By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Defending champions FC Bayern München will put their record to test against SV Werder Bremen under the lights of the Allianz Arena on Friday night.
Bayern made it four wins from four in the Bundesliga so far this season by despatching TSG Hoffenheim 4-1 last weekend. That result leaves Vincent Kompany’s men sitting pretty at the top of the table on 12 points and a +15 goal-difference, which is the best return of any team in the history of the German top flight at this stage of the season.
Key to their superb form has been that of star striker Harry Kane, who now has eight league goals to his name already this term after hitting a hat-trick against Hoffenheim. That’s double the next best trio on four goals after four matchdays, and the England striker will take some stopping against a Bremen side with eight goals between them – and four points – after four matchdays.
Playing his 104th game for Bayern, Kane needs two goals to become the fastest man to 100 goals with a club in Europe’s top-five leagues, breaking the record of 105 matches jointly held by Cristiano Ronaldo and Erling Haaland.
Kane is already the fastest to 50 Bundesliga goals, bringing that mark up in 43 matches, a record he also took from the Norway striker.
Kane made his Bundesliga debut in August 2023 against Bremen, scoring a goal and setting up another in a 4-0 win, just days after arriving from boyhood club Tottenham.
Bayern’s closest challengers so far this season are Borussia Dortmund, who are also the only team other than the early league leaders who remain unbeaten. They have 10 points to show from their three wins and a draw, with their next assignment consisting of a trip to 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday afternoon.
Mainz do boast the third best defence in the league right now – behind only Bayern and Dortmund – but Niko Kovač’s Black and Yellows have made a rollicking start to 2025-26. Karim Adeyemi was their match-winner last time out, rattling home the only goal of the game with the fastest shot for a goal this season (125.82 km/h).
Saturday afternoon has a feast of fixtures to get your teeth stuck into, with RB Leipzig bouncing back from their heavy opening defeat in Munich ahead of their visit to VfL Wolfsburg, while Bayer 04 Leverkusen make the trip to face FC St. Pauli, who suffered their first loss of the campaign last time out.
Leipzig are just a point back from Dortmund in third as they too look to re-establish themselves as a threat to Bayern’s crown, while Leverkusen continue their rebuild under Kasper Hjulmand. A 92nd-minute equaliser denied the Dane a second successive Bundesliga victory since taking over the Leverkusen reins last weekend, but there have been encouraging signs so far under the new boss.
Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. Eintracht Frankfurt closes out Saturday’s action in the evening, while three more games on Sunday round out another mouth-watering matchday: Sport-Club Freiburg and VfB Stuttgart – fresh from beginning their UEFA Europa League campaigns during the week – at home to Hoffenheim and away at 1. FC Köln respectively.