Bundesliga preview: Dortmund, Bayern look to bounce back

Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich must overcome differing levels of Champions League disappointment in round seven of the Bundesliga.

Reigning champions Dortmund conceded a late equaliser in their trip to Manchester City, while Bayern were stunned 3-1 in Belarus by BATE Borisov.

While disappointed with letting City salvage a draw on Wednesday, Dortmund head coach Juergen Klopp was pleased with his team’s improved defensive performance.

Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic were impressive in central defence, while Felipe Santana did a decent job when the former was subbed off.

But Dortmund’s defensive structure remains a work in progress, with the defending Bundesliga champions having managed only four clean sheets in ten matches across all competitions this season.

Dortmund will face a stern test of their defensive prowess on Sunday when they travel to Hannover, who are the third-highest scorers in the Bundesliga with 14 goals from six games.

Eintracht Frankfurt, who have stunned all in Germany with five wins in six games since promotion to sit second on the Bundesliga table, will visit Borussia Moenchengladbach in one of the other Sunday games, while Stuttgart host Bayer Leverkusen.

Bayern have started the Bundesliga season with six wins from as many matches but were very wasteful against BATE on Tuesday in the Champions League in a disappointing performance by the Munich-based club.

That shock result does not bode well for Hoffenheim, who travel to Munich on Saturday to play Bayern, as the hosts should be very keen to get back to their winning formula.

Bayern had 62 percent possession and 16 shots against BATE but only managed one goal and having averaged over three goals per game in the Bundesliga so far this season, Hoffenheim goalkeeper Koen Casteels should be a busy man at the Allianz Arena.

In other matches on Saturday, Mainz host Fortuna Duesseldorf, Freiburg take on Nuremberg, Schalke play Wolfsburg and Greuther Fuerth are up against Hamburg.

Round seven of the Bundesliga will start on Friday with Augsburg versus Werder Bremen.