Bayern Munich did not get the desired three points to kick off the season under Julian Nagelsmann in his first Bundesliga match with the defending champions.
Erling Haaland set the Signal Iduna Park alight, opening the season with a brace and three assists leading the attack for Borussia Dortmund into their Freiburg matchup.
Meanwhile, RB Leipzig were defeated on the road, failing to find the target, before locking horns with Stuttgart who in turn have knocked home 11 goals in their first two competitive matches.
Let’s get into all the action!
Friday 20 August
9/20 RB Leipzig | Draw 39/10 | Stuttgart 48/10 (20:30)
RB Leipzig started off poorly, losing 1-0 on the road at Mainz, whereas Stuttgart are raining goals, registering 11 in their first two competitive fixtures of the season.
The key man in the away outfit must be centre-forward Hamadi Al Ghaddioui with back-to-back goals in his first two appearances for the Swabians.
Stuttgart slowly grew into the last game, and we can chalk that pace down to an opening fixture. Now, Pellegrino Matarazzo will have proper competition in the likes of RB Leipzig.
Despite a disappointing start, Leipzig is not a team I would count out. They may have lost Julian Nagelsmann and their centre-back pairing, but they have always shuffled players and made do over the years with continued success. Back RB Leipzig in this matchup with Both Teams to Score (Yes) at 33/20.
Saturday 21 August
11/20 Eintracht Frankfurt | 33/10 | Augsburg 42/10 (15:30)
Eintracht Frankfurt had a difficult opening fixture in Borussia Dortmund and still threatened, registering two goals against the big boys.
The Eagles have quality national players who showed class over the domestic break in Swiss Steven Zuber, Daichi Kamada of Japan and Serbian left midfielder Filip Kostic.
Augsburg were hoping to kick off on the right foot and avoid another relegation battle later on in the season. They failed dismally, going down 4-0 at home and failing to register one shot on goal.
Eintracht looked a ready squad in their opening fixture despite being defeated to the bigger and better team but will definitely take some positives from their first fixture. Back the Eagles to find all three points.
46/10 Freiburg | 38/10 | Borussia Dortmund 9/20 (15:30)
Freiburg have their work cut out for them when they welcome Borussia Dortmund to the Schwarzwald Stadium.
The Breisgau were able to create opportunities and were the more threatening team against Arminia Bielefeld, registering eight shots with six on target.
BVB are still without Raphael Guerreiro, Soumaila Coulibaly and Marcel Schmelzer to name a few.
The Black and Yellows, however, still possess heaps of quality in their ranks, and with three assists and two goals in his first match back in addition to his DFB Pokal hat-trick, Erling Haaland will unequivocally lead the charge for Dortmund.
The home team at just under 50 cents is one for the multiples, and Haaland anytime goal scorer is always something to get money behind before it drops under even money.
39/20 Hertha Berlin | 24/10 | Wolfsburg 13/10 (15:30)
Saturday’s Bundesliga main event – in my opinion – takes place when Hertha welcome Wolfsburg to the Olympiastadion Berlin.
Wolfsburg might have picked up three points in their opening fixture, but when you consider that they played a 10-man newly-promoted Bochum due to a fourth minute red card, you begin to question their ruthlessness winning just 1-0.
The home team, on the other hand, were not successful in their travels being trumped 3-1 on the road. The one goal that was scored came after a scramble in the box via set piece. Even the Brazilian Olympic Gold Medallist Matheus Cunha couldn’t find the back of the net.
The lightning quick direct play from Die Wolfe will be too much for the likes of Hertha and Wolfsburg will surely bring the instinct they need, so an away win at 13/10 has me all over this one.
15/10 Bochum | 51/20 | Mainz 33/20 (15:30)
With 11 players unavailable for their first game of the season, Bochum are way off the pace to start the season, and just four players will face late fitness tests ahead of their encounter against Mainz.
