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

Bayern Munich host Union Berlin at the Allianz Arena on Friday, 18 September 2026, with kick-off at 20:30 local time, in a Bundesliga 2026/27 fixture that arrives with both sides heading in very different directions. Vincent Kompany's champions dropped their first points of the season at promoted Schalke before grinding out a narrow away win at SV Elversberg on Sunday, while Union Berlin arrive in Munich on the back of a damaging home defeat to Schalke that handed the Royal Blues their first Bundesliga win in more than three years. The historical backdrop strongly favours the hosts: Bayern are unbeaten in 16 meetings with Union, including a comfortable 4-0 victory when the sides last met at the Allianz Arena in March 2026.

Bayern's 2026/27 squad mixes proven winners with high-profile summer reinforcements. Captain Manuel Neuer remains first choice in goal, shielded by a back line featuring Dayot Upamecano, Kim Min-jae, Jonathan Tah and new €55 million signing Nathaniel Brown from Eintracht Frankfurt, with Alphonso Davies and Josip Stanišić on the flanks. Joshua Kimmich and Konrad Laimer control the midfield alongside Ismael Saibari, the summer arrival from PSV Eindhoven, while the attack is spearheaded by Harry Kane, the in-form Michael Olise, Luis Díaz and Serge Gnabry, with Jamal Musiala back in action after his recent health issues. Bayern's early-season form reads: a dominant 5-1 opening-day rout of VfB Stuttgart, a frustrating goalless 0-0 at the Veltins-Arena, and a hard-fought 2-1 win at promoted Elversberg sealed by Kane.

Borussia Mönchengladbach host Mainz 05 at Borussia-Park on Saturday, 19 September 2026, with kick-off scheduled for 13:30 UTC. Gladbach enter Matchday 4 in 17th place after a damaging start to the Bundesliga campaign, including a 5-0 defeat away to Freiburg and a remarkable 3-4 home loss against Elversberg. Mainz arrive in much stronger form and currently occupy eighth position, although their momentum was checked by a 1-3 home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend. That result followed Mainz’s outstanding 0-5 victory away to Hamburger SV.

Gladbach’s 2026/2027 squad combines established performers with an extensive summer reset. Moritz Nicolas, Daniel Batz, Ko Itakura, Kevin Diks, Joe Scally, Philipp Sander, Kevin Stöger, Hugo Bolin, Robin Hack, Franck Honorat, Tim Kleindienst, Isac Lidberg and Shuto Machino provide the core, while Jan Leszczynski, David Herold, Yukhym Konoplya, Zento Uno, Jens Castrop and Enzo Leopold add depth across defence and midfield. Mainz’s 2026/2027 group features Robin Zentner, Alexander Schwolow, Stefan Posch, Fabio Gruber, Danny da Costa, Anthony Caci, Kaishu Sano, Eric Martel, Nadiem Amiri, Jae-Sung Lee, Paul Nebel, Sheraldo Becker, Phillip Tietz and Ransford Königsdörffer, with Sota Kawasaki and Otto Ruoppi offering additional creativity.

Eintracht Frankfurt host SC Freiburg at Deutsche Bank Park on Saturday, September 19, 2026, in one of the standout fixtures of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season's early weeks. The Eagles arrive full of confidence after a superb away performance last weekend, winning 1-3 at Mainz, where Can Uzun struck twice and Jonathan Burkardt also found the net. Freiburg, meanwhile, top the early Bundesliga table after dismantling Borussia Mönchengladbach 5-0, with Yannik Engelhardt and Igor Matanović both scoring braces in a ruthless display at the Europa-Park Stadion.

The 2026/27 Eintracht Frankfurt squad has been reshaped under returning coach Adi Hütter following a busy summer window. Nathaniel Brown's blockbuster move to Bayern München and the departures of Aurèle Amenda and Rasmus Kristensen were offset by the arrivals of midfielders Noël Aséko and Raphael Onyedika, Brazilian centre-back Otávio, and teenage prospect Malik Pimpong. However, Frankfurt will be without Ansgar Knauff, Nnamdi Collins, Farès Chaïbi, Oscar Højlund and Jessic Ngankam through injury, meaning Hütter must rely on the attacking depth of Burkardt, Younes Ebnoutalib, Ritsu Doan and Uzun to fire his side up the table after last season's disappointing eighth-place finish.

