Borussia Dortmund face the first real test of their mettle as Bundesliga leaders on Sunday when they host Bayer Leverkusen, while Bayern Munich face a tricky tie at Darmstadt.
After the disappointment of last season’s seventh-place finish Dortmund are back at the top of the table, ahead of rivals Bayern on goal difference, following four straight wins under new coach Thomas Tuchel.
Dortmund left it late to beat FC Krasnodar in their opening game of the Europa League group stage on Thursday and full-back Marcel Schmelzer is eager for their winning run to continue this weekend.
“We have unfinished business, not just against Leverkusen but in general,” Schmelzer, whose side were beaten 2-0 at home by Leverkusen last term, told the Bundesliga’s official website.
“We’re on the right track at the moment, though: we’re focussed, working hard and desperately want to succeed.
“We know it’s difficult to maintain the high level we’re playing at, however, and so we want to make sure we keep a comfortable cushion over our rivals and remain in the Champions League places for as long as possible.”
Pep Guardiola’s star-studded Bayern squad will receive a warm welcome at Darmstadt’s antiquated Merck Stadion on Saturday with the hosts looking for another upset win having stunned Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 last week at the BayArena.
Fresh from Wednesday’s impressive 3-0 Champions League win at Olympiakos, Bayern turn their attention to beating Darmstadt to claim top spot in the table before Dortmund play 24 hours later.
Darmstadt are back in the Bundesliga after a 33-year absence and have never beaten Bayern in four previous meetings, the last of which was back in 1982.
Germany’s World Cup winner Mario Gotze is set for another afternoon on Bayern’s bench having been left out of the starting line-up in Greece, only to score as a substitute.
Bayern have the express intention of becoming the first team to win four-straight Bundesliga titles and despite winning all four games so far, they find themselves trailing Dortmund.
“It’s great for the Bundesliga, but it’s a bit unsettling to have such an aggressive pursuer. In fact, at the moment we’re the ones doing the chasing,” said Bayern striker Thomas Muller, the league’s top scorer with six goals in four games.
Guardiola has got off to the best start in any of his three years in Germany, but knows there is no guarantee of success in what is set to be a particularly competitive season.
“No team has ever won the Bundesliga four times in a row,” he explained after Bayern’s comeback win over Augsburg last Saturday.
“That’s because achieving that is really difficult. Bayer Leverkusen lost at home to Darmstadt and VfL Wolfsburg could only get a draw in Ingolstadt.”
The Darmstadt fixture sees the start of Bayern’s run of five matches in 13 days.
The tally includes three key home matches against last season's league runners-up Wolfsburg, a Champions League clash with Dinamo Zagreb, then Dortmund on October 4, which is warming up to be a battle royale.
“I can’t imagine it’s been much fun for Dortmund to have been behind us in the last three seasons so of course, they’re going to want to attack again,” said Muller.
Bottom side Borussia Monchengladbach are at Cologne on Saturday looking for their first win of the season after a disastrous four straight league defeats having been beaten 3-0 at Sevilla on Tuesday in their opening Champions League match.
Fixtures (UAE times)
Friday
Mainz v Hoffenheim (10.30pm)
Saturday
Wolfsburg v Hertha Berlin (5.30pm), Hamburg v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm), Werder Bremen v Ingolstadt (5.30pm), Cologne v Borrusia Monchengladbach (5.30pm), Darmstadt v Bayern Munich (5.30pm)
Sunday
Stuttgart v Schalke (5.30pm), Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen (7.30pm), Augsburg v Hannover (7.30pm)
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Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
