Five things to look out for on Bundesliga Matchday 7

FC Bayern will face Freiburg on Matchday 7 after reclaiming top spot from them the previous week.

SC Freiburg will host FC Bayern on matchday 7 a week after losing their top spot in the Bundesliga to the Rekordmeister. Meanwhile, Borussia Mönchengladbach are desperate to change their dire situation in the opening fixture of the matchday.

Can leaders Bayern improve underwhelming away record in Freiburg?

Vincent Kompany’s men have only beaten Bundesliga debutants Elversberg from their last four away games in all competitions. The situation is similar if we account their last four results in general, with their only success came at home against RB Leipzig on matchday 6.

However, that was enough to climb above Freiburg in Bundesliga standings as Julian Schuster’s troops suffered their first defeat of the season at Bayer Leverkusen the following day. The Breisgau Brazilians will also arrive at this fixture after seeing their perfect start in Europe came to an end away at Monaco on Thursday.

The two teams dealt with injuries to Luis Diaz and Yannik Engelhardt in their respective European games during the week. Bayern scored half a dozen goals at home against Freiburg last season, but they had to rely on three late goals to secure a dramatic 3-2 victory in their last visit to Europa-Park Stadion.

Dortmund back at home after three underwhelming performances 

Borussia Dortmund returned to winning ways in Baku against Champions League debutants Sabah, but their shyness in front of goal continued apart from Serhou Guirassy’s game-winning brace. Niko Kovac’s side failed to score in back-to-back matches before that against Bodø/Glimt and Union Berlin.

They will now be back at Westfalenstadion (Signal Iduna Park) for the Topspiel of matchday 7 against Eintracht Frankfurt. Last season’s Bundesliga duels between the two teams produced goal-filled drama, while Dortmund prevailed in their Round of 16 Pokal tie in Frankfurt on penalties.

Adi Hütter’s side kept their first clean sheet in their late win over Köln on matchday 6. Losing out in yet another European campaign would be a total disaster for the visitors, who were separated with their influential sporting director Markus Krösche last week.

Schick and Füllkrug aim to continue scoring streaks

Harry Kane is surprisingly not at the top of the early race for Torjägerkanone. Bayer Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick and Werder Bremen’s returnee Niclas Füllkrug are leading the scoring chart with six goals. 

While the England captain would hope to regain his throne a day before the Ballon d’Or ceremony in London, the two Bundesliga veterans would look to extend their respective scoring runs. 

Schick became the first Leverkusen player to find the net in each of the first six matchdays as he now sets his sight to match Robert Lewandowski’s nine-game record. The West Ham loanee, who previously won the accolade alongside Christopher Nkunku, could make Jürgen Klopp’s upcoming squad if he keeps this form.

Both strikers will play away from home this weekend as Schick’s Leverkusen face rejuvenated Hoffenheim a day after Bremen’s trip to fifth-placed Mainz.

Goal feast between Leipzig and Elversberg?

50 goals are scored in the first 12 games involving either RB Leipzig or SV Elversberg this season. The two teams will go head-to-head in one of the Saturday Konferenz games on matchday 7.

The hosts would be the overwhelming favorites, but Elversberg are currently ahead of them in the standings after their chaotic 4-3 win over FC Augsburg. Martin Demichelis’ side conceded ten goals to European giants Bayern and Real Madrid in their last two games.

Can Gladbach avoid unwanted record?

Saving the opening showdown of the matchday to last, Borussia Mönchengladbach will kickoff the action on Friday away at Stuttgart, who drew with last season’s semi-finalists Atletico Madrid on Tuesday in the Champions League. 

Although the hosts are far from the level they previously set in Bundesliga, Friday’s game would probably mean more for their guests. Borussia Mönchengladbach started their campaign with six defeats, which ties the current Bundesliga record with three other teams.

Alexander Blessin, who was in charge in consecutive 2-1 defeats to Köln and Hoffenheim after replacing Eugen Polanski, will now hope to avoid the unwanted record on his return to the club he played for before the turn of the millennium.