as HSV really pushed Bayern at the Allianz Arena.

De Jong, Jarolim and Trochowski orchestrated the midfield, while Olic ran and ran for the team.  The signing of Mladen Petric this week will further strengthen the side and he is expected to make his first appearance this season partnering his Croatian countryman Olic up front.

Karlsruhe also opened with a win, but it was a close-run thing against Bochum at the Wildparkstadion with a Christian Eichner goal giving them their first win over Bochum since 1994.

Edmund Becker’s side will not want a repeat of the performance from their last game at the HSH Nordbank Arena.  The final game of last season saw the ‘Badener’ thrashed 7-0 by a rampant Hamburg side.

Borussia Dortmund – Bayern Munich

It’s the battle of the two Jürgens at the Signal Iduna Park as Klopp’s Dortmund welcome Klinsmann’s Bayern.  Borussia got their season off to a great start with a 3-2 win away to Leverkusen last week and will be looking to maintain that positive start against Bayern.

The defence was BVB’s weak spot last season, but both Neven Subotic and Mats Hummels looked good last week and Hummels in particular will relish the challenge of facing Bayern.

Midweek signing Mohamed Zidan will want to make his debut against Bayern, against whom he scored last season.  He will probably partner Nelson Valdez who scored one and set one up against Leverkusen.  Diego Klimowicz would then drop to the bench.

Dortmund will however have to do without full back Dede and goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller.  The pair were both injured during the opening match at the Bay Arena.

The good news for Bayern is that Luca Toni is ready to return against Dortmund after recovering from his calf injury.  The dilemma for Klinsmann is whether to pair him with Klose or Podolski.  Tim Borowski is also ready to be called upon, but Franck Ribéry remains on the sidelines.

Bayern’s defending is the concern at the moment.  A weeks worth of work on the training pitch would have helped but the midweek internationals put paid to that.

VfB Stuttgart – Bayer Leverkusen

Both these sides missed out on European qualification last season by finishing 6th and 7th respectively.  Stuttgart subsequently went into the InterToto Cup and look set to make it into the Uefa Cup group stage.

VfB got off to a winning start last week with a 3-1 away win over newly promoted Mönchengladbach.  Three first half goals put the game beyond Gladbach.  However the Swabians are not getting carried away and will no doubt face a tougher challenge against Leverkusen at the Mercedes Benz Arena.

There were highly promising debuts from Jens Lehmann and midfielder Jan Simak, while both Ciprian Marica and Mario Gomez opened their scoring accounts.

Bruno Labbadia got his Bundesliga coaching career off to a bad start last week losing at home to Borussia Dortmund and will be desperate to gain his side’s first points against Stuttgart.

The forward pairing of Kiessling and Helmes looked good, while Brazilian midfielder Renato Augusto also impressed on his debut.  An interesting game is in store this Saturday.

Hertha Berlin – Arminia Bielefeld

The ‘Old Lady, got off to the ideal start last weekend with a 2-0 away win over Eintracht Frankfurt and they did it without Marko Pantelic getting on the score sheet.  He did though set up both goals for Raffael and Patrick Ebert.

This weekend sees them make their home bow at the Olympiastadion with Arminia Bielefeld the visitors.  Another three points would represent a very successful start to the season for Lucien Favre’s team.

Bielefeld held Werder to a 2-2 draw last week with Artur Wichniarek grabbing two goals.  They will be looking to build upon that performance against Hertha.  Arminia know that a fight against relegation awaits them this season, and points picked up early in the season will take the pressure off.

1899 Hoffenheim – Borussia Mönchengladbach

Last season’s second division champions take on the runners-up this weekend as Hoffenheim play their first home game in the Bundesliga against Mönchengladbach.  I say ‘home’, but home this season is the Carl Benz Stadion in Mannheim until their own stadium is built.

Hoffenheim made a dream start to life in the top flight with a 3-0 win away to Energie Cottbus and will be looking to make it two wins out of two against Gladbach.

