After six rounds, there is little separating the Bundesliga’s leading contenders. Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are level on 14 points, with Freiburg and Bayer Leverkusen just one point behind. Bayern may have just thrashed RB Leipzig 6-1, but their next opponents have won every home league game so far.
Matchday 7 takes place from 23 to 25 October. We examine the key fixtures, recent form and statistics ahead of another round of Bundesliga action with 888STARZ.
Freiburg vs Bayern Munich: A Perfect Home Record Meets the League’s Best Attack
25 October | 3rd vs 1st
Bayern reclaimed top spot with a 6-1 demolition of Leipzig. Their 22 goals in six matches make them the Bundesliga’s highest scorers, although they have been considerably less prolific away from Munich, scoring just four of those goals on the road.
Freiburg, meanwhile, have won all three home league games, scoring 11 goals and conceding only two. Julian Schuster’s side are particularly dangerous in the air, with four headed goals already — more than any other Bundesliga team.
That could be a problem for Bayern, who rank among the league’s weakest teams in aerial duels won. The visitors will also be without Luis Díaz, who suffered an injury in the Champions League draw with Arsenal.
Freiburg have had a difficult week themselves, losing 2-1 to Leverkusen before a 3-0 European defeat to Monaco. But their home form tells a very different story. With just one point separating third place from first, a Freiburg victory would take them above Bayern.
Borussia Dortmund vs Eintracht Frankfurt: One Side Struggles to Score, the Other to Defend
24 October | 2nd vs 11th
Dortmund remain unbeaten, but four straight league wins have been followed by consecutive draws: 2-2 against Werder Bremen and 0-0 against Union Berlin. Niko Kovač’s side have conceded just four goals in six rounds, although breaking down opponents has become more difficult recently.
Frankfurt have the opposite problem. Eintracht have already conceded 16 goals, with only two Bundesliga teams shipping more. Their 6-0 defeat to Leipzig was particularly damaging, although they responded with a 1-0 win over Köln last weekend.
Younes Ebnoutalib leads Frankfurt’s attack with five goals. However, he faces a considerably tougher challenge against a Dortmund defence that has looked far more dependable than Eintracht’s.
Dortmund won last season’s home meeting 3-2. Six points separate the teams this time, and the hosts also have a clear advantage in defensive consistency.
Hoffenheim vs Bayer Leverkusen: A Test After a Busy European Week
25 October | 14th vs 4th
Hoffenheim have lost four of their first six Bundesliga matches and conceded 14 goals. Yet their midweek performance told a different story: they beat Lyon 3-0 in the Europa League, dominating the xG battle 2.09 to 0.87.
Leverkusen arrive with 13 league points and three Europa League wins without conceding. They have scored 16 Bundesliga goals, with Patrik Schick finding the net in each of the first six rounds — an unprecedented start for a Leverkusen striker.
Their domestic defence has been less convincing, though, with nine goals conceded in six games. Hoffenheim showed against Lyon that they can create plenty of chances when given space to attack quickly.
Hoffenheim won January’s meeting 1-0. Both teams also played in Europe on Thursday, so recovery time and squad depth could matter just as much as their recent results.
Stuttgart vs Borussia Mönchengladbach: Seven Champions League Points, Just Six in the Bundesliga
23 October | 13th vs 18th
Stuttgart are having a strange season. They have collected seven points from three Champions League matches, including a 1-1 draw against Atlético Madrid this week in which they outperformed the Spanish side on both xG and total shots.
The domestic picture is much less encouraging: four defeats in six games, only eight goals scored and six points. Stuttgart lost 1-0 to Hamburg in their previous Bundesliga fixture.
Gladbach are in even deeper trouble. They have lost all six opening matches and conceded 20 goals. Defensive mistakes have also cost them against direct rivals, with defeats of 4-3 to Elversberg, 2-1 to Köln and 2-1 to Hoffenheim.
Stuttgart have an opportunity to bring their European form into the Bundesliga. But their demanding match against Atlético came just two days before this fixture, while Gladbach have had considerably more time to prepare.
RB Leipzig vs Elversberg: The High-Scoring Newcomers Test Leipzig’s Defence
24 October | 7th vs 6th
Leipzig’s last two league matches could hardly have been more different: a 6-0 victory over Frankfurt, followed by a 6-1 defeat to Bayern. With 16 goals scored and 11 conceded in six matches, consistency has been hard to find.
Elversberg have made a surprisingly strong start to life in the Bundesliga. The newcomers sit sixth with ten points and 12 goals from six games. Last weekend, they beat Augsburg 4-3 in a remarkable match featuring a combined 9.46 xG.
They already have three victories, including an opening-round win over Leverkusen. Even so, head coach Vincent Wagner has acknowledged that his team have collected slightly more points than their underlying performances would normally warrant.
Leipzig have the stronger squad on paper, but against opponents who are happy to play an open game, their defensive weaknesses could become an issue again.
The Other Matchday 7 Fixtures
Fifth-placed Mainz host Werder Bremen. Interestingly, nine of Mainz’s ten points have come away from home, while results on their own ground have been disappointing.
Köln face Schalke, who have managed just four goals in six matches. Augsburg take on Union Berlin, whose defence has already conceded 17 times, while Paderborn host Hamburg in a meeting between teams separated by four points.
What Matters Ahead of Matchday 7
Bayern lead on goal difference but have failed to win two of their three away games. Freiburg have yet to drop a point at home, while Dortmund could benefit from their direct meeting — provided they end their run of draws.
Leverkusen are only one point behind the leaders, although their defence has been far less convincing than those of their closest rivals. Meanwhile, Elversberg have already climbed above Leipzig, making the race near the top considerably less predictable than expected before the season.
Once the round is complete, we’ll compare the results with the pre-match 888STARZ odds and the quality of chances created to see which teams truly justified their positions.
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