Bundesliga preview and DFB Pokal review

Revierderby takes the cake as the Bavarian’s do battle, Round two of the DFB Pokal went down and we had a few upsets.  That and more in the Bundesliga Preview for match day nine.

In round two of the DFB Pokal there were four upsets of lower division clubs over top flight Bundesliga clubs as matches took place midweek. The least in headlines was the biggest in league level gap as Darmstadt fell 1-0 to Astoria Walldorf of the fourth division. Results that did garner the headlines for upset was Bayer Leverkusen falling to third division side Sportfreunde Lotte in penalties after the scoring being tied 2-2 after extra time. Other lower scalps were Greuther Furth over Mainz 2-1 and second division Sandhausen defeating SC Freiburg in penalties.

Roger Schmidt served a touchline ban for the second round loss to Lotte, he will be spared that bit of mess, and one additional match after the ruling by the DFB.

In addition to his ban following his actions last weekend at Hoffenheim when he entered a verbal confrontation with Julian Nagelsmann.

After his lengthy ban last season the squad went on a tear. Now this time he is not able to control himself but honestly it was a lame excuse this time. He should be able to reign in the horses. Best he doesn’t pull this in a UEFA match or going forward a 15000 euro fine will seem like chump change.

This weekend is one of the real great derbies of European football, the Revierderby, or Ruhr derby. Both sets of fans have always been the most loyal with each supporting their respective teams in droves each is one of the most widely followed of teams across Europe. Who could also forget that each won a European trophy in May of 1997 as Schalke beat Inter Milan on penalties when the cup final was still over two legs, Dortmund won the Champions League in Munich 3-1 over Juventus one week later.

For the third consecutive season the rivalry starts off with a match up of two different coaches, a sign that the instability at a top club like Schalke can sometimes be like but after an initial rough start Markus Weinzierl seems to be getting things together slowly. Thomas Tuchel has been rotating his squad with the balancing act of Europe and the league to set up this always fun derby.

Top Matches of the Week

As usual Friday’s match is a good one and unexpectedly so this year. Eintracht Frankfurt have looked exceptionally good under Niko Kovac. With a full pre season the club looks vastly improved on what they were this time last season under Armin Veh.

Andre Schubert at Monchengladbach has continued to be very good. Despite their road woes this season at home, at Borussia Park it is a cauldron of noise that welcomes the away sides and they usually leave with nothing. For some reason, despite the same attacking game plan the results happen here. Against a rugged defense at Frankfurt and holes in the Foals line up things could be interesting.

The Saturday Topspiel is none other than the aforementioned Revierderby. Schalke 04 defeated Mainz at the weekend and won comfortably in the midweek cup fixture at Nurnberg. Dortmund had an epic comeback against Ingolstadt for a share of the points and needed penalties in the cup to triumph over high flying Union Berlin of the zweite liga. This is going to be an epic battle to be sure.

Sunday has an unexpected top match. Hoffenheim has proven to be another surprise to the season as they sit undefeated in fourth place. Julian Nagelsmann has a fearlessness within his squad and they seem to be jelling at the moment.

Hertha finds themselves ahead of Hoffenheim in the table by one point and in this match find that they could do much for setting up for a great season. Vedad Ibisevic has been particularly good as the man up top. Paul Dardi has this team playing for the badge and that could mean an improvement on last season.

Bundesliga on FOX

Friday we start off with Borussia Monchengladbach vs Eintracht Frankfurt on FS2.

Saturday’s early matches has Bayern Munich playing FC Augsburg on FS2 and the original El Plastico Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg on Fox Soccer Plus. Topspiel Saturday has the Revierderby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 on FS2.

Sunday’s doubleheader has Hoffenheim and Hertha Berlin on FS2 followed by FC Koln and HSV on FS1.