Some set records, others help out (and maybe hope for more) – on the 11th Bundesliga matchday, the focus in many places is on the coaches.
1. FSV Mainz 05 – 1. FC Cologne (Friday, 8.30 p.m.)
The Mainzers are drawn to the distance, at least that is what the statistics suggest. They are first in the Bundesliga away table (12 points), but bottom in the home table (3 points).
And be careful: Even a lead against Cologne would not be a sure sign of a first home win. Because FC is the best in the league when it comes to scoring points after falling behind. He’s done that six times – with three wins and three draws.
Borussia Dortmund – VfB Stuttgart (Saturday, 3.30 p.m.)
Borussia had a sense of achievement in the cup (2-0 at Hannover 96), but they have been without a win in the league for three games. BVB has only scored 13 goals. In the previous season there were 27 goals at the same time.
And the game against Stuttgart comes at the wrong time, because VfB seems to be gaining momentum after the change of coach. Under interim coach Michael Wimmer, Stuttgart won 4-1 against Bochum and 6-0 in the cup against Bielefeld. The team has scored as often in two games as in ten previous games under Pellegrino Matarazzo.
Nevertheless, Wimmer is likely to return to the assistant coach position after the game in Dortmund, because a new head coach is still firmly planned.
Bayer Leverkusen – VfL Wolfsburg (Saturday, 3.30 p.m.)
Only eight points after ten matchdays – Bayer haven’t been that weak in 40 years. Xabi Alonso has chosen a difficult task for his first major job as head coach. Two clear bankruptcies (0:3 against Porto, 1:5 against Frankfurt) overshadowed his 4:0 opening win against Schalke.
Wolfsburg has become a feared opponent and has been unbeaten against Leverkusen for six games (last four wins, before that two draws). However, Niko Kovac has bad memories of the Leverkusen Arena. There he lost all four of his Bundesliga games as a coach.
SC Freiburg – Werder Bremen (Saturday, 3.30 p.m.)
Freiburg are shining in the Europa League, are through in the cup (albeit narrowly, 2-1 after extra time against St. Pauli) and are in a strong third place in the Bundesliga. So the SC is the favorite against Bremen.
But the statistics can also be evaluated differently. Freiburg has only won one of their last five Bundesliga games. In addition, Werder is currently the only Bundesliga club without an away defeat (three wins, two draws). And: Bremen have not lost any of their last six Bundesliga games against Freiburg.
1899 Hoffenheim – Bayern Munich (Saturday, 3.30 p.m.)
Hoffenheim want to use Munich’s weakness away from home, Bayern have been without a win on foreign pitches for three games (two draws, one defeat). Coach André Breitenreiter has an average of 1.7 points in his ten league games – that’s the best of all TSG Bundesliga coaches, Julian Nagelsmann was also below.
The game between fourth in the table (Hoffenheim) and second (Bayern) is the top game of the day in the table. And the spectators can hope for a spectacle. In previous Bundesliga duels between the two teams, an average of 3.4 goals per game was scored.
FC Augsburg – RB Leipzig (Saturday, 3.30 p.m.)
The duel between two in-form teams, both have collected ten points in the past five matchdays. Only leaders Union Berlin was even more successful with twelve points.
But there are also areas with room for improvement. So Augsburg got only 4 out of 13 points at home. Leipzig, on the other hand, is weaker away from home, only winning two of their 15 points there.
Borussia Mönchengladbach – Eintracht Frankfurt (Saturday, 6.30 p.m.)
Borussia will be happy to be able to compete at home again. Because she has not won a Bundesliga away away this season and on Tuesday she was knocked out of the DFB Cup in Darmstadt (1:2).
Frankfurt’s successful coach Oliver Glasner has meanwhile set a new record: for the first time he is fifth in the league table with Eintracht. Frankfurt have scored the second most goals in the league (21) but are vulnerable in set pieces. She has already conceded nine goals, only Bochum is worse.
VfL Bochum – 1. FC Union Berlin (Sunday, 3.30 p.m.)
Last against first – since 2016 no bottom team has won such a duel. Although Bochum has tailwind from the cup (1-0 in Elversberg), they have the worst defense in the league (27 goals conceded). VfL allowed 35 big chances – seven times as many as Union.
Up front, Bochum is at least diligent and on par with Union in terms of ball possession, crosses, shots on goal and great chances. But when it comes to effectiveness, the two teams are worlds apart. Union scored 18 goals, Bochum only nine with a similar number of chances.
Hertha BSC – FC Schalke 04 (Sunday, 5.30 p.m.)
Crisis meeting in Berlin: Schalke has been without a win for four games, the Hertha lull lasts even one game longer. The main topic of the game is the coaching position at Schalke.
After the sobering 5-1 defeat in the cup against Hoffenheim on Tuesday, Frank Kramer lost his job. For the time being, assistant coach Matthias Kreutzer will take over for him – also because club icon Mike Büskens no longer wants to step in. Kreutzer has already been an interim coach on the Schalke sidelines, with success. The game at FC Ingolstadt ended 3-0 in the second division last season