A Man Under Pressure: Steve McClaren.

Friday’s Bundesliga fixture saw current league leaders Hoffenheim dismiss last year’s Bundesliga runners-up Schalke by a scoreline of two goals to nil. Magath’s Schalke side remain pointless and rooted to the bottom of the table, while Hoffenheim hold top spot ahead of a perfect nine-point start.

This Saturday, the Bundesliga will pit some of it’s best teams against eachother and the football should really flow.

For our first match, we’ll see Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund side host a Wolfsburg side who are in dire need of a result. Dortmund have started the season relatively well despite an opening day loss to Leverkusen. After picking up three points on the road against Stuttgart, Klopp and his side will be looking to continue their good form over a Wolfsburg side who will be really desperate for a win after such a disappointing start to the season. McClaren’s side are still pointless, after being beaten by a last-minute goal from Bastian Schweinsteiger in their opening match, and then being overturned by Mainz despite leading 3-0 at half-time.I’m seeing a 3-3 draw here, very open match.

Next up, Gladbach host Frankfurt at Borussia-Park, and will be looking to continue their form after a 6-3 goalfest away to Leverkusen

USA International Michael Bradley Will Look To Boss The Midfield For Gladbach.

a fortnight ago. Gladbach youngsters Marco Reus and Patrick Hermann, who played pivotal roles in their side’s emphatic win over Leverkusen, will also be looking to further establish themselves as first-team picks, and will also look to continue to impress to force a call-up to the national side somewhere down the line. Frankfurt, on the other hand, have started poorly and have lost both of their opening fixtures. It’s very likely that they will remain pointless after Saturday, because Gladbach are a team that look up for anything at the moment. I’ll predict a 3-1 win for Gladbach here.

Hamburg will host Nurnberg on Saturday, and Hamburg will be right up for it as well. Nurnberg only survived last season because they won the all-important play-off to ensure their Bundesliga status. After a disappointing loss to relegation rivals Freiburg last gameday, I can’t see them improving to upset a Hamburg side that are on top of their game, after wins against Schalke and Frankfurt previous to this match. I think I’ll go for a 3-0 win for Hamburg.

Next, Hannover host Michael Ballack’s Bayer Leverkusen, and this match will be an interesting one. While Hannover are no match for Leverkusen on paper, they’ve shown they can really hold their own against all odds. They’ve been very decent up to now, and have picked up six points from their opening two fixtures against Frankfurt and Schalke. Leverkusen, meanwhile, will be looking to improve after being thumped by Gladbach 3-6 in front of their own fans. Michael Ballack, for one, will know the pressure is on him to impress Joachim Loew and force himself back into the national setup. If Ballack can control the midfield, Leverkusen can win this. I can see the veteran midfielder finally coming into his own and changing his side’s fortunes. I’ll go for a 1-2 win for Leverkusen here.

Promoted side Freiburg will host a struggling Stuttgart side, but will know they are the underdogs heading into this match. Freiburg picked up a win away to Nurnberg last game day, and will look to continue with another three points here against a Stuttgart side who look really out of sorts. Over the summer, Stuttgart have lost influential midfielder Sami Khedira, Aliaksandr Hleb and veteran goalkeeper Jens Lehmann. Unfortunately, they have done little to replenish the side and look like they could well struggle this season. Mauro Camoranesi will make his debut for Stuttgart on Saturday, but the winger who will go down as a Juventus and Italy legend is long passed his best days. I can see Freiburg nicking a win here, but only because Stuttgart have been so poor. 2-1.

Arnautovic May Be The Man To Upset Bayern Munich.

And finally, the big one. League champions and last year’s Champions League runners-up, Bayern Munich, will host a Werder Bremen side who will be full of confidence after securing Champions League football this season and beating Koln 4-2 last gameday. Werder Bremen newcomer Marko Arnautovic has been making quite a name for himself at Werder Bremen, and will be looking to make a big impression against the Bundesliga’s best. Bayern will be without Arjen Robben, but with players like Franck Ribery, Miroslav Klose, Thomas Mueller and Bastian Schweinsteiger, no one can deny the quality in Bayern’s squad. This will be the match of the weekend. I’m going to have to go for a 3-2 win for Bayern Munich, but I’d love to see Werder Bremen steal something at the death.

Enjoy!