There were draws aplenty in the Bundesliga last weekend that put us out of bets, seven stalemates from nine matches to be precise. Five draws were played out last Saturday with our gameweek 21 preview correctly tipping four of them, however, our multiple didn’t come home flying, meaning we only broke even.
Image Copyright – Steve Haag Sports
Let’s try and punish the bookies this weekend with our 11/1 multiple. Our usual favourites from the German clubs are quite popular with soccer punters, I suggest adding Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt to the list of teams that you should back in your multiples.
Both teams are doing brilliantly having only lost two games each in league competition and will now look to finish the season off strongly in order to earn European football berths.
Friday 19 February
Arminia Bielefeld 4/1
Draw 29/10
Wolfsburg 13/20
Arminia Bielefeld will count themselves unlucky after sharing the spoils in a 3-3 draw with Bayern Munich last Monday, considering the Blues were leading the match 3-1 with 40 minutes to go. Nevertheless, claiming a point against a team who’s won every trophy they’ve competed for in the last two seasons will serve as a massive confidence booster for the newly-promoted side.
Wolfsburg’s five-game winning streak was brought to a halt after playing out a stalemate with Borussia Monchengladbach in a goalless draw. However, no team has scored a Bundesliga goal against the Wolves in nearly 10 hours of football, with Belgian goalkeeper Koen Casteels keeping six straight clean sheets. My money is on Wolfsburg.
Saturday 20 February
Freiburg 15/10
Draw 21/10
Union Berlin 2/1
A midtable clash between eighth-placed Freiburg and ninth-placed Union Berlin kicks off proceedings on Saturday as both sides look to return to winning ways following goalless draws. Freiburg have been in excellent form at the Schwarzwald Stadion in recent weeks with five wins from their last six games that has helped propel the Breisgau Brazilians up the table.
Union Berlin are enduring a poor spell of form, going winless in five games that include three consecutive defeats on their travels. The Iron Ones can’t afford to let this slump worsen and slip further down the standings. Backing the draw is the best bet in what’s expected to be a tightly contested encounter.
Borussia Monchengladbach 13/20
Draw 3/1
Mainz 4/1
Borussia Monchengladbach return home to Borussia Park with hopes of ending a two-game winless run. The Foals were enjoying an impressive run on home soil with victories over Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund which displayed their quality, but then went on to suffer a loss to Cologne which highlighted their inconsistency.
Marco Rose’s troops desperately need to claim maximum points before meeting Manchester City in Budapest for their UEFA Champions League knockout tie. Mainz snatched a point from Bayer Leverkusen after scoring twice in the final five minutes last weekend. The Carnival Club are winless in six games on the road with three draws and three defeats. My money is firmly on Monchengladbach.
Cologne 47/20
Draw 26/10
Stuttgart 21/20
Cologne host Stuttgart at the Rhein Energie Stadion following their 2-0 defeat away at in-form Eintracht Frankfurt. The loss allowed the Billy Goats’ fellow relegation-threatened competitors to edge ever so closer, with Cologne now finding themselves just four points from safety.
Stuttgart’s Sasa Kalajdzic scored his fourth goal in three games during their 1-1 stalemate with Hertha Berlin. The Reds have been woeful on their travels, losing four of their last five clashes away from the Mercedes Benz Arena, but with Kalajdzic in great form, it may be time for their fortunes to change. If I had to choose a winner, I’d be tempted with Stuttgart at even money but the smartest bet is Both Teams to Score (Yes) at 6/10.
Eintracht Frankfurt 31/10
Draw 34/10
Bayern Munich 7/10
Eintracht Frankfurt moved up to third on the standings with a convincing 2-0 victory over Cologne. The Eagles are flying high with an impressive eight wins from a 10-match unbeaten streak that gives Adi Hutter’s men belief that they could get a positive result from this matchup when the champions come to town.
Bayern Munich looked jaded from their FIFA Club World Cup adventure and dropped points against Arminia Bielefeld with the likes of Joshua Kimmich and Benjamin Pavard not in the staring XI, Bielefeld took advantage by catching the Bavarians cold with three goals in 49 minutes. Bayern know they have a tougher fight on their hands this time around but are expected to claim maximum points.
Schalke 7/1
Draw 46/10
Borussia Dortmund 3/10
Schalke snatched a valuable point away from home in a goalless draw at Union Berlin and now return to the Veltins Arena with hopes of taking advantage of a stuttering Borussia Dortmund outfit. The Royal Blues sit rock bottom on the standings and have just one win at home all season which doesn’t bode well for their chances. The Yellow and Blacks were tipped to share the spoils with Hoffenheim last weekend and that’s exactly how things played out in the 2-2 draw. Dortmund will look to gain confidence from hammering the Bundesliga’s whipping boys, I’m selecting Away to Win to Nil at 27/20.
Sunday 21 February
Augsburg 4/1
Draw 3/1
Bayer Leverkusen 6/10
Augsburg have found it difficult against much stronger opponents, suffering defeats to Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Wolfsburg and RB Leipzig in their last five matches. Bayer Leverkusen coach Peter Bosz said, “I’ve seen two bad halves from us. We didn’t play well in the first half either. We were bad at possession, bad in passing, bad in positional play, bad in defence, bad in tackles. You can’t win like that.” The Werkself boss clearly wasn’t impressed after his team conceded twice in the final five minutes against Mainz that saw two points dropped and will demand more professionalism this time around. My banker of the weekend is Bayer Leverkusen at 6/10.
Hertha Berlin 36/10
Draw 29/10
RB Leipzig 7/10
Hertha Berlin is precariously hovering above the drop zone with just a single point separating the Berliners from 16th-placed Arminia Bielefeld. The hosts are winless in seven league games, including five losses that provides very little hope for a battle against Julian Nagelsmann’s troops. RB Leipzig are in fine form in the Bundesliga with four wins from five clashes. The Red Bulls will come into this clash weary following their UEFA Champions League match with Liverpool but still have my full confidence to get the job done.
Hoffenheim 21/20
Draw 26/10
Werder Bremen 24/10
Hoffenheim come into the clash winless in three games after facing Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund. Sebastian Hoeneb’s side have midweek UEFA Europa League commitments prior to this game and it could prove telling on Sunday as Hoffenheim have a thin squad that will find it difficult to compete on both fronts.
Werder Bremen come off back-to-back draws with Schalke and Freiburg thanks to their backline who make it tough to penetrate. The Green-Whites have conceded just four times in six games and need to keep Andrej Kramaric and company quite to stand any chance in this encounter. Home to Win Either Half is my play at 11/20.
MULTIPLE @ 11/1
Wolfsburg Win 13/20
Monchengladbach Win 13/20
Bayern Munich Win 7/10
Bayer Leverkusen Win 6/10
RB Leipzig Win 7/10
Written by Bryan Naicker
