Bundesliga matchday 9 preview: Bayern at Mainz with Kompany's return still open, Dortmund v Elversberg, Füllkrug in Stuttgart

Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund are still level on 18 points after their 2–2 draw in Munich, both unbeaten, Bayern ahead on goal difference, and on Saturday afternoon both play at the same time: Bayern at FSV Mainz 05, with no date yet for Vincent Kompany's return to the bench, and Dortmund at home to SV Elversberg, a side the API lists no previous meeting with. Later on Saturday, league top scorer Niclas Füllkrug takes fifth-placed Werder Bremen to VfB Stuttgart. The round opens on Friday night in Hamburg, where Hamburger SV host bottom side Borussia Mönchengladbach, and Sunday brings the Rhine derby between 1. FC Köln and Bayer Leverkusen.

Friday

Hamburger SV v Borussia Mönchengladbach (19:30 UTC, Volksparkstadion). Hamburg, fifteenth on nine, lost 3–1 at Frankfurt, T. Moffi scoring their goal on 14, and have lost their last two league matches; they have conceded 19, the second most. Bundesliga.com says Sebastiaan Bornauw is close to a return to their starting line-up. Gladbach, bottom on four, drew 0–0 with Paderborn and have conceded 22, the most in the division; Nicolas Kühn is out again with a muscle injury, while Franck Honorat and Kevin Diks may be available. Their coach Alexander Blessin said the Volksparkstadion "always has a tremendous atmosphere". The last two meetings both finished 0–0, here in January and in Mönchengladbach in August 2025; Hamburg won 2–1 here in May 2018.

Saturday

Borussia Dortmund v SV Elversberg (14:30 UTC, Signal Iduna Park). Dortmund, second on 18, drew 2–2 at Bayern with F. Silva's goal on 89 and have conceded six, the fewest in the division. Elversberg, seventh on 13, beat Mainz 4–1 after leading 3–0 at half-time. The API lists no previous meeting between the two.

RB Leipzig v FC Augsburg (14:30 UTC, Leipzig Red Bull Arena). RB Leipzig, fourth on 15, won 2–0 at Schalke and have scored 22, the second most. FC Augsburg, tenth on nine, led Freiburg through M. Gregoritsch's goal on 18 but lost 2–1, and have not won in six league matches. Leipzig won 2–1 here in March and 6–0 in Augsburg in October 2025; the match in Augsburg in February 2025 finished 0–0.

FSV Mainz 05 v Bayern München (14:30 UTC, MEWA Arena). Mainz, ninth on ten, lost 4–1 at Elversberg and finished with ten men after S. Posch was sent off in stoppage time. Bayern, top on 18 with 27 goals, the most in the division, led Dortmund twice; H. Kane missed a penalty on 56 and then set up D. Upamecano's goal. Kompany, discharged from hospital last week after collapsing at a training session, was not expected back for Tuesday's Champions League match at Atlético, bundesliga.com reported beforehand, with his assistant Aaron Danks standing in, and the site said last week that no return date had been set. Ismael Saibari is out for months after ankle surgery and Serge Gnabry has a thigh injury. Bayern won 4–3 here in April; the match in Munich in December 2025 finished 2–2, and Mainz won 2–1 here in December 2024.

SC Paderborn 07 v Eintracht Frankfurt (14:30 UTC, Home Deluxe Arena). SC Paderborn 07, fourteenth on nine, drew 0–0 at Gladbach; they have scored six and conceded nine. Eintracht Frankfurt, eighth on eleven, beat Hamburg 3–1, Y. Ebnoutalib scoring his sixth. Their last meetings were in 2019-20: Frankfurt won 3–2 at home in June 2020, and Paderborn 2–1 here in December 2019.

VfB Stuttgart v Werder Bremen (17:30 UTC, MHP Arena). Stuttgart, eleventh on nine, won 4–2 at Leverkusen with two goals from E. Demirović, who has five. Bremen, fifth on 15, beat Hoffenheim 2–0. Füllkrug, who leads the scorers with nine, has scored in seven Bundesliga matches in a row, equalling Rudi Völler's club record, and Bremen have not lost in the league since matchday 2, bundesliga.com notes; Mitchell Weiser came off injured after about a quarter of an hour against Hoffenheim. The meeting here in April finished 1–1; Stuttgart won 4–0 in Bremen in December 2025, and Bremen 2–1 here in April 2025.

Sunday

1. FC Köln v Bayer Leverkusen (14:30 UTC, RheinEnergieStadion). Köln, thirteenth on nine, drew 1–1 at Union with M. El Mala's goal on 79. Leverkusen, sixth on 13, lost 4–2 at home to Stuttgart, their second league defeat in a row; P. Schick has seven goals. Leverkusen have won the last five meetings, 2–1 here in April the latest, 2–0 at home in December 2025 and 3–2 in the cup in February 2025.

SC Freiburg v Union Berlin (16:30 UTC, Europa-Park Stadion). SC Freiburg, third on 16, came from behind to win 2–1 at Augsburg with goals from I. Matanović on 65 and C. Irié on 85. Union Berlin, sixteenth on seven, drew 1–1 with Köln and have one win all season. Freiburg have not beaten Union in five meetings: Union won 1–0 here in March, the match in Berlin in November 2025 finished 0–0, and Union won 2–1 here in March 2025.

1899 Hoffenheim v FC Schalke 04 (18:30 UTC, SNP Arena). 1899 Hoffenheim, twelfth on nine, lost 2–0 at Bremen and have lost three of their last five. FC Schalke 04, seventeenth on six, lost 2–0 at home to Leipzig and have scored four, the fewest in the division. Hoffenheim won the last three meetings, 2–0 here in April 2023, 5–1 here in the cup and 3–0 in Gelsenkirchen in October 2022.

The table before the round

#	Team	P	GD	Pts
1	Bayern München	8	+19	18
2	Borussia Dortmund	8	+8	18
3	SC Freiburg	8	+8	16
4	RB Leipzig	8	+11	15
5	Werder Bremen	8	+3	15
6	Bayer Leverkusen	8	+2	13
7	SV Elversberg	8	0	13
8	Eintracht Frankfurt	8	−5	11
…
15	Hamburger SV	8	−12	9
16	Union Berlin	8	−12	7
17	FC Schalke 04	8	−5	6
18	Borussia Mönchengladbach	8	−11	4

Six teams are level on nine points, from Augsburg in tenth to Hamburg in fifteenth, so the middle of the table can change shape on all three days of the round.

Numbers to know

• N. Füllkrug leads the scorers with nine, two ahead of P. Schick; M. Olise and Y. Ebnoutalib have six.
• Bayern and Dortmund are the only unbeaten sides; Bayern have scored 27, Dortmund conceded six.
• Schalke have scored four, the fewest; Gladbach have conceded 22, the most.
• Leverkusen have won the last five meetings with Köln.
• Six clubs, from tenth to fifteenth, are on nine points.

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

Sources for the context: bundesliga.com, bundesliga.com, bundesliga.com, bundesliga.com, bundesliga.com.