Bayern Munich out to make amends in Bundesliga and sure to set another record
BERLIN AP Bayern Munich s first defeat of the season couldn t have come at a worse time for St Pauli After losing eight games straight in the Bundesliga the promoted Hamburg-based squad had hoped Bayern might have an off day this Saturday complacent after another gala performance in the Champions League But Bayern slumped to a - loss at Arsenal on Wednesday after mistakes from goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and defender Dayot Upamecano and will be looking to make amends in front of its own fans when Alexander Blessin s association visits Maybe after the Arsenal meeting the Champions League is still in their minds or maybe they underestimate us a bit Blessin commented after his gang s - loss at home to Union Berlin We just need to keep it scoreless for as long as practicable and then turn the challenge in our favor That s the task Regardless of Saturday s development Bayern will set a record of consecutive rounds on top of the league beating its own record from Leipzig is six points adrift in second place The Bavarian powerhouse has already made the best-ever start to the Bundesliga after rounds with wins one draw and a goal difference of plus Key matchups Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund clash in Saturday s late meeting when both will seek to build on positive results in the Champions League Leverkusen snatched a - win at Manchester City while Dortmund crushed Villarreal - The winner could eventually take over as Bayern s biggest challenger Leipzig visits improving Borussia M nchengladbach on Friday Gladbach won - at Heidenheim in its first match since Eugen Polanski was endorsed as head coach His band has now won four games across all competitions since a - loss to Bayern Eintracht Frankfurt hosts Wolfsburg on Sunday in the latest challenge for a visiting club dropping toward the relegation zone Interim coach Daniel Bauer was unable to stop the slide after a - loss at home to Leverkusen last weekend That was the first match since Wolfsburg fired its coach and sporting director Frankfurt lost - at home to Atalanta in the Champions League on Wednesday but has won its last two Bundesliga games Players to watch The -year-old Lennart Karl scored Bayern s goal against Arsenal and is fast becoming the majority of talked about athlete at the club He starred in the - rout of Freiburg last weekend and is generating such excitement that a great number of are calling for him to be included in Germany s World Cup squad Cologne s -year-old Reported El Mala has already been called up for World Cup qualifiers Born to a German mother and a Lebanese father the teenager has become a key player in his first season in the Bundesliga with four goals and three assists His club visits Werder Bremen on Saturday lex Grimaldo is Leverkusen s latest star following a summer exodus at the club The Spain left back scored again at City on Tuesday Despite his role as a defender he has four goals and four assists already in the Bundesliga Who is out Leipzig youngsters Assan Ou draogo and Yan Diomande were injured in the win over Bremen last weekend The -year-old Ou draogo suffered a tendon concern in his left knee and is out for several weeks the club stated He had enjoyed a dream debut for Germany the previous week Diomande also broke his nose against Bremen but should be able to play against Gladbach AP soccer https apnews com hub soccer Source
