(Football news) The big surprise after nine match days in this season’s Bundesliga isn’t necessarily that 10-time defending champions Bayern aren’t top, but that Union are leading the standings. The Berliners’ had a brilliant season last year when they finished fifth-placed which was subsequently the highest ever finish in either the German or East German pyramid, so even the most of the Eisernen supporters really wouldn't believe that they would be at the summit this year. Dortmund will travel to the fortress that is the Stadion An der Alten Försterei as this season BVB have created the most chances in games this season, with their Expected Goals value of 17.1 is only ranked third in the entire German division while the Die Eisernen sit 16th with an goal value of only 9.7.
However, the Bundesliga leaders are very clinical and boast the division’s best shot efficiency of +6.3, which explains how many goals the team has scored compared to their average chance creation percentage. On the other hand, Dortmund are the most wasteful with a shot efficiency of -4.9. Union’s star player Becker, ranks among the top 10 in Finisher and Sprinter as he’s the fastest player in the Bundesliga this season with a top speed of 36 km/h (22.4 mph). He also developed an immediate partnership with summer signing Jordan as Union would have been eight points and 10 places worse off without the pair’s goals.
Probable teams
Union Berlin
Ronnow – Jaeckel, Knoche, Leite – Trimmel (c), Schäfer, Khedira, Haberer, Gießelmann – Becker, Jordan
Dortmund:
Kobel – Wolf, Hummels (c), Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro – Bellingham, Özcan – Adeyemi, Brandt, Malen – Moukoko
Third place Bayern Muich takes on second place Feriburg in Munich, it is only the third time ever that Freiburg have gone into a meeting with Bayern ahead of them in the table. A first-ever victory away at the record champions could see the Black Forest club to the top of the table. The defending champions have proven themselves as the most potent team in front of the goal, with a league-topping 25 goals, putting away 3.8 more than chances per matches as they’ve had 62 shots more than any other team and went through a spell of relative wastefulness over several draws. Freiburg are where they should be with only 14 goals.
Jamal Musiala is second only to Bellingham in the league for the number of times he’s been pressurised by opponents (191). For Bayern it is key to get him on the ball as he attracts several defenders and creates space for other teammates. On the other hand, Ritsu Doan is Freiburg’s most pressed player (138 times), but central defender Matthias Ginter, an experienced Germany international whose summer return has helped take Die Breisgauer to another level as his calming presence and particularly being composed under pressure has helped the team a lot. For Bayern there are some worrying signs as Mane scored four goals from 11 shots on target and he also had six ruled out and. Sixteen points after nine matches is Bayern's lowest points total since 2010/11.
Probable teams
Bayern Munich
Neuer (c) – Pavard, Upamecano, de Ligt, Davies – Kimmich, Sabitzer – Sane, Musiala, Mane – Müller
Freiburg
Flekken – Sildillia, Ginter, Lienhart, Günter (c) – Eggestein, Höfler – Doan, Jeong, Grifo – Gregoritsch
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