In this weekly feature, hosts of the Gegenpressing podcast Stefan Bienkowski and Manu Veth face off with their predictions for the forthcoming Bundesliga matchday fixtures. It’s three points for a correct score and one point for a correct result. Who will come out on top at the end of the season?
Manu’s game of the week: Borussia Dortmund vs Bayer Leverkusen
Shown live on ABC in the States, this game is a great choice to present to a large audience in the USA as it pretty much will guarantee goals. As for my predictions, I flipped back and forward on who will win the game. Leverkusen have done a great job keeping a very good squad from last season together and in Adam Hložek added a great prospect. But the Pokal elimination makes one wonder whether they are ready to take on Dortmund, especially as die Werkself is a fickle club that can be heavily impacted by adversity. Dortmund, in the meantime, looked good in the first round of the DFB Pokal with a number 9-less formation, Donyell Malen, Karim Adeyemi and Youssoufa Moukoko could easily the be short-term solution to replace Sébastien Haller. As I am going on current form, I think Dortmund will win this, but only just.
Stefan’s game of the week: Union Berlin vs Hertha Berlin
My game of the week is none other than the Berlin derby on Saturday. Although some may be a little confused by this fixture taking place in the first week of the new season, I couldn’t be happier. Both Union and Hertha have seen a high turnover of players and will need to hit the ground running this weekend if they hope to enjoy a safe start to the new season. For me, Union remain the better team with a head coach they know they can rely upon. Not to mention a transfer window that saw them bring in exciting striker Jordan “Pefok” Siebatcheu to replace Taiwo Awoniyi. As such, I can’t see anything but a home win from this match, but it will surely be a fascinating fixture between these two rivals.
Manu’s predictions:
- Eintracht Frankfurt 2-2 Bayern Munich
- Union Berlin 3-1 Hertha Berlin
- Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-1 Hoffenheim
- Wolfsburg 3-0 Werder Bremen
- Bochum 1-1 Mainz
- Augsburg 1-2 Freiburg
- Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Bayer Leverkusen
- Stuttgart 1-3 RB Leipzig
- Köln 2-0 Schalke
Stefan’s predictions:
- Eintracht Frankfurt 0-3 Bayern Munich
- Union Berlin 1-0 Hertha Berlin
- Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-1 Hoffenheim
- Wolfsburg 2-0 Werder Bremen
- Bochum 1-1 Mainz
- Augsburg 0-1 Freiburg
- Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Bayer Leverkusen
- Stuttgart 1-2 RB Leipzig
- Köln 1-0 Schalke
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