Bundesliga matchday 8 preview: Bayern v Dortmund level at the top, Leverkusen v Stuttgart, two cup rematches

Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund are level on 17 points after seven rounds, both unbeaten, Bayern ahead on goal difference, and they meet at the Allianz Arena on Saturday evening: the match to watch first. Earlier that afternoon Bayer Leverkusen, fourth, host VfB Stuttgart, and third-placed SC Freiburg go to FC Augsburg. Sunday brings two rematches of Tuesday's DFB Cup ties, and the round opens on Friday with SV Elversberg v FSV Mainz 05, level on ten.

Friday

SV Elversberg v FSV Mainz 05 (19:30 UTC, Ursapharm-Arena an der Kaiserlinde). Elversberg, eighth, lost 4–0 at Leipzig and then 2–0 at home to Darmstadt in the cup on Tuesday. Mainz, seventh, lost 3–2 at home to Bremen and went out of the cup 2–0 at Bochum. Bundesliga.com's predicted line-ups have Robin Zentner returning in the Mainz goal after a long absence. Their only previous meetings were in the cup: Mainz won 1–0 here in August 2023, and the tie here in August 2021 finished 2–2.

Saturday

Bayer Leverkusen v VfB Stuttgart (14:30 UTC, BayArena). Leverkusen, fourth on 13, lost 3–0 at Hoffenheim, then won 2–0 at OFI in the Europa League and came from 2–0 down to beat Nürnberg 5–2 in the cup, E. Tapsoba scoring twice. Bundesliga.com notes that P. Schick, on six league goals, scored in each of the first six matchdays. Stuttgart, fifteenth on six, have lost four of their last five league matches, the latest 3–2 at home to Gladbach, but won 1–0 at Paderborn in the cup. The club says Angelo Stiller, who had started all twelve of their competitive matches, came off at half-time there with an adductor injury and is out for now, as is Leo Sauer with a gluteal injury. Stuttgart won both meetings last season, 4–1 here in January and 3–1 at home in May; Leverkusen won 4–3 in Stuttgart in March 2025.

FC Augsburg v SC Freiburg (14:30 UTC, WWK Arena). Augsburg, ninth on nine, have not won in five league matches; they drew 1–1 with Union in a match in which each side had a player sent off, then won 4–2 at Grossaspach in the cup. Freiburg, third on 13, lost 3–0 at Monaco and 3–1 at home to Bayern before a 3–2 cup win over Wolfsburg. Their club site reports that Philipp Treu was hurt in that tie and was awaiting a diagnosis, and that Derry Scherhant and Jordy Makengo, who missed it, could return. The last meeting here, in January, finished 2–2; Augsburg won 3–1 in Freiburg in August 2025.

Borussia Mönchengladbach v SC Paderborn 07 (14:30 UTC, Borussia-Park). Borussia Mönchengladbach are bottom on three but won 3–2 in Stuttgart for their first points, then beat Karlsruhe 2–0 in the cup; they have conceded 22, the most in the division. SC Paderborn 07, thirteenth on eight, beat Hamburg 1–0 with R. Philippe's goal on 88. Gladbach won all four Bundesliga meetings, the last 3–1 in Paderborn in June 2020 and 2–0 here in December 2019.

Werder Bremen v 1899 Hoffenheim (14:30 UTC, Weser-Stadion). Werder Bremen, sixth on 12, won 3–2 at Mainz with two penalties from N. Füllkrug, who leads the scorers with eight, then lost 3–2 at Dortmund in the cup to a goal in stoppage time after he had scored twice more. 1899 Hoffenheim, tenth on nine, beat Leverkusen 3–0 and Lyon 3–0 in the Europa League before going out of the cup on penalties at Kiel. Hoffenheim have won the last three meetings, 1–0 at home in May the latest, and their last four visits here, 2–0 in January among them.

FC Schalke 04 v RB Leipzig (14:30 UTC, VELTINS-Arena). FC Schalke 04, sixteenth on six, drew 0–0 in Köln and went out of the cup 2–0 at Dresden; they have scored four, the fewest in the division. RB Leipzig, fifth on 12, beat Elversberg 4–0 and have scored 20, the second most. Leipzig have won the last five meetings, the latest 4–2 at home in May 2023; Schalke's last win came 3–1 in Leipzig in September 2019.

