By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Newly promoted Heidenheim 1846 may prove to be tough opponents on Saturday afternoon when they face Bayern München, after their confidence received a boost in a 2-0 win over high-flying VfB Stuttgart at the weekend. Bayer 04 Leverkusen meanwhile know a win over 1. FC Union Berlin on Sunday afternoon will keep them in top spot, whereas Union Berlin, now sixteenth in the table after eight defeats in a row, are looking for a statement result to turn their fortunes around.
Champions Bayern took a 4-0 win at the home of 2022-23 runners-up Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker, and their promising season so far will gain a further lift if they beat Heidenheim on Saturday – as a win would move them above Leverkusen to the top of the table, for 24 hours at least.
Even more eyes than usual will be on Bayern’s English striker Harry Kane for that encounter. Kane sensationally scored a hat-trick in his second consecutive Bundesliga match in Dortmund to move on to a staggering 15 goals in his first 10 league appearances for his new club – and become the Bundesliga’s top scorer.
Whatever Bayern’s result on Saturday, Leverkusen know a win over FC Union Berlin on Sunday afternoon will keep them in top spot. A dramatic 3-2 victory at in-form TSG Hoffenheim means Xabi Alonso’s side have still only dropped points once this season (a 2- 2 draw in Munich on Matchday 4).
Union Berlin are on a miserable run of eight defeats in a row in the Bundesliga to drop down to 16th and would surely be delighted to gain any result in Leverkusen.
The teams from third to sixth in the table all lost last weekend to leave a five-point gap between Bayern in second and the rest. Stuttgart have lost two matches in a row without their injured top scorer, Serhou Guirassy, but the Guinean frontman could be in line for a return. They face an intriguing battle on Saturday with Dortmund, who are level on points with them in fourth and will be keen to take a result after their disappointing Klassiker defeat.
Fifth-place RB Leipzig suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat at 1. FSV Mainz 05 and will need to be at their best if they are to win against SC Freiburg on Sunday, with the visitors in a solid eighth position after a 3-3 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Hoffenheim emerged from their defeat at home to Leverkusen with plenty of credit having fought back from 2-0 down to level at 2-2 before conceding the game’s final goal. They now travel to FC Augsburg, who remain unbeaten under new coach Jess Thorup after picking up a 1-1 draw at 1. FC Köln.
Eintracht Frankfurt are now perched just underneath the top six – one point below Hoffenheim – after a convincing 3-0 win at Union that saw Omar Marmoush score two goals for the second consecutive match. They are unbeaten in four Bundesliga matches but face an interesting trip on Sunday to SV Werder Bremen, who have scored four goals in their past two Bundesliga games following a battling 2-2 at VfL Wolfsburg.
Wolfsburg will be in action in the first encounter of Matchday 11 as they visit Mönchengladbach on Friday evening. The Wolves are ninth in the table, two positions above the hosts, but are without a win in four.
Two more encounters of interest in the effort to avoid relegation take place on Saturday. SV Darmstadt 98 are a point ahead of Mainz as they prepare to host the 05ers but are on a run of three straight defeats, most recently a 2-1 loss at home to VfL Bochum 1848 – whereas Mainz are fresh from recording their first win of the season in their first game under interim boss Jan Siewert.
Bochum’s win in Darmstadt was also their first of the campaign, moving them up to 14th, and they host a Köln side bottom of the table on Saturday evening.