A big week of announcements in the sporting world has seen the Premier League have an allocated return date, June 17th– something to really look forward to.
With 19 days until the return of English football, the Bundesliga’s non-stop exciting action will continue to fulfil the football need. As usual, there’s four 14:30 fixtures today and every single one of them has relevance to the relegation battle.
Hertha Berlin v Augsburg
Hertha Berlin play hosts to Augsburg who’ve taken a step outside of the bottom 6 after a comprehensive 3-0 away win against Schalke, their away form is still questionable at best though with 5 straight losses prior to that result with only 1 goal scored, Augsburg have also averaged 2.21 goals conceded per away league game this season. Hertha have looked a completely different team since the appointment of Bruno Labbadia last month, they’ve played 3 games since the resumption of football, scored 9 goals and picked up 7 points which has all but assured their safety and an outside shot of 6th place.
Matheus Cunha’s signing from Leipzig for 18,000,000€ was to be questioned after 2 goals in 35 appearances but he’s been fantastic and scored 4 goals whilst looking like a constant threat to any defence he’s faced. The Brazilian is bound to cause a problem for an Augsburg backline that concedes for fun.
Hertha Berlin to win 2-0 is generally available at 9/1
Hertha Berlin to win is generally available at 10/11.
Mainz v Hoffenheim
Hoffenheim won their first game in 8 with an eventful 3-1 win against Köln where young Christoph Baumgartner once again stole the show with 2 goals and an outstanding backheel assist. The Austrian has now scored 6 goals in his first season in professional football and looks like a player to keep a close eye on in the coming years. Today’s opponents Mainz have conceded the most goals so far this season in the Bundesliga and sit 1 point above a relegation play-off position whilst only losing 2 of their last 8 league fixtures.
Recent meetings between the 2 sides at Mainz’ Opel Arena have seen plenty of goals, 9 of the last 10 meetings have had over 2.5 goals scored and both teams have scored in 7 of those. Benjamin Hübner was sent off for Hoffenheim in their win against Köln and will be suspended for today’s game, Kramarić is also nursing an ankle injury so will be missing too.
Christoph Baumgartner to score and both teams to score is generally available around 5/2.
Schalke v Werder Bremen
Schalke’s David Wagner’s job security is getting more and more shaky with a consistent string of poor performances from a side that were in the top 6 less than 2 weeks ago. Schalke have now dropped to 9th, haven’t won in 10 games, and have only scored 3 goals in those matches, they’ve also conceded the most in the league within those 10. Their opponents Werder Bremen, are second from bottom and are at risk of dropping out of the top tier of German football for the first time in 40 years; they’ve only ever been in the second tier for one season in their history. Despite a horrendous season, they look to stand more chance against this crumbling Schalke side that are on a drastic fall down the table.
Bremen’s three games since the league’s return have seen them pick up 4 points from a possible 9 which for a team in their position is not at all a negative. The bookmakers have priced Schalke up as favourites for the game but after seeing the standard they’ve been playing at, that’s a surprise. Milot Rashica is Bremen’s top goalscorer this season with 7 goals but has had a 12-game goal drought and could find the back of the net in a game where he’ll find chances.
Werder Bremen to win or draw and under 2.5 goals is generally available at 15/8
Wolfsburg v Eintracht Frankfurt
Wolfsburg pulled off a shock 4-1 win away against high flying Leverkusen with a man of the match performance from Max Arnold who contributed 2 assists and scored a free kick with the help of a deflection. Frankfurt have finished in the European places the past two seasons but find themselves in a relegation scrap this time around, they’re only 2 points above the relegation zone so travelling to in-form Wolfsburg will be no easy feat. Furthermore, Frankfurt’s away form is the worst in the Bundesliga, they’ve managed to claim 7 points and in their last 14 away games they’ve conceded 41 goals, an average of 2.92 goals per game. The only positive that could possibly be taken is that they’ve scored in 10 of those games despite conceding so many.
Wolfsburg home form is one of the worst in the division despite the 6th position they sit in, they’ve scored and conceded just over 1 goal a game, making their home fixtures a tough watch for the neutrals- but they should come away with a win today.
Wolfsburg to win is generally available at EVENS
Wolfsburg to win 2-1 is generally available at 8/1
Here is the league table as a visual reminder of some of the teams in action, some wins for the lower teams will make things very interesting. Paderborn host Dortmund on Sunday and Düsseldorf travel to Bayern so any points collected by their surrounding teams should allow them to make ground towards safety.
Check out my twitter for more betting selections and a extensive sheet of predictions for the specific games on a bi-weekly basis.
samyets 