Bundesliga Preview: Bayern, Dortmund looking to stay on terms

Early leaders Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will hope to continue matching each other blow for blow in the Bundesliga over the weekend.

Dortmund occupy top spot by virtue of their superior ‘goals for’ tally, but the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League finalists remain level on 16 points having played six games this far this season.

Jurgen Klopp’s men had boasted a two-point lead ahead of last weekend, but were held to a 1-1 draw away at Nuremberg last time out and will be keen to get back to winning ways when they host lowly Freiburg.

Bayern, meanwhile, face a Wolfsburg side who have alternated between winning and losing in their six games, and come into the game off the back of a 4-0 win over Schalke.

Third and fourth also face each other the Bundesliga in week seven, with Bayer Leverkusen hosting Hannover at the BayArena.

Sami Hyypia’s men have suffered just two defeats in their last 23 home league fixtures – at the hands of Bayern and Dortmund last term – and will be confident of continuing their fine start.

Schalke and Hamburg are accustomed to finding themselves at the business end of the table, but have both endured poor starts and are stuck near the bottom.

Hamburg’s poor run of form cost manager Thorsten Fink his job, and the Imtech Arena outfit will be under the stewardship of former Netherlands boss Bert van Marwijk for the first time against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Schalke had won two games on the bounce prior to their defeat to Bayern, and will look to get back on track as they travel to face Hoffenheim.

Things could be worse, though, as bottom-of-the-table Eintracht Braunschweig have proved by picking up just one point in six games ahead of hosting Stuttgart on Sunday.

Nuremberg also play on Sunday and, after holding Dortmund to a draw last time out, will now look to get something from a tough-looking trip to face Werder Bremen.

Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, Hertha Berlin could leapfrog seventh-placed Mainz should they win the sides’ encounter, though they lost to second-tier Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal in midweek.

Meanwhile, Augsburg and Borussia Monchengladbach go into their meeting at the SGL Arena on Friday level on nine points.