Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski will take centre stage at the Allianz Arena on Saturday as Borussia Dortmund prepare to lock horns with perennial foes Bayern Munich in the headline clash of our weekly German Bundesliga preview.
Friday 22 April
31/20 Wolfsburg | Draw 22/10 | Mainz 18/10 (20:30)
Wolfsburg return home to the Volkswagen Arena after collecting six of the best at Signal-Iduna-Park against Borussia Dortmund. The Wolves’ only victory from their last five league games was against lowly Arminia Bielefeld, suffering four losses in the same period, which doesn’t bode well for their chances.
Mainz come into the clash winless in four matches with two draws and two defeats, however, will take confidence from back-to-back wins over Wolfsburg when these teams last faced off. Draw or Mainz is my selection at 9/20 in the Double Chance market.
Saturday 23 April
11/20 Cologne | Draw 31/10 | Arminia Bielefeld 46/10 (15:30)
Cologne come into the clash as short-priced favourites by the bookies thanks to consecutive wins over Mainz (3-2) and Borussia Monchengladbach (3-1), while visitors Arminia Bielefeld suffered their fifth loss in six games at the hands of Bayern Munich which has compounded the misery on the Blues.
This is one of the most straightforward bets this weekend, jump on the Billy Goats to make home advantage count.
14/10 Eintracht Frankfurt | Draw 26/10 | Hoffenheim 7/4 (15:30)
Eintracht Frankfurt did the unthinkable by dumping Xavi’s Barcelona out of the Europa League with an emphatic 3-2 victory at the Nou Camp. However, in league competition, the Eagles were downed by both Freiburg (2-1) and away at Union Berlin (2-0) last Sunday.
With just two wins over Bochum and Hertha Berlin in nine Bundesliga clashes, it would be foolish to take the home win confidently.
Hoffenheim being typical Hoffenheim are looking to get back to winning ways. Following four consecutive league wins and an impressive showing in the 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich, the visitors went on to lose their next three matches and disappointingly come off last weekend’s goalless draw with Greuther Furth.
My money is on Hoffenheim to replicate their 3-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt earlier this season.
6/1 Greuther Furth | Draw 4/1 | Bayer Leverkusen 4/10 (15:30)
Despite holding on to admirable goalless draws in three of their last four matches, it seems inevitable that bottom-placed Greuther Furth will return to 2. Bundesliga. Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen occupy fourth on the standings after losing 1-0 to RB Leipzig and surrendering third place to the Red Bulls last Sunday.
Die Werkself ran riot in a 7-1 thrashing over Greuther as Patrik Schick scored four times. At even money select Bayer Leverkusen on the (-1) Handicap.
1/1 Freiburg | Draw 26/10 | Borussia Monchengladbach 5/2 (15:30)
Fifth-placed Freiburg are hot on the heels of Bayer Leverkusen’s Champions League spot, trailing Gerardo Seoane’s team by a single point, following consecutive wins over Eintracht Frankfurt and Bochum.
With only Bayern Munich claiming maximum points at the Europa-Park Stadion among the last eight visiting teams, Borussia Monchengladbach know they’re in for a tough afternoon. The Foals had their four-match unbeaten streak snapped by in-form Cologne and now turn their attention to Freiburg who humiliated them 6-0 at Borussia Park earlier this season.
Freiburg at even money is my play.
9/20 RB Leipzig | Draw 34/10 | Union Berlin 54/10 (15:30)
RB Leipzig took a massive step towards securing Champions League football for next season, edging direct rival Bayer Leverkusen thanks to a brilliant team goal that was finished off by Dominik Szoboszlai.
In their last 19 games across all competitions, RB Leipzig have lost just once – to former manager Julian Nagelsmann – a 3-2 loss to Bayern Munich after Josko Gvardiol’s own goal is nothing to be ashamed about. In fact, the team have shown that they can continue being a force without Nagelsmann at the helm.
Meanwhile, after a 4-0 humbling at Bayern Munich, Union Berlin went on to claim maximum points over Cologne, Hertha Berlin and Eintracht Frankfurt and visit the Red Bull Arena in search of a fourth straight win.
In Berlin, the tie might be more evenly balanced, but on home soil, I’m expecting RB Leipzig to grind out a victory.
4/10 Bayern Munich | Draw 44/10 | Borussia Dortmund 5/1 (18:30)
It might not have the same feeling of Liverpool and Manchester City taking on each other because nine points separates Borussia Dortmund from log leaders Bayern Munich when the BVB step onto the Allianz Arena pitch this Saturday evening.
It seemed like Dortmund would push Bayern all the way this season, but the Bavarians have shown their class over the marathon and carry a healthy lead heading into the final four league games.
If Borussia Dortmund are capable to mount a dramatic late dash for the title – it must begin this Saturday by beating Bayern and possibly catching the other six points in their three remaining matches whereby Bochum, Greuther Furth and Hertha Berlin are neatly lined up for Erling Haaland to score a hat-trick in each match.
Robert Lewandowski has been on both sides of this race and fully understands how much this match means to the boys from Dortmund after spending five seasons wearing the Yellow and Black under former manager Jurgen Klopp.
The last five meetings between these opponents have ended with Dortmund finding the net and Bayern Munich claiming victory. Follow this trend to continue with Bayern Munich Win & Both Teams To Score (Yes) at 12/10.
Sunday 24 April
13/10 Bochum | Draw 23/10 | Augsburg 43/20 (15:30)
Bochum have lost four of the last seven matches and failed to score in back-to-back league games, sharing the spoils in a goalless draw with Bayer Leverkusen prior to last Saturday’s 3-0 loss at Freiburg.
Meanwhile, Augsburg come into the clash also failing to score in two matches following 1-0 defeats to Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin. The last meeting between these opponents ended 3-2 with Bochum claiming the spoils but I expect a cagier encounter this time around.
Select Under 2.5 Goals at 9/10 is my suggested bet.
7/4 Hertha Berlin | Draw 23/10 | Stuttgart 31/20 (17:30)
Hertha Berlin bought themselves some breathing room with a 1-0 win away at Augsburg that allowed them to escape the drop zone for the time being. Stuttgart, on the other hand, find themselves in hot water – 16th position.
This match serves as the ultimate six-pointer with either Hertha piling the misery onto Stuttgart, or the visiting team drawing the Berliners back into the midst of a relegation dogfight. It ended 2-2 in the previous meeting and I’m backing Both Teams To Score (Yes) 13/20.
MULTIPLE @ 23/1
Cologne Win 11/20
Hoffenheim Win 7/4
Bayer Leverkusen (-1) Handicap 1/1
Freiburg Win 1/1
RB Leipzig Win 9/20
