Two monumental football contests take place in the upper echelons of the Bundesliga this weekend. Stuttgart will be hoping to show their barnstorming start to the campaigns is not a fluke when they welcome league leaders Bayer Leverkusen to the Mercedes Benz Stadium on Sunday while perennial contenders Borussia Dortmund host RB Leipzig 24 hours earlier. On Wednesday Stuttgart enhanced their burgeoning reputation by knocking Dortmund out of the German Cup 2-0 less than a month after beating Edin Terzic’s side 2-1 in the Bundesliga.
Serhou Guirassy is certain to be a marked man as he attempts to improve on his already impressive tally of 18 goals across all competitions. The Guinean forward has developed a lethal striking partnership with Silas Katompa Mvumpa and Denis Undav who is on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion. Division pacesetters Leverkusen are without playmaker Florian Wirtz who was injured in the club’s 3-1 victory over Paderborn but their own triumvirate of Victor Boniface, Patrick Schick and Jeremy Frimpong will carry goal scoring responsibilities.
The game between Dortmund and RB Leipzig has gained must win status because the Black and Yellows are already ten points off title pace while Leipzig’s early season promise has withered. New signings Niklas Fulkrug, Lois Openda and Xavi Simons will be the players to watch at Signal Iduna Park where Terzic’s striking options have been handicapped by injuries to Felix Nmecha, Youssoufa Moukoko and Sebastian Haller.
Bundesliga action kicks off on Friday night with Hoffenheim hosting Bochum before Bayern Munich versus Eintracht Frankfurt headlines Saturday’s menu. The Bavarians are three points behind Leverkusen thanks to last weekend’s postponement of their fixture with Union Berlin due to a frozen pitch. Steffen Baumgart aims to build on last week’s victory at Bochum when his Cologne side welcome fellow strugglers Mainz.
FRIDAY
Hoffenheim v Bochum
SATURDAY
Union Berlin v Gladbach,
Frankfurt v Bayern Munich,
Wolfsburg v Freiburg,
Werder Bremen v Augsburg,
Heidenheim v Darmstadt,
Borussia Dortmund v RB Leipzig
SUNDAY
Stuttgart v Bayer Leverkusen,
Cologne v Mainz
