By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Early season pacesetters VfL Wolfsburg will likely have to maintain their 100% start to the 2021/22 Bundesliga campaign if they are to stay top of the table with reigning champions FC Bayern München breathing down their necks on Matchday 5.
Wolfsburg come into the weekend two points clear of Bayern with Mark van Bommel’s side proudly sporting four wins from four league outings so far. They will hope to extend that perfect record at home to an Eintracht Frankfurt side that has stumbled out of the blocks with three draws and a defeat under the Wolves’ former boss Oliver Glasner.
The odds – based on both historical and current form – are in the hosts’ favour with Wolfsburg winning 19 and losing just eight of the duo’s 38 Bundesliga encounters to date; Bayern, though, have 45 wins and just eight defeats against their weekend opponents VfL Bochum.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side have reached cruising altitude with their Matchday 4 dismissal of RB Leipzig followed by an imperious UEFA Champions League start at FC Barcelona on Tuesday. With kick-off at the Allianz Arena scheduled 24 hours before that at the Volkswagen Arena, it would be a major surprise if Wolfsburg were still top of the table when their game begins.
They could also find themselves passed by the early season surprise packages 1. FSV Mainz 05. Few – if anyone – would have picked Bo Svensson’s side to be in fourth place at this stage of the season, though they will have their work cut out to maintain their momentum against unbeaten SC Freiburg, who are just a point and place behind their hosts in fifth.
Borussia Dortmund also lie in wait in third place on nine points following their breathless 4-3 defeat of Bayer 04 Leverkusen last time out, but Marco Rose’s men will be wary of visitors 1.FC Union Berlin on Sunday afternoon. Dortmund have lost twice in their four previous top-flight meetings with the capital club, that’s as many times as they have triumphed. One wonders how Leverkusen will recover from their Matchday 4 body blow when they travel to VfB Stuttgart on Sunday?
FC Köln too have raised eyebrows with a solid start that leaves them just three points off second place. After escaping relegation via the play-off last season, the Billy Goats have frolicked to seven points from their opening four matches but face a significant test in the shape of Leipzig in Saturday’s evening kick-off.
Like Jesse Marsch’s men, VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach have endured a mixed start to the campaign. Just ahead of Die Roten Bullen in 11th, Gladbach travel to second-from-bottom FC Augsburg looking to build on last week’s defeat of DSC Arminia Bielefeld, the Foals’ maiden success this season.
The same is true for Hertha BSC Berlin, who got off the mark by beating Bochum last time out, and host bottom side SpVgg Greuther Fürth in Friday’s Matchday 5 opener, while TSG 1899 Hoffenheim go to Bielefeld five places but just a point better off than their hosts.