Suspended duo Martin Terrier and Will Orban plus injured pair Exequiel Palacios and Xavier Schlager are the most notable absentees when champions Bayer Leverkusen tussle with rivals RB Leipzig in a game that could have a bearing on this season’s Bundesliga title destination.
€20m Frenchman Terrier is serving the final game of his suspension having received his marching orders in Die Werkself’s German Super Cup triumph over Stuttgart whereas Orban was dismissed in Leipzig’s 1-0 victory over Bochum on match day one.
Saturday evening’s match up is a throwback to the start of last season when Marco Rose’s visitors started as favourites when they hosted Xabi Alonso’s side only to be upstaged 3-2 at the Red Bull Arena by the eventual champions. Football’s glitterati will be keen to witness whether Rose’s travellers can execute a role reversal.
Jamie Gittens and Maxmilian Beier are among players pushing for starting slots when Nuri Sahin’s Borussia Dortmund tackle Werder Bremen. The young Englishman is hard to ignore after he came off the bench to grab a brace in the Black and Yellows 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.
Last season’s deputy top scorer Serhou Guirassy who scored 28 goals in as many games for Stuttgart before switching to Signal Iduna Park has been taking part in full team training but is not ready for a start.
Record 33-time champions Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany will demand for a better defensive display when they host Julian Schuster’s Freiburg on Sunday than the one his side showed in their 3-2 victory at Wolfsburg. 36-goal European Golden Shoe winner Harry Kane is keen to get off the mark.
TODAY
Union Berlin v St Pauli
SATURDAY
Eintracht Frankfurt v Hoffenheim,
Bochum v Gladbach,
Werder Bremen v Borussia Dortmund,
Stuttgart v Mainz,
Holstein Kiel v Wolfsburg,
Bayer Leverkusen v RB Leipzig
SUNDAY
Heidenheim v Augsburg,
Bayern Munich v Freiburg
