Crazy Week 15 of the German Bundesliga, in which only one host managed to take full prey, is behind us and we are already setting our attention to the next round that will take place during the midweek. Holliday time is nearing and Bundesliga schedule needs to speed up in order to wrap up the first part of the season before the winter break.
As aforementioned, only one home team emerged victorious on weekend and that was Hannover 96 squad that took down warm-cold Hoffenheim squad. Dortmund continued the downfall against Werder Bremen with a 2:1 home loss along with FC Koln that had a 3:1 advantage at half-time but still suffered a 3:4 defeat against SC Freiburg with two goals conceded in the injury time. League leader Bayern Munich continued to grind the opponents with a 1:0 road win in Frankfurt while Bayer Leverkusen extended its streak without a loss to 10 games (longest active streak in Germany). Four remaining showdowns in Week 15 ended with a draw.
VFL Wolfsburg vs. RB Leipzig
Three-Way: 1: VFL Stuttgart +220; X: +270 Draw; 2: RB Leipzig +146 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread 0: VFL Stuttgart +129; RB Leipzig -132
Total +2.5: Over -125; Under +129
The opening matchup of the round will take place at Volkswagen Arena between the Wolves who are coming off from a goalless draw in Hamburg and the Bulls who split points against Mainz at home (2:2). Wolfsburg currently ranks at the No. 11 spot in the league table with 18 points earned while Leipzig continues to be the closest contender to the leading Bayern Munich team with 27 points.
The hosts are 2-5-1 in front of their own crowd so far while the guests have a relatively solid record as visitor (3-1-4). This showdown has a big potential to be a high-scoring one having in mind that Wolfsburg conceded at least one goal in 88% of their home matches while RB Leipzig conceded two goals or more in each of their last four away matches. Midfielder Daniel Didavi is the leading scorer for the Wolves with five goals while striker Timo Werner tops the Bulls in this segment with eight. Road teams took full prey last season’s head to head duels with 1:0 wins.
For the Wolves, Gian-Luca Itter (virus) and Ignacio Camacho (ankle) are doubtful while Adelino Vieirinha (ankle) is probable. Marcel Tisserand (Flu), Jakub Blaszczykowski (back), Marvin Stefaniak (ankle), Sebastian Jung (ankle) and Christian Trasch (unknown) are all listed as questionable. For the Bulls, Marcel Sabitzer (shoulder) is out while Dayot Upamecano (thigh) and Fabio Coltorti (muscle) are questionable.
My pick: Over 2.5 goals (-125)
FSV Mainz 05 vs. Dortmund
Three-Way: 1: 1. FSV Mainz +405; X: +330 Draw; 2: Dortmund -123 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread +0.5: 1. FSV Mainz 05 +127; Dortmund -133
Total +3: Over -104; Under +102
Both of these teams recorded unexpected results during the weekend as Mainz managed to steal one point in a very tough visit in Leipzig while Dortmund continued to disappoint their fans this time at Signal Iduna Park with a loss by Werder Bremen. The Maniz squad is ranked just above the Top Bundesliga relegation line at No. 14 spot with 16 total points earned while Dortmund’s title hopes are probably stone dead after this round as they now have 13 points disadvantage over the leading team.
Similarly, as the first matchup, this game has all the ingredients to be over at least 2.5 goals in total. The home team has scored 71% of their total goals at home while Dortmund scored in each of their last six away matches. Borussia also conceded at least one goal in each of their last 10 duels and 80% of their overall showdowns had over 2.5 goals in total. Yoshinori Muto tops the Reds in goal scoring with three while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is Dortmund’s leading scorer with 12 goals (2nd in Bundesliga). Dortmund holds the edge in last 14 head to head matchups with 11 wins opposed to only on by Mainz while two duels ended with a draw. Dortmund emerged victorious last season at home (2:1) while teams split points in Mainz (1:1).
Rene Adler (thigh) and Karim Onisiwo (shoulder) are out while Aaron Seydel (knee) and Yoshinori Muto (back) are questionable. Stefan Bell (Flu) is probable for the hosts. On the other side, Gonzalo Castro (ankle), Mario Gotze (ankle), Jacob Larsen (knee), Lukasz Piszczek (knee), Hendrik Bonmann (knee) and Marco Reus (cruciate ligament) are all out while Sebastian Rode (hip) and Eric Durm (hip) are listed as doubtful.