Bayern München v Borussia Dortmund (17:30 UTC, Allianz Arena). Bayern won 3–1 at Freiburg, drew 2–2 with Arsenal in the Champions League and beat Magdeburg 6–1 in the cup with two goals from M. Olise; they have scored 25, the most in the division. Vincent Kompany missed both of the last two matches through illness; Bundesliga.com reports he has left hospital and that his assistant Aaron Danks is set to take charge on Saturday. The same site expects Manuel Neuer back in goal and lists Luis Díaz as out injured. Dortmund beat Frankfurt 1–0 with M. Beier's goal on 80, then Bremen 3–2 in the cup with M. Sabitzer's goal in stoppage time; they have conceded four, the fewest. The club says Konstantinos Karetsas, out with a foot ligament injury since the trip to Union, joined part of team training on Thursday, and that a decision on him follows Friday's final session; Niko Kovač said everyone else from the cup tie was fine. Kovač, quoted by Bundesliga.com, said that if Bayern play at a consistently good level it will be "difficult to knock them off the throne". Bayern are unbeaten in the last five meetings and won the last three: 2–1 in the Super Cup in Dortmund in August, 3–2 there in February and 2–1 here in October 2025. Dortmund's last win was 2–0 here in March 2024.

Sunday

Union Berlin v 1. FC Köln (14:30 UTC). Union Berlin, seventeenth on six, drew 1–1 at Augsburg and have conceded 18. Three days later they lost 5–0 in Köln in the cup on Tuesday, S. El Mala scoring twice. 1. FC Köln, twelfth on eight, drew 0–0 with Schalke in the league. The last league meeting here, in May, finished 2–2; Union won 1–0 in Köln in December 2025.

Eintracht Frankfurt v Hamburger SV (16:30 UTC, Deutsche Bank Park). Another rematch: Eintracht Frankfurt won 3–1 in Hamburg in the cup on Tuesday, with goals from R. Koch, J. Burkardt and Y. Ebnoutalib. In the league Frankfurt, fourteenth on eight, lost 1–0 at Dortmund and have conceded 17. Hamburger SV, eleventh on nine, lost 1–0 at Paderborn and have scored six; Bundesliga.com says Fábio Vieira is injured. Hamburg won 2–1 here in May; the meeting in Hamburg in December 2025 finished 1–1.

The table before the round

#	Team	P	GD	Pts
1	Bayern München	7	+19	17
2	Borussia Dortmund	7	+8	17
3	SC Freiburg	7	+7	13
4	Bayer Leverkusen	7	+4	13
5	RB Leipzig	7	+9	12
6	Werder Bremen	7	+1	12
7	FSV Mainz 05	7	+3	10
8	SV Elversberg	7	−3	10
…
15	VfB Stuttgart	7	−3	6
16	FC Schalke 04	7	−3	6
17	Union Berlin	7	−12	6
18	Borussia Mönchengladbach	7	−11	3

The winner of the Klassiker will lead alone; a draw keeps Bayern top on goal difference. Freiburg and Leverkusen play first, on Saturday afternoon, and with a win would move to 16, a point behind the loser. At the bottom, Stuttgart, Schalke and Union are three points above Gladbach.

Numbers to know

• Bayern and Dortmund are the only unbeaten sides, with five wins and two draws each.
• N. Füllkrug (Bremen) leads the scorers with eight, ahead of M. Olise (Bayern) and P. Schick (Leverkusen) on six.
• Bayern have scored 25 and Leipzig 20; Schalke four, and Hamburg, Paderborn and Union six each.
• Dortmund have conceded four, the fewest; Gladbach 22 and Union 18 the most.
• Köln and Frankfurt won Tuesday's cup ties against their Sunday opponents, Köln 5–0 at home and Frankfurt 3–1 away.

The full round with kick-off times in your time zone is on the Bundesliga page.

Sources for the context: Bundesliga, Bundesliga line-ups, Bundesliga Klassiker quotes, Bundesliga Klassiker preview, Bundesliga on Schick, Borussia Dortmund, VfB Stuttgart, SC Freiburg.