Hamburger SV host 1. FC Köln at the Volksparkstadion on Saturday, September 19, 2026, in a Matchday 4 clash of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, and both sides arrive under real pressure after rocky starts. HSV have lost all three of their opening league fixtures without scoring a single goal, suffering a humiliating 5-0 demolition at RB Leipzig last time out in a match where Merlin Polzin's men simply never got going, falling behind after just 17 minutes and conceding three times after the break. Before that, the Rothosen were beaten 0-2 at home by Mainz, so the hosts' attack — built around Patrik Daka, Albert Grønbæk and Yussuf Poulsen — must finally fire in front of their own fans if Hamburg are to avoid their worst-ever Bundesliga opening run.

FC Köln's campaign has been far more eventful but equally inconsistent. Lukas Kwasniok's Billy Goats produced a stunning opening-day comeback, overturning two deficits to beat Hoffenheim 3-2 at the RheinEnergieStadion thanks to a debut brace from loan signing Thijs Dallinga, but they were then crushed 4-1 by VfB Stuttgart and held to a 1-1 draw by Werder Bremen last weekend, where Linton Maina's early opener was cancelled out by Niclas Füllkrug. Across their last three matches Köln have scored five and conceded seven, a pattern that suggests goals at both ends — something the European odds reflect, with the bookmakers pricing the visitors as slight favorites at around 2.40, the home win at roughly 2.90 and the draw near 3.50.

VfB Stuttgart host Borussia Dortmund at the MHPArena on Saturday, 19 September 2026 (kick-off 18:30 CET) in one of the most anticipated fixtures of the Bundesliga's fourth matchday. The two sides arrive in contrasting moods early in the 2026/27 campaign: Niko Kovač's Dortmund sit second in the table with a perfect nine points from three matches, while Sebastian Hoeneß's Stuttgart are 14th with just three points, still searching for consistency after a heavy opening-day defeat at Bayern Munich. With both clubs also balancing Champions League commitments, this clash of two of the league's most attack-minded teams promises goals, intensity and no shortage of drama in Bad Cannstatt.

Stuttgart's season has been a story of bright attacking moments undermined by defensive fragility. After the 5-1 reverse in Munich, Die Schwaben responded impressively with a 4-1 home win over FC Köln and a 3-1 Champions League victory over Viking FK, before slumping to a 2-1 defeat at Hoffenheim last weekend. Hoeneß has a deep 2026/27 squad at his disposal: Fabian Bredlow continues in goal behind Finn Jeltsch, Jeff Chabot and Ramon Hendriks, with Angelo Stiller and Grischa Prömel anchoring midfield. The real firepower lies further forward, where Deniz Undav, Ermedin Demirović, new €25m signing Dženan Pejčinović, Chris Führich and Bilal El Khannouss give Stuttgart one of the most feared attacks in the division.

Werder Bremen welcome FC Augsburg to the Wohninvest Weserstadion on Saturday, 19 September 2026 for a Bundesliga matchday 4 clash that promises plenty of attacking football. Daniel Thioune's Werder side sit 10th with 4 points from their opening three games, having followed a heavy defeat in their last away trip — a 4-1 loss at Freiburg — with a morale-boosting 3-1 home win over RB Leipzig, and a hard-fought 1-1 draw away to 1. FC Köln. Augsburg, meanwhile, have made a flying start to the 2026/27 campaign under Manuel Baum: a 3-0 dismantling of Schalke, a 4-1 rout at Eintracht Frankfurt and a 2-2 home draw with Bayer Leverkusen leave the Fuggerstädter third in the table with 7 points, level with Bayern Munich on goal difference and boasting one of the league's most potent attacks led by Michael Gregoritsch and Arijon Ibrahimović.

The European odds reflect how tight this fixture looks on paper, with Werder Bremen priced at around 2.30 to win, the draw at 3.75 and an Augsburg victory at 2.85 — a pricing that makes the hosts only marginal favourites despite their home advantage. Both teams head into the weekend with notable absentees: Werder are without Moussa N'Diaye, Felix Agu, Jens Stage, Senne Lynen, Justin Njinmah and Keke Topp through injury, while Augsburg miss Faik Sakar, Anton Kade, Tim Breithaupt and Klaus Sima Suso. Thioune is expected to field his settled 2026/27 core of Karl Hein in goal with Amos Pieper, Milos Veljkovic and Marco Friedl in defence, Leonardo Bittencourt and Romano Schmid pulling the strings in midfield, and Niclas Füllkrug leading the line, while Baum will lean on his familiar 3-4-2-1 with Finn Dahmen between the posts, Chrislain Matsima and Noahkai Banks in the back three, and the creative duo of Fabian Rieder and Robin Fellhauer supporting Gregoritsch up front.