Preview with my insights on the upcoming games, latest news, and betting options.
Eintracht Frankfurt showed one of the strongest seasonal performances on the last matchday. Although they are always particularly strong away from home, it was nevertheless a surprise that the win against Wolfsburg was so clear. On the other side we have Mönchengladbach, who act a bit like a roller coaster. Fast up, quickly down again. Last matchday I was close to take them, but needed slightly better odds. It was an expected but though win over the surprisingly strong team of Augsburg. However, I expect that they will stabilize in the spring season and settle in the table region where they now stand.
The odds for this encounter are set correctly by the bookmakers.
Bayern Munich - Hoffenheim
Bayern Munich is not as strong as the seasons before, but they still win the games. Even if not always too convincing. The immense individual quality of the the players is able to succeed in the Bundesliga, internationally it looks different, as we have seen meanwhile. Last match day, they won 4: 2 in an exciting game against Bremen. They were never really in danger, but the number of goals conceded here, and also the games before, is something that is unusual for them. However, I expect them to will prevail against Hoffenheim, which have not lost surprisingly lately against an improving Leverkusen. Unless this handicap does not make a bounce in the one or other direction, it is advised to stay away from this encounter.
Borussia Dortmund - SC Freiburg
I expect from Dortmund that they will be act stronger this year and they should be able to move up one or two places in the table. But not more. The atmosphere at the club is not the best at the moment, they were seen as serious Bayern competitor, but are now 16 points below them already. Adding to this, their top striker got eliminated for last game as he came too late to training session (again). Influental player Reus is coming back from injury, but I dont expect him to be in the starting line up. Though recovered, he still needs some time be at 100%. Though, Freiburg are fighters and always surprise when they are expected to fail, Dortmund should be too much for them in this place at home. Odds are set correctly, a might make handicap moves massively.
FC Köln - Augsburg
Köln was already said to be dead before the winterbreak, as they were ten points behind the relegation place. But what Mainstream-Media is saying with its intention to entertain and exaggerate is different from the reality. This team is not dead yet, as they demonstrated in excellence with their last two wins against Mönchengladbach and Hamburg, showing absolute will to fight against for the vital points. For this upcoming encounter against Augsburg they can welcome back important player Bittenfeld. However, he can't be expected to show his full potential already.
Augsburg is incredible. They are truly the surprise of this season. But they deserve staying where they are in the table (8th place). At least until now. Even if there were lucky quite some time last year, they for sure will not be underestimated anymore. I expect quite a balanced game here, with handicaps (dnb odds) to be correctly set. The quarter ball at 2 in the opening odds would have been worth a bet, but you can only stake a few bucks on the opening odds.
Leipzig - HSV
On Paper this one would be a no brainer. A so-called "banker". That might be the case, but since we are interested in bets that offer value for money, we can not take these odds. Bookies are clever dudes and their pre-game odds are mostly correct. Leipzig with a 1:2 defeat against Freiburg away from home lately. Even though they were quite strong in the first half, they showed complete opposite performance in the 2nd half. And if you are not at 100%, Freiburg always has the capability to fight you down, especially at home. HSV with the worst performance from all teams last round have just sacked their coach. Will that have an effect on the players for this match? I don't think so. After the game, we usually here the same blabla as always from new coaches losing away from home: players showed great fighting will, but the quality gap was simply too big. Of course, legit, because you want to give the players confidence and not crush the little residuum still left.
VfB Stuttgart - FC Schalke
Stuttgart with a deserved 2:3 loss away from home against Mainz. I think the table rank where they are now reflects their true strength. I don't expect them to move downwards, maybe one or two places higher, but nothing more. Schalke with a strong season so far, not too surprising for me. Third place for now and if ever, they move down by one or two places in the table. Bad news for them that they will lose important player Goretzka at the end of the season. Last game, they showed a performance that was similar to many last year: totally controlling the game but missing to score a second goal. And as it is in football, the team being behind just by one goal in the last minutes has an psychological advantage over the other, because they have nothing to lose anymore. I would like to see some more strong odds movement here. If that happens, I might take a bet here.
Werder Bremen - Hertha Berlin
Whoever is underestimating Werder Bremen is making a big mistake. Though the potential of this team is limited, they really make the best of it lately. They made a great game against Bayern Munich last round, losing 2:4 away from home. You simply can not withstand the great individual class of Robert Lewandowski. Looking at last years performance, they would deserved to be ranked two or three ranks higher in the table. Hertha snatched a respectable draw against Dortmund last round at home, a deserved result for both teams. Playing home and away usually means day and night for this team. However, I expect this pattern to change slowly. At the moment, I can not suggest a bet. But if the odds move a bit more towards Hertha, I might risk a bet on the away team.
Leverkusen - Mainz
It might be boring for some of you now. But what can I do? Betting became a lot harder these days. Bookies are smart, you know. So here again: Odds set correctly.Leverkusen with the best performance of all teams last round, beating Hoffenheim deservedly 3:1 away from home. The potential of this side is overwhelming and I expect them to stay without great effort in this region of the table, should they continue playing that kind of magnificent football. Mainz with a totally deserved 3:2 win at home. The round before they lost undeservedly against Hannover 2:3, despite a 2:0 lead. Clearly, the would deserve to be higher ranked if their defense would stabilize.
Hannover 96 - VfL Wolfsburg