They currently sit atop the embryonic league table and have Vedad Ibisevic leading the scoring charts.  That is unlikely to last, but they can enjoy it while it does.

Gladbach on the other hand made a losing start to life in the top flight with a 3-1 home loss to Stuttgart.  The damage was all done in the first half with three goals putting the result beyond much doubt before 45 minutes were up.

An improved defensive display will be required, and even more eyes will be on winger Marko Marin after his sublime goal for Germany in midweek.

Bochum – Wolfsburg

Bochum play Wolfsburg on Sunday at the Rewirpower Stadion looking to secure their first points of the season.  A 1-0 loss to Karlsruhe sees the Bochumer pointless at the moment.

The home fans will no doubt be looking for a repeat of the goal-fest and the result from last season, which saw Bochum win 5-3.  Star man Stanislav Sestak was awesome that day and the club will look to him to provide the inspiration this weekend.

Wolfsburg opened with a 2-1 win last week over 1.FC Köln thanks to a much better second half display.  They still have Grafite unavailable thanks to his suspension, while Zvejezdan Misimovic returns to his former club looking to help the Wölfe to their second win.

To some, Wolfsburg are an outside bet to become title contenders, so games like these need to be won.

1. FC Köln – Eintracht Frankfurt

Both Köln and Frankfurt will be looking to pick up their first points of the season in the weekend’s final game at the Rhein-Energie Stadion.

Köln succumbed to a second half fight-back from Wolfsburg last weekend, while Frankfurt went down to a 2-0 home defeat to Hertha.  The atmosphere in side the stadium will be excellent for this first home game of the season and Christoph Daum will want to give the fans something to cheer about with their first three points of the season.

Hertha at home and Köln away, was on paper not the hardest opener for Friedhelm Funkel’s side, but if they were to lose again on Sunday, it would set them back and have them playing catch-up already.  A much improved display from last Sunday is required if the ‘Eagles’ are to triumph over the ‘Billy Goats’.

source: goal.com

Lehmann

Riether   Costa   Bordon   Eichner

Blaszczykowski   da Silva   Trochowski

Wichniarek   Kuranyi   Ibisevic

Goalkeeper:

(1) Jens Lehmann (Stuttgart)

If people doubted whether Jens Lehmann was still up to the task of performing at the top level for Stuttgart, his performance against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Sunday would have given them reason to change their opinion.   The veteran keeper was on top form at the Borussia Park pulling off two particularly fine saves in the first half from Matmour and Friend to keep Gladbach at bay.  His signing could prove an astute move from the Swabians after the inconsistency in goal last year with Raphael Schäfer.

Defenders:

(2)  Sascha Riether (Wolfsburg)

Finding his team 1-0 down at half-time, trainer Felix Magath reacted by replacing full back Christian Zaccardo with Sascha Riether and the move paid off as the Wölfe came back to win 2-1.  Riether got himself involved immediately and provided the assist which allowed Christian Gentner to score.  Mondragon in the Köln goal was unable to deal with Riether’s shot and the rebound was tucked away nicely by Gentner.  His general all-round play both defensively and offensively was admirable.

(3)  Ricardo Costa (Wolfsburg)

The commanding Portuguese centre back played well against Köln on Saturday keeping things tight at the back following the opening goal from Novakovic.  He was a commanding presence and provided a good wall in front of keeper Diego Benaglio throughout the game.

(4)  Marcelo Bordon (Schalke)

Schalke captain Bordon, who was in the Goal.com Team of the Season last season, began the new campaign well leading by example and saw his Königsblauen side to an opening day 3-0 win over Hannover.  Always a danger at set-pieces, Bordon grabbed Schalke’s opening goal after just two minutes to give the dream start to the 2008/09 season.  He also kept things tight at the back to deny Mike Hanke and Jan Schlaudraff at bay.

