The third Matchday of the Bundesliga kicks off with current leaders Bayer Leverkusen taking on Werder Bremen. Every season, at one point, there is a discussion about Leverkusen's title credentials. However, the conservations are not long lived as Leverkusen goes about their business, losing and drawing repeatedly in "Neverkusen" style soon after the topic is brought about by the press. This season though, there is perhaps a glimmer of hope. Leverkusen are playing a wonderful brand of football thanks to Roger Schmidt.
On Matchday Two, they went behind against Hertha Berlin; they switched up a gear, increased the pace of their play and soon found themselves up 4-2. Tin Jedvaj especially had a day to remember as he scored in both nets. Bremen meanwhile drew against Hoffenheim, 1-1. Hoffenheim is set to play Wolfsburg this weekend. Wolfsburg drew 2-2 against Eintracht Frankfurt. What was peculiar about their match was that Junior Malanda missed yet another straightforward chance to hand his team extra points.
If Malanda's misses are unlucky, then Benedikt Höwedes' goal for Schalke against Bayern was the exact opposite. The ball rebounded off Xabi Alonso on to the Schalke captain's hand and went into goal. The referee allowed play to go on and perhaps rightfully so. Schalke and in particular, Jens Keller, got a result exactly when they were up against it. They had been suffering a rough start until the draw against Bayern. They are set to take on a Gladbach side which drew a blank against Freiburg after scoring for fun in the Europa League playoff round.
Schalke's bitter rivals, Borussia Dortmund, were delighted by the news of Shinji Kagawa's return. Unfortunately, they lost Marco Reus to an injury once again. Kagawa is not fully fit seemingly either. Dortmund, thanks to Reus, won thrillingly against FC Augsburg on the previous Matchday, 2-3. They always kept Augsburg at arm's length but were also slightly lucky because Augsburg did not make the most of their chances despite breaking the offside trap a few times. Dortmund is set to play Freiburg while Augbsurg is set to take on Eintracht Frankfurt.
Augsburg's derby rivals, Bayern, is set to take on VfB Stuttgart. Stuttgart has started the season poorly and lost to Köln, 0-2, in their previous league match. Bayern played well in the first half against Schalke and have found two solutions to their defensive problems in Xabi Alonso and Mehdi Benatia. Benatia might not play but Alonso is set to feature in all likelihood. This match could turn out to be rather boring to the neutral though, simply because of Bayern's injuries and Stuttgart's poor form. Franck Ribery could return to the line up for Bayern this weekend.
Bayern's derby rivals, SC Paderborn picked up a first top flight win in Matchday Two over Hamburger SV. They play fellow promoted side, Köln. Capital club Hertha BSC take on Mainz 05. In the weekend's final match, HSV, who took Lewis Holtby on loan from Tottenham recently, plays Hannover 96.
Interested in learning where to watch the 2014-15 Bundesliga? Check out LiveSoccerTV's Bundesliga Broadcast Guide for the full season.
Matchday Three: LIVE fixtures schedule & broadcast channel listings
Friday, September 12, 2014
12:30 EST/17:30 BST: Bayer Leverkusen vs Werder Bremen
-In USA: MyGermanTV +, GOLTV USA
-In Canada: GolTV Canada
-In UK: ESPN UK / HD
-In Germany: Sport1.FM, Sky Bundesliga 1/HD, Sky Go Deutschland
Saturday, September 13, 2014
09:30 EST/14:30 BST: FC Bayern München vs VfB Stuttgart
-In USA: MyGermanTV +, GOLTV USA
-In Canada: GolTV Canada
-In UK: Not Available
-In Germany: Sport1.FM, Sky Bundesliga 3/HD, Sky Go Deutschland
09:30 EST/14:30 BST: Borussia Dortmund vs SC Freiburg
-In USA: MyGermanTV +
-In UK: Not Available
-In Germany: Sport1.FM, Sky Bundesliga 4/HD, Sky Go Deutschland
09:30 EST/14:30 BST: SC Paderborn vs FC Köln
-In USA: MyGermanTV +
-In Canada: Not Available
-In UK: Not Available
-In Germany: Sport1.FM, Sky Bundesliga 2/HD, Sky Go Deutschland
09:30 EST/14:30 BST: Hertha Berlin vs Mainz 05
-In USA: MyGermanTV +
-In Canada: Not Available
-In UK: Not Available
-In Germany: Sport1.FM, Sky Bundesliga 5/HD, Sky Go Deutschland
09:30 EST/14:30 BST: TSG Hoffenheim vs VfL Wolfsburg
-In USA: MyGermanTV +
-In Canada: Not Available
-In UK: Not Available
-In Germany: Sport1.FM, Sky Bundesliga 6/HD, Sky Go Deutschland
12:30 EST/17:30 BST: Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Schalke 04
-In USA: MyGermanTV +, GOLTV USA
-In Canada: GolTV Canada
-In UK: BT Sport 1
-In Germany: Sport1.FM, Sky Bundesliga 1/HD, Sky Go Deutschland
Sunday, September 14, 2014
09:30 EST/14:30 BST: Eintracht Frankfurt vs 1.FC Augsburg
-In USA: GOLTV USA
-In Canada: GolTV Canada
-In UK: ESPN UK / HD
-In Germany: Sport1.FM, Sky Bundesliga 2/HD, Sky Go Deutschland
11:30 EST/16:30 BST: Hannover 96 vs Hamburger SV
-In USA: GOLTV USA
-In Canada: GolTV Canada
-In UK: BT Sport 1
-In Germany: Sport1.FM, Sky Bundesliga 1/HD, Sky Go Deutschland
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