After the first matchday, the Bundesliga table has a rather strange look. Hoffenheim and Leverkusen lead the table. Of those two, only one might be destined to stay atop, the one which showed off Roger Schmidt's "gegenpressing" plans perfectly. Bayer Leverkusen put Borussia Dortmund to the sword in a 0-2 victory at the Signal Iduna Park in the Ruhr region. Dortmund's cause was not helped by the fact that they conceded the fastest goal in Bundesliga history. With less than nine seconds to go on the clock, Karim Bellarabi struck, leaving World Cup winner Matthias Ginter in his wake. Stefan Kiessling added a second for good measure in stoppage time in the second half.
However, a closer look at the table shows that just behind Leverkusen, Bayern is sitting pretty. They played quite well considering the number of players they were missing against Wolfsburg. The margin of victory should have been wider than 2-1, as a Sebastian Rode strike which should have stood was disallowed. However, Wolfsburg will rue Junior Malanda's miss; with Manuel Neuer out of goal, he missed what should have been the equalizer from point blank range.
This week, Bayern faces yet another top five side in Schalke. Schalke, however, are already in a crisis having been knocked out of the DFB Pokal in the first round. They also gave away a 1-0 lead against Hannover last week and lost 2-1. They were the unwitting victims of an excellent strike from Joselu. However, they were not the only side to squander a lead. Hertha BSC led 2-0 courtesy of a Julian Schieber double against Bremen but ended up drawing 2-2. The capital club showed they have what it takes to trouble Leverkusen's back line.
Two teams which had troublesome back lines last season were Hamburg and Hoffenheim. Rene Adler's confidence was destroyed in the HSV goal in the 2012-13 season. This season, they kicked off against Köln with a highly uninspiring 0-0 draw. Hoffenheim unsurprisingly struck twice as they beat Augsburg 2-0. Hoffenheim loves to score goals and they will be a team to watch this season. They play another team which has a history of playing attacking football in Werder Bremen this weekend. Bremen battled relegation for much of last season and will look to escape such issues.
Augsburg might have difficulty achieving last season's top ten finish with their limited resources. Their opponent is Dortmund this week, a team in desperate need of a win. Dortmund's injury problems are well publicized and the loss to Leverkusen was not particularly surprising in light of them. They must pick themselves up and make sure to stay in touch with Bayern this weekend.
The Bavarians might have a few issues themselves though. While Arjen Robben sparkled, the gaps at the back showed. Bayern has signed Roma's Mehdi Benatia to bolster the defense. If anything, their match against Wolfsburg showed that if teams take their chances this season, they can really hurt Bayern, especially considering their current injury list.
Finally, what are your thoughts about this weekend's action? Will Paderborn, who were unlucky to not collect all three points against Mainz, get a win against HSV? Will Bayern beat Schalke? Let us know in the comments section!
Matchday 2: LIVE fixtures schedule & broadcast channel listings
Friday, August 29, 2014
14:30 EST / 19:30 BST – FC Augsburg vs Borussia Dortmund
- In USA: GOLTV USA, MyGermanTV +
- In Canada: Not Available
- In UK: BT Sport 1
- Germany: Sky Go Deutschland, Sport1.FM
Saturday, August 30, 2014
09:30 EST / 14:30 BST – Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Hertha BSC
- In USA: GOLTV USA
- In Canada: Not Available
- In UK: Not Available
- Germany: Sport1.FM, Sky Bundesliga 2/HD, Sky Go Deutschland
09:30 EST / 14:30 BST – VfL Wolfsburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt
- In USA: Not Available
- In Canada: Not Available
- In UK: Not Available
- Germany: Sport1.FM, Sky Go Deutschland, Sky Sport 5/HD, Sky Bundesliga 5/HD
09:30 EST / 14:30 BST – Hamburger SV vs SC Paderborn
- In USA: Not Available
- In Canada: Not Available
- In UK: Not Available
- Germany: Sport1.FM, Sky Bundesliga 4/HD, Sky Bundesliga 2/HD, Sky Go Deutschland
09:30 EST / 14:30 BST – Werder Bremen vs TSG Hoffenheim
- In USA: Not Available
- In Canada: Not Available
- In UK: Not Available
- Germany: Sky Bundesliga 6/HD, Sky Go Deutschland, Sky Sport 6/HD, Sport1.FM
09:30 EST / 14:30 BST – VfB Stuttgart vs FC Köln
- In USA: Not Available
- In Canada: Not Available
- In UK: Not Available
- Germany: Sport1.FM, Sky Go Deutschland, Sky Bundesliga 3/HD
12:30 EST / 17:30 BST – Schalke 04 vs FC Bayern München
- In USA: GOLTV USA
- In Canada: Not Available
- In UK: BT Sport 1
- Germany: Sport1.FM, Sky Bundesliga 1/HD, Sky Go Deutschland
Sunday, August 31, 2014
09:30 EST / 14:30 BST – Mainz 05 vs Hannover 96
- In USA: GOLTV USA
- In Canada: Not Available
- In UK: BT Sport 1
- Germany: Sky Go Deutschland, Sky Bundesliga 2/HD, Sport1.FM
11:30 EST / 16:30 BST – SC Freiburg vs Borussia Mönchengladbach
- In USA: GOLTV USA
- In Canada: Not Available
- In UK: BT Sport 2
- Germany: Sky Go Deutschland, Sport1.FM
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