MY ACCOUNT
The Revierderby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke is back — and Saturday’s showdown should be a fiercely contested affair.
Elsewhere, reigning champions Bayern Munich and league leaders Union Berlin face Augsburg and Wolfsburg respectively as they aim to extend their unbeaten records.
It is second versus fourth as Freiburg travel to Hoffenheim, while Borussia Monchengladbach and RB Leipzig will be bidding to climb into the European places when they meet this weekend.
Game of the week: Borussia Dortmund vs Schalke (Saturday, 2.30pm)
The Revierderby is one of the most evenly contested derbies in the world (36 Dortmund wins, 30 draws, 32 Schalke wins), though recent history has favoured BVB, who have won the last three and kept clean sheets in the last four.
However, Dortmund were beaten 3-0 away at Leipzig in their last league outing — their heaviest defeat in the competition under Edin Terzic and the first time in a year that they have failed to score or register a shot on target in a league game.
Die Borussen may be more confident on their own patch, though, having scored in each of their last 37 league clashes at home, while Schalke are on a club-record 31-match losing streak in the Bundesliga.
Additionally, Terzic’s first Revierderby — the last meeting between these two — also brought his biggest win as Dortmund boss (4-0).
Augsburg vs Bayern Munich (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Unbeaten Bayern’s trip to Augsburg sees the Bundesliga’s best attack (19 goals scored) come up against its worst (four goals scored).
Furthermore, Augsburg have the worst pass completion rate in the division (68%), while Bayern boast the best percentage (88%).
Julian Nagelsmann has beaten Augsburg more times as a manager than any other club (10) but did suffer his first defeat against them in their last meeting — his first away loss as Bayern boss.
After three consecutive league draws, this appears to be a prime fixture for Die Roten to get back to winning ways on the domestic front following Tuesday’s Champions League victory over Barcelona — though another stalemate would equal their club record in the competition, set back in 1995.
Hoffenheim vs Freiburg (Sunday, 6.30pm)
This is the first time that Freiburg (second) and Hoffenheim (fourth) will face each other while both in the top four.
In recent history, the visitors have had the edge, winning each of their last four away games against this weekend’s opponents in all competitions.
It should be a close contest this time around, though, with Hoffenheim the only side in the competition to have won all their home league outings (three) and Freiburg the only team with a perfect record on the road (three).
Union Berlin vs Wolfsburg (Sunday, 2.30pm)
Wolfsburg boast a strong record against Union Berlin, losing just one of their six Bundesliga meetings (three wins, two draws).
However, the capital club are top of the league for the first time in their history and have not lost any of their last 13 games in the competition — a club record.
Wolfsburg’s away record against the Bundesliga leaders is less impressive though, losing 13 of their 15 such matches (two wins).
Union have built their positive start on solid defensive foundations, facing the fewest big chances in the league (five) and their expected goals against (xGA) is 5.9, second only to Bayern, while Wolfsburg’s xGA is 11.2 — only Bochum’s is worse.
Borussia Monchengladbach vs RB Leipzig (Saturday, 5.30pm)
Leipzig manager Marco Rose returns to his former club hoping to build on his first game in charge — a 3-0 thrashing of another of his previous employers, Dortmund.
Borussia Monchengladbach have won just two of their 12 Bundesliga meetings with Leipzig (three draws, seven defeats), though those victories came in their last two home encounters.
The Foals are on a miserable run, accruing just two points from their previous three outings, while Leipzig have not won in five away games in the competition (two draws, three defeats) — including their joint-heaviest Bundesliga defeat ever in their last trip, a 4-0 loss at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Rose will be relying on Christopher Nkunku to break out of his recent slump (no goals or assists in his last two league outings) and rediscover his scoring touch against BMG — he has previously struck four times against them, more than any other side, bar Hertha Berlin (also four).
The weekend’s other games
Mainz vs Hertha Berlin (Friday, 7.30pm)
Stuttgart vs Eintracht Frankfurt (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Bayer Leverkusen vs Werder Bremen (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Bochum vs FC Cologne (Sunday, 4.30pm)
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