The action is heating up in the German Bundesliga with three rounds of matches to be played before clubs take a two-week break to resume proceedings in January.
Image copyright – Steve Haag Sports
Borussia Dortmund failed to capitalise on Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig sharing the spoils in a 3-3 draw, by also playing out to a 1-1 stalemate at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Bayer Leverkusen were the big winners last weekend as the only top-four side to claim maximum points. Peter Bosz’s troops swept aside struggling Schalke by a comfortable 3-0 scoreline that helped the Werkself leapfrog both RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund in the standings.
Leverkusen remain unbeaten and now find themselves trailing leaders Bayern Munich by a single point, while there’s only a four-point margin between the top-four:
Bayern Munich – 23 points
Bayer Leverkusen – 22 points
RB Leipzig – 21 points
Borussia Dortmund – 19 points
Four points separate the current top four teams after 10 matches, as they look to finish strongly to properly enjoy their two-week winter vacations. We’re set for another thrilling weekend of goal-filled clashes, don’t miss out on our 6/1 treble.
Friday 11 December
Wolfsburg 23/20
Draw 26/10
Eintracht Frankfurt 43/20
Wolfsburg are yet to taste defeat this season, along with Bayer Leverkusen and lie in fifth position. The Wolves will be rueing their missed opportunity to overtake Borussia Dortmund in the standings after sharing the spoils in a 2-2 draw in Cologne last Saturday. Coach Oliver Glasner will be working with his defence closely during the week, after both goals conceded against Cologne came from Wolfsburg’s left flank.
At the other end of the pitch striker Wout Weghorst continued his fine form by netting his seventh goal in seven games. Eintracht Frankfurt played out to their fifth straight draw as the Eagles hosted Borussia Dortmund last time out. The visitors will be hoping to break their duck of consecutive draws but will face an uphill task when they travel to the Volkswagen Arena, where Wolfsburg are enjoying a three-game winning streak. My money is on Weghorst’s Wolfsburg on Friday.
Saturday 12 December
Borussia Dortmund 11/20
Draw 36/10
Stuttgart 17/4
Borussia Dortmund are expected to have goal-scoring machine Erling Haaland out with a hamstring injury until next year. The 20-year-old Norwegian striker is the Yellow and Blacks’ main source of goals and will definitely be a massive miss after netting 12 of their last 22 goals. Giovanni Reyna came into the team for Haaland, with the 18-year-old American midfielder scoring Dortmund’s only goal from the 1-1 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt last time out.
Stuttgart will be aiming to make it three straight defeats at home for Dortmund, when the Reds travel to Signal Iduna Park on Saturday. The visitors ended their five-match winless run by edging Werder Bremen 2-1 thanks to Silas Wamangituka brace. The newly-promoted club have found the net in 10 games since making their return to the top division. Instead of backing Dortmund to win at 11/20, I suggest taking Both Teams to Score (Yes) at 5/10 which is the safer option.
Mainz 15/10
Draw 49/20
Cologne 17/10
Poor defending and an element of luck led to two deflected goals beating goalkeeper Robin Zentner that left Mainz trailing Arminia Bielefeld 2-0, after 30 minutes last time out. Mainz pulled a goal back in the second half but were left lamenting their great goal scoring opportunities at the start and towards the end of the match. The Carnival Club return home to the Opel Arena where they’ve failed to win any of their five games this season, drawing the last meetings against Schalke (1-1) and Hoffenheim (1-1), which is the main reason why the hosts are languishing in 17th position.
Cologne are also winless at home but have been quite decent on their recent travels, most notably stunning Borussia Dortmund 2-1, just two weeks ago. These sides met twice last season with each clash yielding four goals each. Additional Totals: Over 3.5 Goals is the way to go at 31/20, however, if you’re trying to play it safer Over 2.5 Goals at 13/20 is a banker to add in all weekend multiples.
RB Leipzig 4/10
Draw 4/1
Werder Bremen 6/1
RB Leipzig had won seven games on the bounce across all competitions at the Red Bull Arena, prior to the visit of Manchester United in midweek UEFA Champions League action. Julian Nagelsmann’s men gave a great account of themselves by going toe-to-toe against a freshly rested Bayern Munich team last weekend which ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw. RB Leipzig were in the contest throughout the encounter with 21-year-old Justin Kluivert scoring one of the most beautiful individual goals this campaign.
