And judging by the opening weeks of the season, several of the supposedly straightforward fixtures may be rather less predictable than they first appear.
We take a closer look at Saturday’s six matches.
Augsburg vs Bayern: The favourites have been warned
On paper, the roles seem clear in the Bavarian derby. Bayern are unbeaten after four matches, have collected ten points and already scored 14 goals. Just before the break, Vincent Kompany’s side demolished Union Berlin 7-0.
Augsburg, however, have also started well with seven points and eleven goals. More importantly for the hosts’ confidence, they won the most recent meeting between the sides 2-1 in Munich in January. It remains Bayern’s only Bundesliga defeat in their last 47 league matches. Before that, Bayern had only narrowly won the previous meeting in Augsburg 3-2.
The FCA do have problems of their own. Noahkai Banks, who had not missed a single Bundesliga minute this season, suffered a knee ligament injury while on Germany U21 duty. Tim Breithaupt and Steve Mounié are also unavailable.
Bayern will be without Jamal Musiala because of a muscle tear. Apart from that, Kompany has emerged from the international break with a largely complete squad. Bayern are also unbeaten in their last 28 Bundesliga away matches.
Even so, another Augsburg upset does not look quite as unrealistic as the names of the two clubs might suggest.
Mainz vs Leverkusen: Almost a meeting of equals
There is very little separating Mainz and Leverkusen in the table. Both have seven points from four matches. Mainz went into the break after a spectacular 4-3 victory in Mönchengladbach, while Leverkusen beat Leipzig 2-0.
The hosts will still be without first-choice goalkeeper Robin Zentner. Dominik Kohr is also absent, while Paul Nebel, Silvan Widmer and Fabio Gruber have returned to training. A comeback for Nebel after his lengthy absence is still likely to come too soon.
Leverkusen travel without Doué, Culbreath and Eichhorn.
The recent head-to-head record favours the Werkself, although these games have rarely been straightforward. Last season Leverkusen won a wild 4-3 encounter in Mainz before the reverse fixture ended 1-1. Mainz’s final home meeting with Bayer in 2024/25 also finished 2-2. Their last victory over Leverkusen, however, came more than three and a half years ago.
Paderborn vs Stuttgart: Beware the promoted side
The pressure is already surprisingly high on VfB Stuttgart. After four rounds, they have only three points and sit 15th. Last season’s Champions League participants therefore need to regain stability quickly after the break.
Their trip to Paderborn is more awkward than it may first appear. The promoted side have collected four points and beat Hoffenheim 3-1 immediately before the international window.
Sebastian Hoeneß also has to make a change in goal. Dennis Seimen is set to make his Bundesliga debut against the very club where he spent last season on loan. Jacques, Tiago Tomás and Dan-Axel Zagadou are also unavailable.
Paderborn are without Nyamekye Awortwie-Grant, but have several players producing eye-catching numbers. Laurin Curda won more duels than any other Bundesliga player over the opening four rounds.
If Stuttgart fail to rediscover their rhythm immediately, this looks like one of the weekend’s clearest candidates for an upset.
Union vs Elversberg: Who is actually the favourite?
The situation in Berlin is even more unusual. Union host SV Elversberg for the first time in their history, and the promoted side arrive with the clearly better start to the season.
Elversberg have seven points and sit eighth. Union are second from bottom with just one point and have already conceded 17 goals in four games. The defensive problems were laid bare by the 7-0 defeat in Munich before the break.
The intensity numbers also surprisingly favour the Saarland club. Elversberg have contested 115 more duels than Union and have also recorded more sprints.
Coach Vincent Wagner summed up their confidence well. The Alte Försterei is a major challenge, he admitted, but “we’re not exactly that bad either”.
Elversberg are only missing the injured Frederik Schmahl, while Union will be without Markgraf and Nsoki among others.
If an Elversberg victory can still be described as a surprise, that is mainly because of the names and histories of the two clubs.
Hoffenheim vs Hamburg: Both sides badly need points
Hoffenheim and Hamburg have only three points each. TSG have lost three of their opening four league games, and so have HSV.
For Hamburg, the 2-1 victory over Cologne immediately before the break was hugely important. Nevertheless, two goals scored and already 13 conceded underline the scale of the problems. Daka and Grønbæk are now also unavailable after suffering muscle injuries.
Hoffenheim are vulnerable too. Coach Christian Ilzer openly criticised the long international period because so many national-team players were unavailable for daily work at the club.
The head-to-head record does not make encouraging reading for HSV either. Hoffenheim won both meetings last season, 4-1 at home and 2-1 in Hamburg. TSG have also kept more Bundesliga home clean sheets against HSV than against any other opponent.
One particular strength could again prove decisive: Hoffenheim have already scored three goals on the counterattack, making them the league’s most successful transition team so far.
Leipzig vs Frankfurt: Pressure on both sides
The evening fixture is the biggest name on Saturday’s schedule. Leipzig sit only ninth with six points, with Frankfurt directly behind them on five.
RB will be without Marc Guiu and Assan Ouédraogo, while Christoph Baumgartner remains in rehabilitation training. Frankfurt are missing Malik Pimpong and Jeremiaha Maluze, although Can Uzun is available again.
Eintracht have developed a remarkable habit this season: they have scored inside the opening ten minutes in all four league matches. Their five goals in the first 15 minutes are comfortably the best figure in the Bundesliga. Leipzig, by contrast, have yet to score during that phase of a match.
Frankfurt do, however, have an unpleasant memory to erase from last season. They were beaten 6-0 in Leipzig, and have managed only one away victory against RB in the last ten years.
Adi Hütter is therefore demanding compactness above all else. If the distances between the lines become too large, he warned, Leipzig’s quick players become “very, very uncomfortable and very, very dangerous”.
Saturday night could therefore offer the clearest indication of which side has used the three-week break better. Leipzig need a response after their weakest Bundesliga start in four years, while Frankfurt have the chance to increase the pressure on a direct rival at an early stage of the season.