My pick: Over 3 goals (-104)
Hamburger SV vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
Three-Way: 1: Hamburger SV +179; X: +240 Draw; 2: Eintracht Frankfurt +195 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread 0: Hamburger SV -110; Eintracht Frankfurt +106
Total +2.5: Over +127; Under -133
The Red Shorts are undefeated in last three games which is their longest streak without a loss this season. The main reason for this success is their defense that hasn’t allowed a goal to the opponents during that span. On Tuesday they’ll face the second best visitor of Bundesliga (4-3-1 record on the road, 9-6 goal difference), Eintracht Frankfurt squad. The Eagles are coming off from a 1:0 home loss by Bayern Munich.
Thanks to greater goal difference than SC Freiburg team, HSV currently ranks above the Bundesliga relegation line at No. 15 spot with the same amount of points earned. Frankfurt occupies the No. 9 spot with 22 points earned at the moment. Unlike previous two duels, there shouldn’t be many goals scored at Imtech Arena as 62% of HSV’s home games and Frankfurt’s road matches had under 2.5 goals in total. Hamburger SV has also failed to score in 62% of their home matchups. Jann-Fiete Arp and Filip Kostic top the Red-Shorts in scoring with two goals each while Sebastian Haller scored most goals among the Eagles (six). Frankfurt has the edge in last 12 head to head matchups with five wins oppose to two by Bremen while five duels ended with a draw. Eintracht emerged victorious last season in Hamburg (3:0) while teams split points in Frankfurt (1:1)
For HSV, Bjarne Thoelke (ankle, knee) and Nicolai Muller (cruciate ligament) are out while Bobby Shou Wood (knee) is questionable. Lewis Holtby (thigh) and Pierre-Michael Lasogga (thigh) are listed as probable. For Frankfurt, Alexander Meier (ankle) and Jonathan De Guzman (ankle) are out while Timothy Chandler (meniscus) is doubtful. Yanni Regasel (back) is listed as questionable while Omar Mascarell (Achilles tendon) is probable.
My pick: Total: Under 2.5 goals (-133)
SC Freiburg vs. Borussia Monchengladbach
Three-Way: 1: SC Freiburg +276; X: +270 Draw; 2: Borussia Monchengladbach +119 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread +0.5: SC Freiburg -118; Borussia Monchengladbach +112
Total +2.5: Over -127; Under +125
SC Freiburg squad managed to take full prey in at the first glance lost the game in Koln on Sunday with two goals scored in injury time. The team is undefeated in last three rounds with wins over Mainz (2:1) and Koln (4:3) and a draw against Hamburger SV (0:0). Monchengladbach on the other side is winless after that remarkable home win over Bayern Munich 10 days ago and they are coming off from a 1:1 home draw against Schalke 04.
The hosts are currently ranked below the Bundesliga relegation line at No. 16 spot with 15 points earned and 3-6-6 record. Monchengladbach ranks at No. 4 spot with 25 points earned but 24-26 goal difference (worst goal difference of any top-10 team in Bundesliga). Freiburg team has failed to score in 50% of their home games while Monchengladbach managed to score at least one goal in 86% of their away duels. They’ve also conceded at least one goal in each of their last seven games. Florian Niederlechner and Nils Petersen top the hosts in scoring with two goals each while Thorgan Hazard scored most goals for the Foals so far with five. Home teams took full pray in last year’s duels between these two squads (3:0 in Monchengladbach, 3:1 in Freiburg).
For Freiburg, Marc-Oliver Kempf (thigh) and Mike Frantz (knee) are ruled out for Tuesday while Philipp Lienhart (knee), Caglar Soyuncu (muscle) and Amir Abrashi (ankle, virus) are doubtful. Aleksandar Ignjovski (calf), Onur Bulut (back), Manuel Gulde (back) and Georg Niedermeier (back) are questionable while Jonas Meffert (foot) is probable.
My pick: Total: Under 2.5 goals (+125)
TSG Hoffenheim 1899 vs. VfB Stuttgart
Three-Way: 1: TSG Hoffenheim 1899 -103; X: +286 Draw; 2: VfB Stuttgart +350 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread -0.5: TSG Hoffenheim 1899 -110; VfB Stuttgart +106
Total +2.5: Over -130; Under +127
After taking down the Bulls in an extraordinary fashion one week ago, Hoffenheim squad continued to perform poorly on the road with a 2:0 loss at Hannover. Their next opponents, Stuttgart is also going through a bumpy period as they are winless in last three rounds including two consecutive defeats in last two weeks during which they haven’t managed to score once. On Saturday, they suffered the first home loss of the season against Bayer Leverkusen (0:2).
