Beaten but unbowed

Our results for match day 4 were an improvement on the previous week, and we should have been entering match day 5 with high hopes and spirits.

However, our joy was tempered by the utter pasting we got at the hands of guest predictor Mark Lovell (@LovellLowdown) who either has a copy of the German Sporting Almanac 2011 that he obtained through some weird Back to the Future-like time travel experiment or he's just really, really good. Either way, we hold our hands up to him and carry on regardless into the next round of games...

Follow us on Twitter (@DW_Sports) for the next chance to be picked to pick!

This week's guest guesser is Anne Gillies (@cheekybackheel) from the US state of Michigan.

Friday, Sept. 9

Augsburg - Leverkusen

Augsburg's second defeat of the season two weeks ago saw the newcomers slip ominously into the relegation zone and despite the campaign only being a month old, one has to wonder whether they have enough quality to get out. The 1-0 defeat to Nuremberg came on the heels of a 2-0 reverse against Hoffenheim, suggesting goals are becoming hard to come by. Leverkusen, meanwhile, are also struggling to find the net with only two goals to their name so far. But with two 1-0 victories under their belts, at least they’ve made them count. Robin Dutt's side are becoming the team most likely to grind out results, and we reckon that’s precisely what they’ll do here.

DW prediction: Leverkusen 1-0
Guest prediction: Leverkusen 1-0

Saturday, Sept. 10

Dortmund - Hertha

The defending champions are not off the title pace yet but they won't like seeing Bayern Munich in the top slot with a two-point lead. BVB spluttered to a 0-0 draw with Leverkusen before the international break, losing a bit of ground to their Bavarian rivals. Jürgen Klopp will want a reaction this week after time off to consider what's not firing for his Dortmund team. Hertha recorded their first win a fortnight ago against Stuttgart and could prove obstinate opponents but as the home side Dortmund should have more than a slight edge over the newly promoted Berliners.

DW prediction: Dortmund 3-1
Guest prediction: Dortmund 2-0

Bayern - Freiburg

Freiburg thankfully have a relatively short journey to the Allianz Arena on Saturday providing them with less time to dwell on the fact that Bayern seem to have hit a very rich vein of form. Eight goals in the last two games suggests that Munich are getting into the rhythm and for a team which has won just once and shipped nine goals so far, that should spell bad news for Freiburg. Bayern have also only conceded one goal so far this season so the action will be focused on the Freiburg goal, where ‘keeper Oliver Baumann will be kept busy.

DW prediction: Bayern 4-0
Guest prediction: Bayern 3-1

Mainz - Hoffenheim

Mainz are now in the position that Hoffenheim found themselves in two seasons ago: they are no longer a surprise package, and in fact many now expect them to do well. But it doesn't always work out that way, as Hoffenheim know. One good season played out under the radar brings it own pressures and Mainz are now toiling to replicate the form that saw them shock the league from the front last year. Hoffenheim's own time in the sun seems to have faded into a perennial dusk so the long-term omens for Mainz aren't good if they follow the Hoff's lead. At least they'll be on an even keel with each other in this match.

Prediction: Draw 2-2
Guest prediction: Mainz 2-1

Stuttgart - Hannover

Stuttgart flew out of the blocks on the first day of the season with a great 3-0 win over Schalke. Since then, however, VfB have hit the skids in a way reminiscent of last season's dive into the deep end which resulted in a battle against relegation for most of the campaign. The opening day battering of Schalke suggests they can do it when they want to and they're going to have to be in the right frame of mind to get the better of unbeaten Hannover. Mirko Slomka's boys have themselves stalled after two early wins on the trot but have yet to succumb to defeat. This is unlikely to be a classic but Hannover's mental strength may give them the edge.

DW prediction: Hannover 2-1
Guest prediction: Draw 1-1

Gladbach - Kaiserslautern

It was pleasant while it lasted, wasn't it? That dream of last season's strugglers regrouping to mount an unlikely title charge? Gladbach won't be cannon fodder this season but they won't be champions either, despite beating Bayern and thumping Wolfsburg. They only have one close defeat to their names but there's a danger that the momentum could already be lost. To stay in contention for Europe, Gladbach will have to beat the likes of Kaiserslautern as well as the big guns. Winless ‘Lautern could be just the team Gladbach needs right now to get their fans dreaming again, at least for a little while longer.

DW prediction: Gladbach 1-0
Guest prediction: Gladbach 2-1

Bremen - Hamburg

A team that scores for fun against another with a defense like a sieve: this could be a very long afternoon for Hamburg fans. Werder are showing the kind of attacking form that used to regularly grace the higher echelons of the Bundesliga and the rough-and-tumble of the Champions League. Thomas Schaaf has seemingly rediscovered the right blend of cavalier attack and sturdy defense - or at least enough cavalier attack to outscore the opposition however many they put past Tim Wiese. How they cope against Hamburg without new Arsenal recruit Per Mertesacker remains to be seen - although, luckily for Bremen, Hamburg are worse than rubbish right now.

DW prediction: Bremen 3-0
Guest prediction: Bremen 3-2

Sunday, Sept. 11

Cologne - Nuremberg

Cologne have let in 12 goals this season but remarkably, while scoring half as many themselves, they've manage to get themselves out of last place and up to 14th. Scoring four against HSV in Hamburg in their last game - while conceding three - will have given Cologne great confidence. Nuremburg are coming off a win of their own over Augsburg, but continue to struggle for goals. We see Cologne taking advantage of Nuremberg’s anemic attack, outscoring their opponents, and moving further out of danger.

DW prediction: Cologne 2-1
Guest prediction: Draw 0-0

Wolfsburg - Schalke

Felix Magath can count on one finger the number of stadiums he is afforded a warm welcome by the opposing fans (Hamburg, having won a European Cup there as a player). Even his own Wolfsburg faithful have been known to give him a hard time and with the team's form chart looking like the trajectory of a skydiver, he could find himself with even fewer friends when his most recent former team visits on Sunday. Two goals scored and ten conceded in the space of three defeats and one victory makes very unpleasant reading in VW country. Schalke, on the other hand, have recovered from the opening day loss to Stuttgart by going on a run of three straight wins in the Bundesliga while sauntering their way past Helsinki to reach the group stages of the Europa League. Another bad day at the office for Felix perhaps?

DW prediction: Schalke 2-0
Guest prediction: Schalke 4-1

Last week's results:

DW: 7 points

Guest: Mark Lovell (@LovellLowdown) of Munich, 12 points

DW total for the season: 23 points

Guest total for the season: 28 points

Three points for a correct score prediction

Two points for a correct winning margin prediction

One point for a correct winner prediction

Author: Nick Amies
Editor: Matt Hermann