The third weekend of action in the Bundesliga has plenty of storylines entering the slate of fixtures. This will be the last matchday before the one-week hiatus due to the upcoming international break for the UEFA Nations League. For this reason, clubs will be looking to head into the break on a high note with a victory.
Three Things to Watch for on Bundesliga Matchday Three
Schalke’s New Manager Debut
Manuel Baum is the new man in charge of Schalke. The club sacked David Wagner following the defeats to Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich. It remains to be seen if a new managerial change will have an effect on how Schalke performs moving forward. The season is still very young but Schalke have been comfortably defeated in their opening two fixtures. Baum is entering a situation where relegation is looking like a strong possibility.
RB Leipzig are the first test Baum will face. Based on the last two matches, Schalke are going to be underdogs entering this match. For this reason, any sort of positive result will be a welcome beginning to Baum’s tenure. Leipzig are going to be a tough side to get points against and even a draw would be a positive result entering the international break. With that being said, another multi-goal loss could reveal that it is indeed going to be a very long season for Schalke.
Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund Look to Bounce Back
Last weekend saw both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund fall for the first time this season. They were both shocking results for the top two clubs from the 2019/20 campaign. In mid-week action, Bayern defeated Dortmund to claim the DFL Supercup title which leaves Dortmund with two consecutive losses entering their match against Freiburg. A loss to Freiburg could put Lucien Favre under pressure to get immedia when the team returns from the international break.
For Bayern, their match against Hertha Berlin offers the opportunity to get back to winning ways in the Bundesliga. They were very fatigued during their loss to Hoffenheim after an extra-time victory over Sevilla just three days prior. This time around they will have a four-day gap between their mid-week and weekend fixtures. They certainly don’t want losing at the weekend to become a trend moving forward. Depth remains an issue for Bayern and Hansi Flick will continue to have to use the players he has to get results multiple times during the course of a week.
Andrej Kramaric Can Extend His Bundesliga Goal Scoring Streak
Hoffenheim’s Andrej Kramaric has been nothing short of impactful so far this season. He was a key contributor in Hoffenheim’s victory over Bayern and scored two goals against the German giants. Kramaric has scored in every match Hoffenheim have played this season. He has the opportunity to extend his scoring streak against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday afternoon. It appears he could be in for the best season of his career if he can continue to find the back of the net.
Main Photo
