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Bundesliga preview: Matchday 6

September 30, 2016

High-flying Cologne take their fine early season form to champions Bayern Munich, Markus Gisdol makes his debut as Hamburg coach at Hertha and Mario Gomez chases a first goal for Wolfsburg at home to Mainz.

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Bundesliga FC Schalke 04 vs 1. FC Köln
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/P. Stollarz

Bayern Munich has been in a different Bundesliga stratosphere in recent years. While the Bavarians have been contending for titles in the past decade, Cologne have been hopping between the first and second divisions. The Billy Goats stabilized under Peter Stöger, but even he has failed to find a way to get the better of Bayern, losing all four of his encounters with them.

The teams will be on more of a level playing field on Saturday, and that is because of Cologne's historic start. Their 11 points after five games is their best start to a Bundesliga season since 1987. Cologne left-back Jonas Hector said his buoyant team will be traveling to Munich with their "chests out".

"We know that it won't be an easy match," Cologne's Germany international Hector said. "Nonetheless, we are excited because of how things have been developing for us in these past few matches."

Bayern failed to score at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League this week, and Cologne will be aiming to replicate the impressive defensive display shown by Diego Simeone’s side. And they will not have an easier time against Cologne, who has not won in Munich since 2009, but possess arguably their best chance yet to inflict a first Bundesliga defeat of the season on Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

One man against an army

Bayer Leverkusen's goals in the Bundesliga this season have come from just two sources. Joel Pohjanpalo scored four in Leverkusen's first two games, all of them as a substitute, and Javier Hernandez has scored four times in three matches since returning from a hand injury.

Deutschland Fußball Bundesliga Bayer Leverkusen vs. Hertha BSC Berlin - Javier Hernández und Lars Bender
Chicharito (right) has been on form, but can he keep up with Dortmund's strong attack?Image: picture alliance/augenklick/Sportphoto/J. Fromme

With Pohjanpalo injured, Chicharito may have to shoulder the goalscoring load when Leverkusen host Dortmund on Saturday. But Thomas Tuchel’s side will bring a more refined attack with them to the Bay Arena. They have scored 22 goals in their last five games, with 13 different players chipping in with goals.

A high-scoring contest should be expected, but Leverkusen's one-man army is not expected to be a match for Dortmund's attacking battalion.

Beginning of the Gisdol era

Bruno Labbadia was relieved of his post after Hamburg lost their fourth Bundesliga game in a row at the hands of Bayern last weekend. Former Hoffenheim coach Markus Gisdol was named his successor, and now he will have his first crack at helping Hamburg win their first game of the season.

But victory may be hard to come by, as HSV's opponents Hertha Berlin have 10 points from their first five games. Hamburg will be encouraged by their showing against Bayern, holding the defending champions until the 88th minute, when Joshua Kimmich eventually found the winner. Gisdol may not find the solution immediately, but how Hamburg play in his first game in charge will be intriguing.

The Mario Gomez breakthrough

After his impressive display at the European Championship in France, Mario Gomez returned to the Bundesliga to a great deal of fanfare. He has yet to live up to his previous goal scoring record in the German top flight though, failing to find the back of the net in each of his first four appearances.

Bundesliga Wolfsburg vs Dortmund Aubameyang
Mario Gomez's highly anticipated return to the Bundesliga has not gone to planImage: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Steffen

His first Wolfsburg goal may come against Mainz, who have condeded the second highest number of goals in the Bundesliga so far. Mainz's squad is also a tad depleted after several injuries in defense and central midfield, and they are returning from an exhausting trip to Azerbaijan in the Europa League. But Gomez has just three goals in 11 career games against Mainz, so he will have to buck that trend to open his Bundesliga account for the season.