At the top of the Bundesliga table, residing within striking distance of Bayern, is one of the newly promoted sides Eintracht Frankfurt. Will they be able to heap further misery on HSV this week?
Plenty of exciting and potentially dramatic matches await us in the Bundesliga this week. Bayern will take on a side they failed to beat last season in two attempts, Mainz. The sides in the North of Germany will battle in a game which produced fireworks last season. Düsseldorf, sitting in the dizzying heights of the top five, will travel to Stuttgart while Fürth will welcome Schalke.
A player who is set to start for Bremen is the Austrian, Marko Arnautovic. Arnautovic is quite a character; anyone who has seen the Bremen attacker play perhaps loves and hates the Austrian in equal measure. His brilliance was noticed by Jose Mourinho in Inter who suggested that Bremen would be a perfect fit for the outspoken player.
oachim Low thanked his lucky stars when Arnautovic failed to connect with the ball when Austria took on Germany on Tuesday. His side just about picked up a second win in the qualifiers. Arnautovic’s nature can really be best described by what happened against Hannover 96 last season. He scored for his team and then picked up a red card. Bremen lost the game 3-2.
Hannover looks to be in better form than last season already. Bremen, after beating HSV, will be looking to win another derby. For HSV, a first point of the season is a necessity against Frankfurt. Frankfurt however hasn’t picked up six points accidentally- they have demonstrated good attacking skills and patience in their first two games of the season.
Rafael Van der Vaart flashed his brilliant smile from the stands as the cameras focused on him during his side’s clash with Bremen last month. Van der Vaart can be forgiven for rethinking his motives behind returning to Germany after watching yet another abysmal display from HSV. Is he really the messiah?
Arjen Robben was considered Bayern’s messiah in 2009. Robben might however lose a starting berth in the line-up considering the large number of talented players in Bayern this season. Bayern has already shown the qualities of a potential ‘Deutscher Meister’. The season is not decided on the back of two match-days nonetheless and their next test will be a very difficult one.
In the previous four meeting against Thomas Tuchel’s Mainz, Bayern has lost twice, both by a solitary goal. Mainz presses Bayern continuously, forcing the Bavarians into errors. They struck thrice against the Bayern defence last season. Their second meeting at the Allianz Arena was a drab one; it ended in a rare 0-0 draw.
Mainz will arrive with the same game-plan. Since Jupp Heynckes had added counter-attacks to his side’s game plan this season, it will be interesting to see whether Mainz can spring a shock as easily as they did previously.
The biggest clash of this week features Dortmund and Leverkusen. BVB was wasteful last season and let Leverkusen off the hook, winning only 1-0. The reverse fixture in Leverkusen was a close affair which ended in a 0-0 draw. Both sides had a men sent off.
A pair of twins- Sven and Lars Bender will greet each other on Saturday with plenty of warmth in Dortmund. Mike Büskens can expect a few hugs when his Fürth takes on Schalke as he returns to his former stomping ground. Gerald Asamoah will also be returning to the club he loves to associate himself with. Schalke has started the season reasonably well and will want to add three points to their tally of four so far.
Augsburg will play a side that was humbled cruelly in the previous match-day, Wolfsburg. Freiburg has collected a solitary point after two games and will take on a side that has pretty much lost the plot, Hoffenheim. Finally, Gladbach will take on another surprise package, Dieter’s Hecking’s Nürnberg.
Expect the goals to rain during this weekend in Germany. The Bundesliga is quite like the aforementioned Arnautovic- you never know what to expect. However, if Bayern thrashes Mainz, don’t be shocked- this Bayern team seems to be brimming with anger, confidence and pride.
And as we all know, an angry Bayern team is a nightmare for the opposition; just like Arnautovic on his good days….
A player who is set to start for Bremen is the Austrian, Marko Arnautovic. Arnautovic is quite a character; anyone who has seen the Bremen attacker play perhaps loves and hates the Austrian in equal measure. His brilliance was noticed by Jose Mourinho in Inter who suggested that Bremen would be a perfect fit for the outspoken player.
oachim Low thanked his lucky stars when Arnautovic failed to connect with the ball when Austria took on Germany on Tuesday. His side just about picked up a second win in the qualifiers. Arnautovic’s nature can really be best described by what happened against Hannover 96 last season. He scored for his team and then picked up a red card. Bremen lost the game 3-2.
Hannover looks to be in better form than last season already. Bremen, after beating HSV, will be looking to win another derby. For HSV, a first point of the season is a necessity against Frankfurt. Frankfurt however hasn’t picked up six points accidentally- they have demonstrated good attacking skills and patience in their first two games of the season.
Rafael Van der Vaart flashed his brilliant smile from the stands as the cameras focused on him during his side’s clash with Bremen last month. Van der Vaart can be forgiven for rethinking his motives behind returning to Germany after watching yet another abysmal display from HSV. Is he really the messiah?
Arjen Robben was considered Bayern’s messiah in 2009. Robben might however lose a starting berth in the line-up considering the large number of talented players in Bayern this season. Bayern has already shown the qualities of a potential ‘Deutscher Meister’. The season is not decided on the back of two match-days nonetheless and their next test will be a very difficult one.
In the previous four meeting against Thomas Tuchel’s Mainz, Bayern has lost twice, both by a solitary goal. Mainz presses Bayern continuously, forcing the Bavarians into errors. They struck thrice against the Bayern defence last season. Their second meeting at the Allianz Arena was a drab one; it ended in a rare 0-0 draw.
Mainz will arrive with the same game-plan. Since Jupp Heynckes had added counter-attacks to his side’s game plan this season, it will be interesting to see whether Mainz can spring a shock as easily as they did previously.
The biggest clash of this week features Dortmund and Leverkusen. BVB was wasteful last season and let Leverkusen off the hook, winning only 1-0. The reverse fixture in Leverkusen was a close affair which ended in a 0-0 draw. Both sides had a men sent off.
A pair of twins- Sven and Lars Bender will greet each other on Saturday with plenty of warmth in Dortmund. Mike Büskens can expect a few hugs when his Fürth takes on Schalke as he returns to his former stomping ground. Gerald Asamoah will also be returning to the club he loves to associate himself with. Schalke has started the season reasonably well and will want to add three points to their tally of four so far.
Augsburg will play a side that was humbled cruelly in the previous match-day, Wolfsburg. Freiburg has collected a solitary point after two games and will take on a side that has pretty much lost the plot, Hoffenheim. Finally, Gladbach will take on another surprise package, Dieter’s Hecking’s Nürnberg.
Expect the goals to rain during this weekend in Germany. The Bundesliga is quite like the aforementioned Arnautovic- you never know what to expect. However, if Bayern thrashes Mainz, don’t be shocked- this Bayern team seems to be brimming with anger, confidence and pride.
And as we all know, an angry Bayern team is a nightmare for the opposition; just like Arnautovic on his good days….
