Bundesliga Matchday 3 Preview: Bayern, Dortmund seek to return to winning ways

Last season’s top two FC Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund will seek a swift return to winning ways on Matchday 3 of the 2020-21 Bundesliga season, which also features a Rhine derby as well as a pair of surprise frontrunners.  

Treble winners FC Bayern will not be in action until Sunday, when Robert Lewandowski should be back in the starting line-up following their 4-1 defeat at TSG Hoffenheim last week. Visitors Hertha Berlin lost 3-1 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 2, but – with new Brazil senior squad member Matheus Cunha in their attack – they could pose problems in Munich. 

Borussia Dortmund, meanwhile, will be keen to put their 2-0 defeat at FC Augsburg behind them when they host SC Freiburg on Saturday. Goalkeeper Roman Bürki and England star Jadon Sancho were struggling with illness in midweek and – whether they recover or not – Lucien Favre knows his team face a tricky fixture. 

Freiburg, after all, look set for another season of proving their doubters wrong, having followed up a 3-2 win at VfB Stuttgart with a 1-1 draw against VfL Wolfsburg.

One of the biggest games of the weekend features two clubs still searching for their first victory of the campaign. 1. FC Köln have already lost to TSG Hoffenheim and Arminia Bielefeld, while Saturday’s visitors Borussia Mönchengladbach are just one point in ahead before the Rhine derby. 

Table toppers Hoffenheim, meanwhile, have scored seven goals in two Bundesliga games under new boss Sebastian Hoeneß, and in-form striker Andrej Kramaric has five of them. The league’s leading goalscorer followed a hat-trick in Cologne with a brace against the defending champions, earning him Man of the Matchday honours in week two. 

Hoffenheim’s opposition at the weekend also have a forward who is not short of confidence. Andre Silva has netted on the opening two weekends of the season, and if the Portugal international does so again he could potentially lift Eintracht Frankfurt to top spot.

That’s assuming that a Frankfurt victory is coupled with Augsburg dropping points. Following their second home success against Dortmund in three seasons, Heiko Herrlich’s outfit will be out to make it three wins from three when they visit VfL Wolfsburg on the back of the Wolves’ double of draws.

Matchday 3 kicks off in the capital on Friday, where Union Berlin host out-of-form 1. FSV Mainz 05. Union claimed their first point last week with a hard-earned 1-1 draw at Borussia Mönchengladbach, and – with on-loan Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius now on their books – they’ll seek to condemn 1. FSV Mainz 05 to a third straight defeat. 

The 05ers have promoted assistant Jan-Moritz Lichte to replace Achim Beierlorzer as head coach, while there’s also been a change at bottom club FC Schalke 04. The Royal Blues dismissed David Wagner after their 3-1 home loss to SV Werder Bremen, meaning new boss Manuel Baum’s first game in charge will be a daunting one away to Leipzig in Saturday’s evening kick-off, when Julian Nagelsmann’s home side will seek to build on last week’s 1-1 draw against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 

Elsewhere on Saturday Leverkusen travel to Stuttgart, who were boosted by a 4-1 victory in Mainz on Matchday 2, while promoted Bielefeld hope their fairytale start can continue in Bremen.

This article is provided courtesy of the Bundesliga.com, the home of German top-flight soccer. Never miss another game again, watch all Matchday 3 Bundesliga matches live on ESPN+