Sadio Mane will be looking to score his second Bundesliga goal and third overall for Bayern Munich when his side confront home side, VFL Bochum in their matchday-3 game at the Vonovia Ruhr Stadium on Sunday, August 21.
Mane has made a seamless transition to the Bundesliga since his summer move from Liverpool FC, scoring in the DFL Supercup win over RB Leipzig and 6-1 drubbing of Eintracht Frankfurt on Bundesliga Matchday 1. Only the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) denied him two further goals as Bayern stayed perfect with a 2-0 victory against VfL Wolfsburg last weekend.
For a Bochum team that has already lost to 1. FSV Mainz 05 and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, the visit of the record champions represents a thankless task. That said, Thomas Reis’s team did win last season’s reverse fixture 4-2, underlining the competitiveness of the Bundesliga. Remarkably, it was the first time Bayern had conceded four first-half goals since 1975/76.
Borussia Dortmund are level on maximum points with Bayern after accounting for pointless Bayer 04 Leverkusen and 2021/22 surprise package SC Freiburg. Teenage substitutes Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Youssoufa Moukoko were on target in Freiburg as Edin Terzic oversaw his ninth straight Bundesliga win – a club record for a head coach.
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Marco Reus, in particular, will be confident of helping BVB extend that run at home to promoted SV Werder Bremen. The Dortmund captain has scored more Bundesliga goals against the Green-Whites than any team he’s faced as a professional – 14 in 19 appearances, to be precise.
Timo Werner’s record against 1. FC Union Berlin isn’t too shabby, either. The Germany striker has three in two meetings with the capital club, and is riding the crest of a wave after marking his return to RB Leipzig with the opening goal in last Saturday’s 2-2 draw with 1. FC Cologne.
“I think we can really scare the other teams in the league,” he warned, having stuck away an assist from 2021/22 Bundesliga Player of the Season Christopher Nkunku to stretch his club-record tally to 91 goals at Germany’s top table.
Given Leipzig’s potent front line, it’s surely only a matter of time before they land their first victory of the new season. They’re one of nine winless teams after two rounds of fixtures, alongside the likes of Leverkusen – third in 2021/22 – and UEFA Europa League holders Frankfurt.
Out to rectify their worst ever start to a Bundesliga season since their promotion to the Bundesliga in 1979, Leverkusen take on TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, while Frankfurt host Cologne in a Bundesliga match-up that has witnessed an unprecedented 28 draws to date.
FC Schalke 04 head to Wolfsburg without a win in 29 Bundesliga away matches, but buoyed by their sensational salvage operation to hold Borussia Monchengladbach to a 2-2 draw. For their part, Gladbach host Hertha BSC Berlin. Further south, VfB Stuttgart’s attentions turn to the Swabian derby with Freiburg.
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FC Augsburg and Mainz contest the remaining Bundesliga fixture of the weekend, presenting USMNT striker Ricardo Pepi with another opportunity to break his Bundesliga duck. If he succeeds, at the 14th attempt, the Texan will become the 36th American national to score in the Bundesliga.
Bidding to join the Bundesliga party, Hamburger SV and SV Darmstadt 98 lock horns in the pick of the Bundesliga 2 action. Goal difference was all that separated the two former Bundesliga clubs in third and fourth respectively last season. Four matches into 2022/23, the two promotion candidates are among four teams level on nine points at the top of German football’s absorbing second tier.
