By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Bundesliga season resumes after the international break with a number of intriguing clashes to follow after a fascinating first two matchdays.
FC Heidenheim 1846 are sitting top of the table for the first time ever. That is a remarkable achievement for Frank Schmidt’s side who lost several key players in the summer following their debut Bundesliga campaign.
The leaders face a real test of strength in the opening encounter of Matchday 3 on Friday as they visit Borussia Dortmund, who have made an unbeaten start under new coach Nuri Şahin. It is possible headline summer signing Serhou Guirassy plays some part in that for the hosts as he recovers from injury.
RB Leipzig inflicting Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s first Bundesliga defeat since May 2023 was the standout result of the last matchday, and both sides are in action on Saturday afternoon. Should Heidenheim fail to win in Dortmund, Leipzig would have a good chance of taking the league lead when they host 1. FC Union Berlin – although they can take nothing for granted with Union also unbeaten.
As for Leverkusen, the champions will look to respond to that rare defeat when they visit TSG Hoffenheim. They will have to deal with Andrej Kramarić, with the Croatian striker emerging as the early frontrunner in the top-scorer race after four strikes from his first two outings.
Last season’s runners-up, VfB Stuttgart, are another side keenly hoping to land a win, having yet to register a success in their opening two fixtures. They visit Borussia Mönchengladbach in another interesting encounter on Saturday afternoon.
SC Freiburg fans will be keen to see their side at home again after Julian Schuster made an ideal start as the successor of legendary coach Christian Streich with a 3-1 win over Stuttgart on the opening matchday. They host VfL Bochum 1848 in another Saturday afternoon clash.
VfL Wolfsburg also welcome Eintracht Frankfurt in a meeting of two sides with ambitions to reach the upper limits of the table this season. There was great attention lavished upon Frankfurt’s attacking pairing of Hugo Ekitiké and Omar Marmoush after a formidable 3-1 home win over Hoffenheim on Matchday 2, and plenty will be wondering whether they can replicate that in Wolfsburg.
Wolfsburg was also the scene of FC Bayern München’s first win under new coach Vincent Kompany in their opening match of the season, and after a 2-0 victory at home to Freiburg on Matchday 2, the Bavarians will look to make it three wins out of three at newly promoted Holstein Kiel on Saturday evening.
Kiel face a tall order in trying to land their first win or point in the top flight against Bayern, but do have a fond recent memory in knocking the giants out of the DFB Cup in a penalty shootout in the 2020-21 season – the only previous time the pair have met.
FC St. Pauli, the other newly promoted side in the Bundesliga, will also aim to secure their first points of the campaign when they visit winless FC Augsburg on Sunday afternoon. The matchday will be completed with an encounter between the two sides who have drawn their opening two encounters, 1. FSV Mainz 05 and SV Werder Bremen.