German Bundesliga: Gameweek 2 Preview

The Bundesliga returned with a bang last Friday night as champions Bayern Munich continued their incredible standards by thrashing Schalke 8-0. How do you follow up a season that won you a treble? Back-to-back trebles will now be the primary objective for Hans-Dieter Flick’s red army who are currently the best team in club football.

Borussia Dortmund will prove to be the biggest hurdle in the race for the league, attempting to prevent the Bavarians winning their ninth consecutive title with the Black and Yellows kicking off proceedings in impressive fashion as well by brushing aside an above average Borussia Monchengladbach team 3-0 with ease.

Friday 25 September

Hertha Berlin 5/4
Draw 51/20
Eintracht Frankfurt 2/1
(20:30)

Hertha Berlin come into this clash full of confidence after putting four goals past Werder Bremen and will look to claim maximum points at the Olympiastadion Berlin before travelling to the home of the champions next week. Eintracht Frankfurt had to settle for a share of the spoils against newly-promoted Arminia Bielefeld with Portuguese striker Andre Silva coming to the rescue to level matters and score on his home debut at Deutsche Bank Park. The last two meetings between these teams have seen nine goals scored so my money is on Over 2,5 Goals at 6/10 odds to get the ball rolling. 

Saturday 26 September

Bayer Leverkusen 37/20
Draw 26/10
RB Leipzig 27/20
(15:30)

Saturday’s action begins with a formidable battle between Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig who are trying to cope with life after Kai Havertz & Timo Werner’s departures who now don the blue of Chelsea. Patrik Schick played a 30-minute cameo off the bench and is likely to be named for the starting XI this time around, however, Die Werkself will still be understrength until Leon Bailey returns after a further week of quarantine. Werner scored 78 Bundesliga goals during four seasons for the Bulls and will definitely be the biggest miss for Julian Nagelsmann’s team. The away win is tipped confidently at 27/20.

Augsburg 5/1
Draw 36/10
Borussia Dortmund 9/20
(15:30)

Two goals in the final 10 minutes sealed the win for Augsburg who were priced at 9/4 odds during their 3-1 victory at Union Berlin. Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland netted a second half brace to steer his team to a comfortable victory. If Haaland continues scoring at this rate and coach Lucien Favre manages to hold on to Jadon Sancho then Dortmund have a strong chance of giving Bayern Munich a proper race to the league title. The visitors put five past Augsburg twice last season and I’m expecting the trend to continue. Over 2,5 Goals should be considered a certainty but I suggest taking Dortmund on the (-1) Handicap at 23/20.

Arminia Bielefeld 17/10
Draw 49/20
Cologne 15/10
(15:30)

Arminia Bielefeld kicked off their first top-flight campaign in 11 years by earning a hard-fought point in the 1-1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt. Interestingly the Blues lost just once at the SchucoArena on route to clinching promotion last season and will look to secure as many points as possible on home soil to stay in the division. Cologne will be targeting maximum points against the new boys after succumbing to a Andrej Kramaric goal in stoppage time which saw Hoffenheim leave the RheinEnergieStadion as 3-2 winners. The Billy Goats won the last two meetings 5-1 & 3-1 and I’ll be back the visitors to make it three wins on the trot at 15/10 odds.

Borussia Monchengladbach 5/10
Draw 34/10
Union Berlin 52/10
(15:30)

Borussia Monchengladbach will compete in this season’s UEFA Champions League after pipping Bayer Leverkusen to fourth position. Manager Marco Rose has done a stellar job since arriving from RB Salzburg where the 42-year-old German coach won back-to-back league titles in Austria. The Foals were phenomenal on home soil tallying 38 points from a possible 51, which was only bettered by Bayern Munich’s 41 points at the Allianz Arena. Union Berlin tend to concede way too many goals on their travels 38 from 17 matches which doesn’t give any confidence. Include the home win in all weekend multiples.

Mainz 5/4
Draw 51/20
Stuttgart 39/20
(15:30)

Mainz will be looking to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat to Leipzig when they host newly-promoted Stuttgart. Swedish forward Robin Quaison comes off the best goal scoring season of his career netting 13 times in the Bundesliga which accounted for 30% of the Carnival club’s goals. Stuttgart return to the top flight following a season long absence and the Reds need to address their poor record on their travels to avoid scrapping in a relegation fight as they are usually accustomed to. Go into the Home to Win Either Half market and back (Yes) at 13/20 odds.

Schalke 15/10
Draw 24/10
Werder Bremen 7/4
(18:30)

Both teams which suffered the heaviest losses in the opening round of matches face each other. Schalke conceded eight at Bayern Munich, while Werder Bremen let in four goals at home to Hertha Berlin. David Wagner begins his second full season as Schalke manager after taking over the Royals Blues who were in freefall before his arrival. Florian Kohfeldt managed to steer Werder Bremen back into the Bundesliga via the play-offs by the narrowest of margins. The Green and Whites won two of the three meetings last season, however, I feel Schalke have more quality in their ranks. Back the home win at 15/10.

Sunday 27 September

Hoffenheim 9/1
Draw 6/1
Bayern Munich 2/9
(15:30)

Hoffenheim continued their impressive form from the back end of last season into their opening game at Cologne but face the ultimate test by hosting Bayern Munich in Sunday’s first match. The Bavarians thumped the hosts 6-0 at this venue last season as payback for the (2-1) win Hoffenheim claimed at the Allianz Arena. To get more value go into the Both Halves Over 1,5 Goals market and select (Yes) at 15/10.

Freiburg 39/20
Draw 24/10
Wolfsburg 27/20
(18:00)

Freiburg picked up a valuable win at newly-promoted Stuttgart to begin their campaign, while Wolfsburg shared the spoils in a goalless draw against Bayer Leverkusen. The Wolves host Ukrainian club Desna in UEFA Europa League action on Thursday night so Freiburg just might be the fresher team come Sunday afternoon. I’ll be playing it safe with Freiburg/Draw in the Double Chance market at 11/20.

TREBLE @ 12/1

Borussia Dortmund (-1) Handicap 23/20
RB Leipzig Win 27/20
Hoffenheim vs Bayern Munich – Both Halves Over 1,5 Goals 15/10

Written by Bryan Naicker