The hosts are still ranked relatively high on the Bundesliga table at No. 6 spot with 23 points earned while Stuttgart resides in the lower part of the ranking at No. 13 spot with 17 total points earned. Hoffenheim team has scored at least one goal in every home game of the season while Stuttgart conceded at least one goal in every away match of the year. Stuttgart is also the worse visitor in Germany with only one point earned on the road and 0-1-7 record. Mark Uth tops the Blues from Sinsheim in scoring with seven goals while Akolo Chadrac with four goals holds the edge for the guests at the moment. Stuttgart holds the edge in last 12 head to head matchups with six wins oppose to four by Hoffenheim while two duels ended with a draw. Stuttgart emerged victorious last season at home (5:1) while teams split points in Sinsheim (2:2).
Phillipp Ochs (knee), Stefan Posch (hip) and Sandro Wagner (Achilles tendon) are all questionable for the hosts. For the guests, Daniel Ginczek (groin) and Matthias Zimmermann (cruciate ligament) are out while Josip Brekalo (calf), Dzemis Burnic (knee) and Carlos Mane (knee) are doubtful. Marcin Kaminski (ankle) and Alexander Meyer (thigh) are listed as questionable.
My pick: Over 2.5 goals (-130)
Additional pick: Hoffenheim to win (-103)
Bayer Leverkusen vs. SV Werder Bremen
Three-Way: 1: Bayer Leverkusen -175; X: +409 Draw; 2: SV Werder Bremen +600 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread -1: Bayer Leverkusen -120; SV Werder Bremen +118
Total +3: Over -127; Under +127
Team with the hottest streak at the moment in Germany will host another surging squad in what should be one of the most interesting showdowns of the round. Leverkusen inflicted the first home loss of the season to Stuttgart squad on Saturday while Werder Bremen preempted the all three points in Dortmund. Leverkusen continues to climb up on the league rankings riding the 10-game streak without a loss and now they reside at No. 5 spot with 24 points earned. Werder on the other side is ranked below the Bundesliga relegation line at No. 17 spot with 14 points earned but that will not be the case for long if they continue to raise their form.
This duel features the teams whose scoring stats go in opposite directions as 67% of Leverkusen’s matches had over 2.5 goals in total while 67% of Bremen’s games had under 2.5 goals in total making this aspect of the game highly unpredictable. Still, I think that Leverkusen can take down the guests here and that’s where I would go primarily. Striker Kevin Volland tops the hosts in scoring with nine goals (3rd in the league) while Max Kruse scored most so far for the guests (four). Bayer holds the edge in last 14 head to head matchups with five wins oppose to four by Bremen while five duels ended with a draw. Werder emerged victorious last season at home (2:1) while teams split points in Leverkusen (1:1).
Wendell is suspended for next three league matches while Panagiotis Takis Retsos (unknown) and Charles Aranguiz (calf) are listed as questionable. Julian Brandt (ankle) is probable for Leverkusen. For Bremen, Yuning Zhang (ankle) and Justin Eilers (cruciate ligament) are ruled out while Fin Bartels (Achilles tendon), Luca Caldirola (foot), Aron Johannsson (knee) and Michael Zetterer (wrist) are all questionable.
My pick: Over 3 goals (-127)
Bayern Munich vs. FC Koln
Three-Way: 1: Bayern Munich -625; X: +1350 Draw; 2: FC Koln +4000 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread -3: Bayern Munich +112; FC Koln -118
Total +4: Over +114; Under -120
Defending Bundesliga champions are probably in front of the easiest task of the season as they’re about to face the team with most problems in Bundesliga this year. Munich recorded three points with a win in Frankfurt in Week 15 while FC Koln recorded another home loss against SC Freiburg (3:4). The Billy Goats had 3:1 advantage at half-time but still managed to reach the short end with three goals conceded in the second period, two of which occurred in injury time.
Bayern extended the advantage over the nearest contender to eight points while Koln cemented their position at the bottom of the league table with only three points earned so far. They are winless with a 0-3-12 record and 9-31 goal difference and the result of this horrible start of the season was sacking of head coach Peter Stoger last week as Stefan Ruthenbeck occupied the position. Robert Lewandowski tops the Reds and the league with 14 goals while Sehrou Guirassy leads the guests in this segment with three goals. Bayern holds the edge in last 10 head to head duels with seven wins oppose to only one by Koln while two games ended with a draw. Munich emerged victorious last season on the road (3:0) while teams split points at Allianz Arena (1:1).
