In full flow
One day after the curtain-raiser the 45th Bundesliga season is gaining momentum with no less than six matches on Saturday afternoon!
FC Bayern München - FC Hansa Rostock
FC Bayern go into the new Bundesliga season full of confidence after winning the PREMIERE League Cup.
"Life gets serious from now on. It's time to start putting points on the board", head coach Ottmar Hitzfeld demands.
Promoted Hansa are back in the Bundesliga after a two-year absence.
"We want to transform our ideas of modern football in this match too, even if Bayern surely want to make quite a splash immediately", Hansa head coach Frank Pagelsdorf says.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Energie Cottbus
UEFA Cup participants Bayer have already something to make up for after exiting the DFB Cup against FC St. Pauli.
"We have a home match. Only three points count", Bayer head coach Michael Skibbe demands.
Energie go into their second straight season in the top flight and hope to build on their 13th place.
Cottbus are without Vragel da Silva (suspended) and probably Stanislav Angelov (no FIFA clearance yet).
VfL Bochum - Werder Bremen
Bochum have something to make up for after they lost both matches against Werder last term, 3-0 away and 6-0 at home.
"It's nice to start in front of a sell-out crowd, and that's what I will tell the players. If we deliver a good performance, the people will come again and again", VfL head coach Marcel Koller says.
Werder will take on Dynamo Zagreb for a place in the UEFA Champions League proper next week, but now it's about a good start into the league.
"We are ready for the game in Bochum. We have high expectations here despite the problems we've had. With the players we have available to us, we have a strong side", Werder head coach Thomas Schaaf remarks.
Hannover 96 - Hamburger SV
96 host HSV for the Northern derby. Hanover have played a great pre-season, including a 3-0 win over Real Madrid.
"That would count for nothing if we lose against HSV", 96 head coach Dieter Hecking clarifies, but the "Reds" have not lost any of their last nine matches against Hamburg.
Hamburger SV have had a successful season so far, reaching the 2nd round of the DFB Cup and the UEFA Cup via the Intertoto Cup.
HSV haven't won in Hanover for "19 years? That has to change. We have a very strong team", HSV defender Bastian Reinhardt demands.
Eintracht Frankfurt - Hertha BSC
Frankfurt's injury-ridden pre-season has been far from ideal, but Eintracht want to put that behind them with a win over Hertha.
"There is a thrill of anticipation. The players are fired up to gou out and play in front of full terraces again", Eintracht head coach Friedhelm Funkel reports.
Hertha will play their first Bundesliga match under new head coach Lucien Favre.
"I'm looking forward to the match in the sold-out stadium. The team have worked very well, but they still need time to transform my new methods", Favre says.
VfL Wolfsburg - Arminia Bielefeld
The "Wolves" start into their first season under new head coach Felix Magath.
"´We will play well and score three goals which will be enough for our first win of the season", VfL captain Marcelinho reckons.
Arminia finished the last season in 12th place with a tremendous run-in, after quite a few people had already written them off.
"The Wolves have a lot of individual quality and are capable of doing well", Arminia head coach Ernst Middendorp acknowledges.
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