(5)  Christian Eichner (Karlsruhe)

Full back Eichner made three appearances in the Goal.com ‘Team of the Week’ last season and made an instant return after an impressive start to the new Bundesliga campaign against Bochum.  His run from left back proved fruitful after half an hour as he unleashed a shot in the corner of the Bochum net leaving Fernandes little chance from 20 meters.  He was up and down all afternoon and was solid in defence and dangerous in attack.

Midfielders:

(6)  Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund)

Pole ‘Kuba’ Blaszczykowski began the season well and showed just why he had been linked with a move to Liverpool.  Dortmund started lightning quick against Leverkusen and the Pole was instrumental in their play early on.  His cross from the right set up Valdez for the opener and he was a constant threat from wide areas running at the Bayer defence.  New Leverkusen full back Djakpa certainly had to be on his toes.

(7)  Antonio da Silva (Karlsruhe)

The loss of Tamas Hajnal was a severe blow to Karlsruhe this summer, but in former Stuttgart midfielder Antonio da Silva they may have found an adequate replacement.   He was the creative force in their midfield and set up left back Eichner for the only goal of the game.

(8)  Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg)

The loss of Rafael van der Vaart was hardly noticeable against Bayern on Friday as HSV held the reigning league champions to a 2-2 draw at the Allianz Arena.  German international Trochowski, who was reported drawing the attention of Arsenal earlier in the summer, is one of the players that Martin Jol will be looking to to compensate for the loss of van der Vaart.  Against Bayern his cross picked out Guerrero for the first goal and then he coolly scored from the penalty spot to give HSV a deserved share of the spoils.

Forwards:

(9)  Artur Wichniarek (Arminia Bielefeld)

‘King Artur’ is still the top-dog at the Schüco Arena for Bielefeld and his goals are going to be vital if the Arminen are to stay up this season.  Bremen took the lead twice on Saturday, but were twice pegged back by the Polish striker.  His first on 74 minutes saw him beat Tim Wiese in a one-on-one situation while the second rescued a point just a minute after Werder had taken the lead once more.

(10)  Kevin Kuranyi (Schalke)

Following on from their midweek Champions League win over Atletico Madrid, Schalke produced another impressive performance to open their Bundesliga season beating Hannover 3-0 at the Veltins Arena.  In the absence of Jefferson Farfan through injury, the emphasis was on Kevin Kuranyi to provide the fire-power and he didn’t disappoint.  A goal in each half saw him open his scoring account in a season in which the Königsblauen will want to push Bayern Munich all the way in the title race.

(11)  Vedad Ibisevic (1899 Hoffenheim)

Hoffenheim enjoyed a dream start to life in the Bundesliga with a superb 3-0 opening day away win over Energie Cottbus.  Two-goal hero Vedad Ibisevic earned special praise from trainer Ralf Rangnick after the game.  The Bosnian opened the scoring after 16 minutes before setting up strike partner Demba Ba for the second.  He put the icing on a very good Hoffenheim display by heading in the third goal of the game.

Honourable mentions:

As always there are a number of players, who deserve a special mention despite having not made it into the final XI.

New Hamburg captain David Jarolim played well in midfield as did team mate Nigel de Jong against Bayern Munich.  Markus Rosenberg’s two goals against Bielefeld very nearly earned Werder a win, but he was ultimately denied.

Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller performed well against Leverkusen and pulled of two great saves from Patrick Helmes and Stefan Kiessling before having to go off injured at the end of the first half.  Brazilian Renato Augusto also impressed in the same game for Leverkusen, as did BVB’s Nelson Valdez.

Jan Simak put in an impressive performance for Stuttgart on Sunday against Mönchengladbach being involved in two of VfB’s three goals.  In the other Sunday game, Raffael earned plaudits for his display, which included the opening goal.

Newcomers Demba Ba (Hoffenheim) and Milivoje Novakovic (Köln) grabbed opening day goals to open their accounts.

source: goal.com