Berlin (AFP)

Winds of freshness in the Bundesliga: the shock at the top of the third day opposes Frankfurt, 3rd, to the leader Hoffenheim, Saturday, while Bayern, Dortmund and Leipzig, behind in the standings, play at home.

The big guys started slowly, leaving in front of them two teams with two victories after two days: Hoffenheim and Augsburg, who have not usurped their ranking, since they respectively beat Bayern (4-1) and Dortmund (2- 0) last weekend.

Sebastian Hoeness, Hoffenheim boss and nephew of ex-Bayern president Uli Hoeness, knows the road will be long: "We're on the right track, but now it's about building on our victory against Bayern in the next match in Frankfurt, "he said.

Frankfurt is third with four points, tied with Leipzig, which receives Saturday (6.30 p.m.) Schalke, a club in the midst of a storm.

The "Bleu Roi" have just changed coaches after a series of 18 consecutive games without a win in the Bundesliga, and 11 goals conceded in the first two outings this season.

For Bayern (7th with 3 pts), beating Hertha Berlin at home on Sunday (6:00 p.m.) is not an insurmountable task, but the stars of the "Rekordmeister" will play their fifth game in eleven days.

They certainly won two trophies, the European Supercup on September 24 and the German Supercup on Wednesday, but also left feathers against Hoffenheim, suffering their first defeat (4-1) since December 7, 2019.

Dortmund, which also has "only" three points, welcomes Freiburg on Saturday (3.30pm).

The rule for spectators remains the same: the authorizations will be given city by city by the local health authorities according to the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic.

At best, only a few thousand fans can be admitted to the stadiums, but several teams will likely still have to play behind closed doors, including Cologne in the Rhine derby against Mönchengladbach (Saturday 3:30 p.m.) and Munich.

The program (in French hours)

Friday:

(8:30 p.m.) Union Berlin - Mainz

Saturday:

(3.30 p.m.) Dortmund - Friborg

Frankfurt - Hoffenheim

Cologne - Mönchengladbach

Bremen - Bielefeld

Stuttgart - Leverkusen

(6.30 p.m.) Leipzig - Schalke

Sunday:

(3.30 p.m.) Wolfsburg - Augsburg

(6 p.m.) Bayern Munich - Hertha Berlin

© 2020 AFP