The new Bundesliga season. A glimpse into the future. Who will be the winners?

SC Paderborn 07 welcome TSG Hoffenheim to the Home Deluxe Arena (Benteler-Arena) on Sunday, 20 September 2026, for a Bundesliga Matchday 4 clash between two sides still searching for consistency in the 2026/27 season. Newly promoted Paderborn, back in the top flight for the first time since 2019/20 after their promotion play-off triumph over Wolfsburg, sit 15th with just one point from three matches, while Hoffenheim are 13th with three points. The hosts are winless in the league, having followed a goalless opener at Mainz with a 0-1 home defeat to Freiburg and a 3-0 thrashing at Borussia Dortmund, where Fábio Silva and a late Felix Nmecha brace sealed the points. Hoffenheim, meanwhile, bounced back from back-to-back defeats to Köln and Dortmund by edging Stuttgart 2-1 at the PreZero Arena last weekend, though their earlier home loss to Dortmund by 2-3 exposed familiar defensive frailties.

Ralf Kettemann's Paderborn squad for 2026/27 is built around goalkeeper Nahuel Noll and a three-man defence of Jano ter Horst, Tjark Scheller and Mattes Hansen, with captain Raphael Obermair and Laurin Curda providing width in a 3-5-2 system. Santiago Castañeda and Laurin Ulrich anchor the midfield, while Gabriel Vidović supports the attacking pairing of Stefano Marino and Marvin Pieringer, with Oliver Batista Meier, Sebastian Klaas and striker Reno Philippe pushing for starts from the bench. The big blow of the summer was the free-transfer departure of promotion hero Filip Bilbija to Derby County after his 15-goal 2. Bundesliga campaign, and Paderborn have also been hit by an early-season defensive injury crisis. Hoffenheim boss Christian Ilzer can call on an experienced core featuring Andrej Kramarić, Adam Hložek (already on two league goals), playmaker Assan Ouedraogo and wing-back Vladimír Coufal, whose two assists lead the team, though defensive midfielder Anton Stach and striker Max Moerstedt remain fitness concerns after a hectic start to the campaign.

Schalke 04 host SV Elversberg at the VELTINS-Arena in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday, 20 September 2026, in one of the most intriguing Bundesliga matchday 4 fixtures of the 2026/27 season. Both clubs arrive in the top flight after earning promotion, but their starts have been very different. Schalke's return began with a 3-0 defeat at Augsburg, followed by a resilient 0-0 home draw against Bayern Munich, before Miron Muslić's side claimed their first win back in the top division, a convincing 3-1 away victory over Union Berlin in which Robin Gosens, Adil Aouchiche and Maximilian Wöber all found the net.

Elversberg, meanwhile, have been the surprise package of the young Bundesliga season. The club from a town of just 13,000 people stunned Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 in their historic top-flight debut, then produced an incredible comeback from 3-1 down to win 3-4 at Borussia Mönchengladbach, before narrowly losing 1-2 to Bayern Munich despite a brave performance. Vincent Wagner's side sits in the top half of the table and has already shown it can trouble any defence, led by the likes of David Mokwa, Lukas Petkov and teenage sensation Maurice Krattenmacher, although Francis Onyeka and Tom Zimmerschied remain sidelined through injury.