With this month’s UEFA Nations League games done and over with, the big leagues are getting back to action around the world and Bundesliga has all the action you could hope for. With 9 games between Saturday and Sunday, all 18 teams will be in action as they head into Week 4 of the 2020-21 season.
Best of Week 4
TSG Hoffenheim v. Borussia Dortmund
Saturday, October 17, 9:30AM ET
PreZero Arena
Watch on ESPN+
The weekend kicks off with a slew of 9:30AM matches, and this one is no small ordeal as Jadon Sancho and Borussia Dortmund head on the road to take on Andrej Kramaric and Hoffenheim. Both teams are deadlocked at 6 points, though Dortmund is ahead in the table on the goal differential tiebreaker. Last season, Hoffenheim finished 6th in the table while Dortmund finished in 2nd, a full 17 points clear of their opponents. Hoffenheim seem to be off to a great start this year which included a 4-1 victory over last season’s champions Bayern Munich, but they suffered their first loss of the campaign in Week 3 against Eintracht Frankfurt. Jadon Sancho is set to make his return after missing the last couple matches with illness, but we can expect him to get the start this weekend especially with Marco Reus still on the road to recovery. There are bound to be fireworks in this one as both teams battle to climb the table and stay near the top as the season continues.
Worst of Week 4
1. FSV Mainz 05 v. Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Saturday, October 17, 9:30AM ET
Opel Arena
Watch on ESPN+
Two teams without a win to their name this season will meet on Saturday as they both vie to get their first full 3 points out of a match this campaign. Mainz has yet to earn a single point yet, losing all of their first 3 games to RB Leipzig, VfB Stuttgart, and Union Berlin. Leverkusen, on the other hand, haven’t won a game but they haven’t lost any, either. 3 draws in 3 games is good for 14th place in the table, only 3 points ahead of 17th-place Mainz. Of course, Leverkusen will look to take advantage of a Mainz defense who has let in 11 goals so far this season. While this match has the potential to turn lop-sided, there aren’t a whole lot of implications coming out of this one as both teams are struggling to climb from the bottom half of the table.
Week 4 Sleeper
FC Augsburg v. RB Leipzig
Saturday, October 17, 9:30AM ET
WWK Arena
Watch on ESPN+
If you’re looking at the table from last season, you’d see this game as a completely one-sided blowout in favor of Leipzig, and probably wouldn’t give it a second thought. This season has Augsburg flying out of the gates, though, as they’re tied on points with the league leaders after big victories over Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund. They followed those two games up with a big draw on the road against Wolfsburg, keeping them right on pace near the top of the table sitting in 2nd place. The hosts have only allowed one goal through their first 3 matches, and they’ll look to keep that air-tight defense intact as they host 1st-place Leipzig. As American youngster Tyler Adams finds himself in an important spot coming back from injury while Marcel Sabitzer is listed as doubtful with a thigh injury, Leipzig will make the trip to WWK Arena in hopes of staying at the top of the table while jumping clear of Augsburg on points altogether.
This Weekend’s Full Schedule
All matches can be found in the United States on ESPN+.
All times listed are Eastern.
Saturday, October 17th
9:30AM - TSG Hoffenheim v. Borussia Dortmund
9:30AM - Sport-Club Freiburg v. SV Werder Bremen
9:30AM - Hertha Berlin v. VfB Stuttgart
9:30AM - 1. FSV Mainz 05 v. Bayer 04 Leverkusen
9:30AM - FC Augsburg v. RB Leipzig
12:30PM - DSC Arminia Bielefeld v. FC Bayern München
4:30PM - Borussia Monchengladbach v. VfL Wolfsburg
Sunday, October 18th
9:30AM - 1. FC Köln v. Eintracht Franfkurt
12:00PM - FC Schalke 04 v. 1. FC Union Berlin