The German Bundesliga continues to provide us with entertaining and attacking football played on the front foot. On the betting side of things Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have failed to win in recent matches which has reduced the gap at the top of the standings and let us out of our weekend multiples. Bayer Leverkusen have capitalised on the opportunity by taking advantage of the points dropped by their rivals and are currently the most consistent team in the division.
Friday 18 December
Union Berlin 32/10
Draw 28/10
Borussia Dortmund 8/10
(21:30)
Union Berlin have been a tough side to beat this campaign, living up to their nickname of “the Iron Ones”. The hosts are unbeaten in five matches on home soil with two wins and three draws, most notably holding champions Bayern Munich to a 1-1 stalemate last Saturday. Borussia Dortmund parted ways with manager Lucien Favre after a humiliating 5-1 loss to newly-promoted Stuttgart at Signal Iduna Park, their third consecutive loss at home. The Yellow and Blacks are struggling without their main source of goals, Erling Haaland with the striker expected to return to action in January. Goals are almost guaranteed when these opponents lock horns, take Over 2,5 Goals at 13/20.
Saturday 19 December
RB Leipzig 7/20
Draw 17/4
Cologne 7/1
(16:30)
RB Leipzig are enjoying a nine-game winning streak at the Red Bull Arena and will aim to make it 10 on the bounce against a team that have never claimed a single point at this stadium. Julian Nagelsmann’s troops will aim to finish the year strongly after recent victories over Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United in Germany gained RB Leipzig entry into the UEFA Champions League round-of-16. Cologne got the better of a struggling Borussia Dortmund three weeks ago and will look to replicate that performance by taking their chances when presented with them. The Goats will struggle against this quality RB Leipzig outfit, my money is on the hosts to claim maximum points.
Mainz 29/20
Draw 47/20
Werder Bremen 37/20
(16:30)
Mainz are languishing in the relegation zone but will take delight in hosting Werder Bremen, whom the Carnival Club defeated twice last season in convincing fashion (3-1 & 5-0). French striker Jean-Philippe Mateta will need to be at his best and put his chances in the back of the net after failing to impress against fellow relegation contenders Arminia Bielefeld and Cologne in recent outings. Werder Bremen are in woeful form altogether but especially on their travels, where the Green and Whites are winless in five matches since their opening day victory at Schalke. Back Mainz to bag three points at the Opel Arena at 29/20 odds.
Borussia Monchengladbach 8/10
Draw 32/10
Hoffenheim 29/10
(16:30)
Borussia Monchengladbach can now switch their focus to climbing their way back up the Bundesliga log after securing qualification into the round-of-16 in the UEFA Champions League under the tutelage of Marco Rose. The Foals have suffered to claim maximum points after midweek UCL fixtures, but are expected to close the margin in the upcoming games with Champions League on the back burner until early next year. Hoffenheim will also concentrate their energy solely on the league after topping their group in the UEFA Europa League. The visitors need to address their poor form on the road (winless in five), as the football they display doesn’t match their lowly league position. Both Teams to Score is a banker at 4/10, however, if you searching for value, I suggest taking First Half Both Teams to Score at 21/10.
Augsburg 24/10
Draw 51/20
Eintracht Frankfurt 21/20
(16:30)
Augsburg will be looking to avenge their 5-0 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt at Deutsche Bank Park earlier this year. Heiko Herrlich’s side have been inconsistent, beating Borussia Dortmund at the WWK Arena, but failed to claim maximum points against the likes of Hertha Berlin, Freiburg and Schalke in recent home games. Eintracht Frankfurt have been poor on their travels and are without a win from their past five trips. The Eagles can trust strikers Bas Dost and Andre Silva to find the net but big improvement is needed to shore up the leaky defence and results are surely to follow. Take these sides to cancel out each other and share the spoils.
Schalke 11/10
Draw 5/2
Arminia Bielefeld 24/10
(16:30)
At the time of writing, Schalke have won just once from 28 Bundesliga clashes in 2020 which is a frightening statistic that could mean the club will face the entire season battling against relegation. If reinforcements aren’t signed in the January transfer window, the Royal Blues might be pressured to install a third different manager for this campaign. Arminia Bielefeld are struggling to compete and earn results in the top-tier. The Blues are tied with the hosts as the lowest scoring teams in the Bundesliga. For that reason, I’m doubtful to choose a winner and I would rather back Under 2,5 Goals at 9/10 odds.
Bayer Leverkusen 32/10
Draw 32/10
Bayern Munich 7/10
(19:30)
The Bay Arena serves up this weekend’s main course on the Bundesliga menu as Bayer Leverkusen who are aiming for the 10th consecutive victory on home soil, welcome champions Bayern Munich who have dropped points to the likes of Werder Bremen, RB Leipzig and Union Berlin in the past four weeks. The Werkself have settled well following a slow start to the campaign and seem to have replaced the goals and assists from old-boy Kai Havertz with Leon Bailey and Patrick Schick in excellent form. Bayern Munich had the shortest possible break across Europe, after winning the UEFA Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain, the Bavarians kicked off the current season just 26 days later. Fatigue is showing and I feel Bayer Leverkusen are the perfect opponent to capitalise from it. Leverkusen have been Bayern’s hoodoo side in the past and considering current form I’m putting my money on a home win at 32/10.
Sunday 20 December
Freiburg 17/10
Draw 24/10
Hertha Berlin 15/10
(16:30)
Freiburg have only managed to beat newly-promoted Arminia Bielefeld from their six games at the Schwarzwald Stadion. The Breisgau Brazilians are banking on veteran striker Nils Petersen to get them out of their current rut. Petersen was on target the last two times Hertha Berlin came to town with Freiburg edging each encounter by a 2-1 score line and will prove instrumental if the hosts are to end their drought on home soil. Hertha Berlin have already travelled to some of the most difficult stadiums this season, losing to Bayern Munich (4-3) and RB Leipzig (2-1), but held their own against Bayer Leverkusen (0-0) and Borussia Monchengladbach (1-1) in recent weeks. Matteo Guendouzi’s dynamism in the heart of the Old Lady’s midfield has been a huge boost and a clear improvement in the team has been displayed. The away win is tipped at 15/10 odds.
Wolfsburg 23/20
Draw 26/10
Stuttgart 21/10
(19:00)
Wolfsburg are the surprise package of the season that not many could have predicted. Prior to their midweek trip to Bayern Munich, the Wolves were enjoying a 11-game unbeaten streak and will look to keep up that impressive standard of performances to realistically challenge for UEFA Europa League qualification (5th & 6th position) when the dust settles at the end of this campaign. Stuttgart will still have the bounce off the 5-1 win in Dortmund last weekend, that coincidently allowed Wolfsburg to leapfrog Dortmund on the log standings. Stuttgart’s games have been very entertaining to the neutral with goals a plenty in most of their clashes. Additional Totals: Over 3.5 Goals is the play at 27/20.
TREBLE @ 25/1
Mainz Win 29/20
Bayer Leverkusen Win 32/10
Hertha Berlin Win 15/10
Written by Bryan Naicker