Werder Bremen are stumbling down the log standings quickly, five consecutive 1-1 draws have been followed by back-to-back defeats to Wolfsburg (5-3) and Stuttgart (2-1). The Green-Whites have played seven of their 11 matches away from home and have found the net on each visit. Although, RB Leipzig did the double over Bremen last season (both victories by a 3-0 scoreline). Seeing as Nagelsmann’s troops have played on Tuesday night, I’m going for the straight home win and not delving into the exotic markets.
Freiburg 17/20
Draw 11/4
Arminia Bielefeld 3/1
Freiburg held on for a share of the spoils when they hosted Borussia Monchengladbach that ended in a 2-2 draw. There were positive signs from the clash, however, the Breisgau Brazilians are now winless in nine matches, since victory against newly-promoted Stuttgart on the opening day which is a massive red flag for the 14th-placed team. Freiburg have drawn three of their five games at the Schwarzwald Stadion and desperately need to target maximum points when newly-promoted Arminia Bielefeld come to town.
Arminia Bielefeld fortunately snapped a seven-match losing streak with a 2-1 win over Mainz that helped the Blues leapfrog Mainz and move out of the relegation zone from 17th to 16th. Go into the Both Teams to Score and Totals market: Yes/Over 2.5 Goals is the play at 19/20.
Borussia Monchengladbach 9/10
Draw 28/10
Hertha Berlin 11/4
Borussia Monchengladbach will return home to Borussia Park following their midweek UEFA Champions League trip to Spain for a high-stakes Group B match against Spanish champions Real Madrid. In the 2-2 draw at Freiburg last weekend, the Foals scored a magnificent team goal that coach Marco Rose would be very proud of. Centre-back Matthias Ginter played in an accurate diagonal cross and four first-touch passes later his teammates swept the ball into the net.
Hertha Berlin claimed their third victory of the campaign against their crosstown rivals Union Berlin (3-1), and their first at the Olympiastadion Berlin this season. The hosts are expected to continue playing with their counter-attacking brand of football and pick apart their opponents in the right moments with their in-form forwards. Matteo Guendouzi and Krzysztof Piatek are the biggest threats for the Berliners but my money is on Monchengladbach to edge out a win on home soil.
Union Berlin 15/2
Draw 5/1
Bayern Munich 3/10
Union Berlin are on the rise and lie in sixth position with 16 points from 10 games, despite losing to Hertha Berlin (3-1) last weekend, that ended the “Iron One’s” nine-match unbeaten streak. Goalkeeper Andreas Luthe has forced his way into the number one shirt and made Lloris Karius the second-choice goalkeeper. Luthe will have his work cut out when the champions who boast the most away goals come to town.
Bayern Munich have drawn back-to-back home games in the Bundesliga, but have been in imperious form on their travels and the Bavarians also claimed a 2-0 win in their only visit to this stadium last season. Select Bayern Munich on the (-1) Handicap at 7/10 confidently.
Sunday 13 December
Augsburg 9/10
Draw 51/20
Schalke 29/10
Augsburg suffered a 3-1 defeat to Hoffenheim last Monday that has left Heiko Herrlich’s side winless in four games. Schalke have had two managers already this season and their fortunes haven’t changed under coach Manuel Baum since taking over the reins from David Wagner. The Royal Blues lie at the foot of the table, yet to win any of their 10 games.
Schalke have had a raw deal on their travels losing at Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach while earning their only point at Mainz in a 2-2 draw, and will look at this match as a realistic opportunity to claim much-needed points to escape the relegation zone. I’ll be backing Schalke on the Win/Draw Double Chance at 17/20.
Bayer Leverkusen 8/10
Draw 31/10
Hoffenheim 29/10
Bayer Leverkusen maintained their unbeaten record in the Bundesliga by claiming their sixth win in seven league matches, piling the misery on bottom side Schalke in a 3-0 victory. The Werkself look a proper force this season and will now aim to end their poor record against Hoffenheim, who have won three of their previous four meetings between these opponents.
Hoffenheim snapped their seven-game winless streak in the league with a 3-1 win over Augsburg. Interestingly, nine of the visitors’ 10 league games have seen both teams score in the tie. Both Teams to Score over the 90 minutes are a banker at 4/10. If you’re a brave punter, have a go at First Half – Both Teams to Score at 2/1.
TREBLE @ 6/1
Wolfsburg Win 23/20
Borussia Monchengladbach Win 9/10
Bayern Munich (-1) Handicap 7/10
Written by Bryan Naicker