Christian Fruchtl (foot), Arjen Robben (back), Thiago Alcantara (thigh) and Manuel Neuer (foot) are all out for Bayern while Sven Ulreich (groin), Marco Friedl (groin) and Juan Bernat (thigh) are listed as questionable. For the Billy Goats, Yuya Osako is suspended for the next match (yellow cards) while Jhon Cordoba (thigh), Dominic Maroh (thigh), Simon Zoller (thigh), Marco Hoger (thigh), Marcel Risse (meniscus) and Jonas Hector (ankle) are all out. Konstantin Rausch (unknown), Claudio Pizarro (thigh), Jorge Mere (groin), Leonardo Bittencourt (groin) and Joao Queiros (back) are listed as questionable.
My pick: Total: Over 4 goals (+114)
Hertha BSC vs. Hannover 96
Three-Way: 1: Hertha BSC +110; X: +254 Draw; 2: Hannover 96 +336 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread -0.5: Hertha BSC +102; Hannover 96 -106
Total +2.5: Over +114; Under -118
The team from German capital managed to elude defeat with an injury-time equalizer by Solomon Kalou in Augsburg on Sunday and they’ll host Hannover squad with high spirits. Hannover team on the other side managed to record a win over Hoffenheim in front of their own crowd thus putting the four-game winless streak in a rearview mirror. Hertha currently ranks at No. 12 spot in the Bundesliga table with 18 points while Hannover resides two spots above with 22 total points earned.
Both teams scored in 75% of Hertha’s home games and Hannover’s road matches and there is no reason to think that this will not be the case on Wednesday. The Blue-Whites also conceded at least one goal in 88% of their home matches while visitors scored at least one goal in 88% of their road duels. Vedad Ibisevic and Mathew Leckie top the home team in scoring with four goals each while Martin Harnik scored most of the guests with five. Hannover holds the edge in last eight head to head matches with three wins oppose to only one by Hertha while four duels ended with a draw.
Vladimir Darida (knee) is ruled out for the hosts while Thomas Kraft (illness), Valentin Stocker (meniscus) and Julian Schieber (knee) are listed as questionable. For the guests, Edgar Prib (cruciate ligament) and Felipe (thigh) are out along with Pirmin Schwegler (yellow cards suspension). Mike Stevens Bahre (illness) and Uffe Bech (meniscus) are questionable while Philipp Tschauner (shoulder) is probable.
My pick: Both teams score YES (-109)
Additional pick: Hertha BSC to win (+110)
Schalke 04 vs. FC Augsburg
Three-Way: 1: Schalke 04 -109; X: +282 Draw; 2: FC Augsburg +384 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread -0.5: Schalke 04 -114; FC Augsburg +112
Total +2.5: Over +106; Under -105
The Miners from Gelsenkirchen extended their streak of draws to three as they managed to stay undefeated on a tough visit to Borussia Park on Saturday (1:1). Their next opponent, FC Augsburg squad split points with Hertha at home but they are still undefeated in last three rounds and they’ve managed to record only one loss in last six games that came against the defending champions Bayern Munich couple of weeks ago.
Schalke 04 ranks at No. 3 spot in the Bundesliga table with 26 points while Augsburg occupies a very high No. 7 place with 23 points earned. Teams have opposite tendencies when it comes to total goals per game as 66% of Schalke’s duels had under 2.5 goals in total while 67% of Augsburg’s matches had over 2.5 goals in total. Still, I would pick the under option here having in mind that the showdowns take place at Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen. Guido Burgstaller leads the hosts in scoring with six goals while Alfred Finnbogason scored most for the guests (eight). Schalke holds the edge in last 12 head to head matchups with six wins oppose to only one by Augsburg while five duels ended with a draw. The Miners emerged victorious last season at home (3:0) while teams split points in Augsburg (1:1).
For the home team, Pablo Insua (heart), Nabil Bentaleb (hip) and Leon Goretzka (leg) are out while Alessandro Schopf (knee), Luke Hemmerich (foot) and Donis Avdijaj (ankle) are doubtful. Kilian Jakob and Daniel Opare (yellow card suspension) along with Erik Thommy (ankle) are out for Augsburg while Gojko Kacar (ankle), Georg Teigl (back) and Moritz Leitner (ankle) are probable.
My pick: Under 2.5 goals (-105)
Additional pick: Schalke 04 to win (-109)