Bochum did however defend particularly well with 10 men against Wolfsburg, losing just 1-0 on the road.
Mainz now make the trip to the west of Germany where they last travelled in 2010 to a 0-0 draw.
Mainz found an early goal and played well to pull off an upset over Leipzig. The 05ers were able to defend well, collectively and with great discipline against a better team on paper.
Going toe-to-toe with the newly promoted and injury ladened Bochum can only work out in the favour of the away team. Mainz on the straight bet at 33/20 is value.
15/10 Greuther Furth | 23/10 | Arminia Bielefeld 18/10 (15:30)
The long road to survival is going to be more difficult than probably expected with Greuther Furth looking out of depth against a midtable opponent Stuttgart last time out.
Greuther were welcomed quite emphatically, going down 5-1 away. Now the newbies play at home with the fans behind them against Arminia Bielefeld.
Arminia found themselves in bad situations early on, but after the break turned up the heat and created some chances against Freiburg, the final result being 0-0 was a deserved point.
Arminia narrowly escaped relegation last season, and this fixture will be a better proving ground for the home team.
This is a tightly contested matchup and there is no confidence in backing a winner, so a draw at 23/10 is the call.
13/10 Bayer Leverkusen | 51/20 | Borussia M’Gladbach 39/20 (18:30)
In the late show on Saturday, Bayer Leverkusen are on home soil against a fired-up Borussia M’Gladbach.
Bayer Leverkusen played to an uninspiring 1-1 draw with Union Berlin from their perspective. The home team will take solace in being defeated just four times at home last season and all four were by just one goal.
Monchengladbach were able to hold the defending champions to a draw in their opening encounter and will carry that confidence into another tight encounter. The Foals came out of the gate all guns blazing and were rewarded with an early goal and we can expect them to push the boundaries against Leverkusen even further.
Monchengladbach received a cracking result, but do not underestimate Leverkusen, they have high quality in personnel and are now managed well by ex-Young Boys gaffa Gerardo Seoane. Back these two sides to fight it out only to split the spoils a point a piece.
Sunday 22 August
21/20 Hoffenheim | 5/2 | Union Berlin 49/20 (15:30)
Hoffenheim took the lead in the 37th minute of their opening fixture over Augsburg and deservedly so when Andrej Kramaric picked out an unmarked Jacob Bruun Larsen at the far post.
Hoffenheim continued from strength to strength after the break and slotted home three more goals with Kramaric picking up a hat-trick of assists.
Union Berlin has found a special place in my football heart since being promoted to the Bundesliga in 2019 and are always ready to go toe-to-toe with every opposition.
Their draw against Bayer Leverkusen in their opening fixture was a lack of concentration after taking an early lead and you can be assured Urs Fischer will be working on staying alert throughout the course of the week.
These teams have both impressed me in the opening gameweek and the last time these two faced off on Hoffenheim soil, the Berlin outfit took the game 3-1. For me, backing Both Teams to Score (Yes) is on the money at 6/10.
1/7 Bayern Munich | 15/2 | Cologne 15/1 (17:30)
Bayern Munich had a wake-up call in their opening tie, drawing 1-1 with Borussia M’Gladbach.
Die Roten have had two or three game slumps in the past but including pre-season games, they are without a win in five fixtures under Julian Nagelsmann.
Cologne kicked off the season on a positive note and Austrian left winger Florian Kainz netted a brace to give the Billy Goats a 3-1 victory on home turf.
I wouldn’t read too much into Bayern’s form as it is only the second game of the season and putting the champs in a multiple would still be a sure thing over Cologne, but finding value is the difficult part. Back Bayern to win and over 2.5 after a false start to their title defence at 4/10.
QUAD @ 7/1
Eintracht Frankfurt Win 11/20
Borussia Dortmund Win 9/20
Mainz Win 33/20
Bayern and Over 2.5 Win 4/10
Joshua Gaillard
@JoshuaGaillard
