Borussia Dortmund have taken an early lead in the 2019/20 Bundesliga season, while Bayern Munich have struggled to show their best form. Could that change this weekend? Here are three things to watch on Bundesliga matchday three.
Bundesliga Matchday Three
Friday Excitement
Bundesliga matchday three kicks off in exciting fashion on Friday. RB Leipzig, who have had a fantastic start to the new campaign, face off against Borussia Monchengladbach in what should be a scintillating match.
The Foals are certainly the underdogs, and home-field advantage does not pull them much closer to their competition. In fact, Gladbach have not won a match at home in the Bundesliga since February.
Not only will some of the most talented players in the Bundesliga be on display Friday, but also two of the most promising managers in Germany.
32-year-old Julian Nagelsmann is perhaps the most well-known managerial wunderkind in Europe. After taking over as RB Leipzig coach this summer, Nagelsmann seems to have already made his mark on the club.
Marco Rose, meanwhile, is also new to Borussia Monchengladbach. Though he is neither as young or promising as Nagelsmann, Rose is still one of Europe’s young managers to watch this season — his first in Germany’s top flight after a few successful years with RB Salzburg.
Can the New Guys Get a Win?
Newly-promoted sides FC Koln, SC Paderborn, and Union Berlin have all had rocky starts to the 2019/20 Bundesliga season. Of the three, only Union Berlin has managed to pick up any points, securing their first-ever Bundesliga point in a historic draw against FC Augsburg last weekend.
Die Eisernen will be hoping for a similar — or better — result on Bundesliga matchday three. It will not, however, be easy for them. They host Borussia Dortmund, who are in outstanding form at the moment.
SC Paderborn find themselves in a similarly difficult situation, facing VfL Wolfsburg away from home on Saturday. The Wolves are not quite on the level of Borussia Dortmund, but they will nevertheless prove stern opponents for Paderborn.
Compared to their newly-promoted brethren, FC Koln will be more than happy with their chances to pick up points on Bundesliga matchday three. The Billy Goats take on SC Freiburg, who are a step down from Wolfsburg, and should back themselves to escape with at least one point.
Red-Hot Rob
Robert Lewandowski has won the Torjagerkanone, the Bundesliga top scorer award, for the past two seasons. If the first two matches of the 2019/20 campaign are any indication, that will not be changing anytime soon.
Lewandowski has lived up to his billing as the best number nine in Europe in each of Bayern’s two Bundesliga games thus far. The 31-year-old has already amassed a tally of five goals — Bayern’s only five goals of the new season.
The Poland international will no doubt back himself to add to that tally on Saturday, when Bayern Munich host bottom-half-of-the-table side Mainz 05. Perhaps Philippe Coutinho might even get his first start. If that is the case, expect the Brazilian to simply add more and more opportunities for Lewandowski to put away.
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