There is no time off in the German Bundesliga as the Round 27 will be played during the midweek and there are some pretty interesting matchups in front of us. Our focus will be on the Borussia Dortmund who will host the Hamburger SV and the matchup between the sizzling hot TSG 1899 Hoffenheim who will measure their strengths against the top ranked Bayern Munich at the Rhein-Neckar Arena in Sinsheim. The month of April is, as always,crucial when it comes to the rankings for most of the teams, and while the battle on the pitch will be more than exciting, our focus will be on putting some of the Cha-Ching into your Piggy bank. Let us take a close look on the Two-Match Preview that we have prepared for you.
BORUSSIA DORTMUND vs. HAMBURGER SV
3-Way: 1:Dortmund -256; X: +473 Draw; 2: Hamburger SV +891
Spread +1.5:Dortmund +100;Hamburger SV +102
Total 3.5: Over +131; Under -139
Borussia Dortmund ranks fourth in the German Bundesliga with 47 points in 26 matches. They are coming off from a 1-1 draw in Gelsenkirchen against Schalke 04 on Saturday. The Black and yellow were the better team especially in the second half when they managed to take the lead but a vast number off missed chances would wrap the game up resulting in home team’s equalizer that gave them the well-deserved draw.
The busy schedule continues on Tuesday when they’ll meet the subpar Hamburger SV and a victory is imperative if they want to keep up the race for the top three places. Given their form at home this year there shouldn’t be many problems. They are undefeated at home this season with a 9-3-0 record and 29-7 goal difference (55-28 overall). Dortmund has scored in each of their 17 matches including at least one goal in 92% of their home matches this season.
They rank fourth in the home league table with 30 of 36 possible points earned. Borussia has four consecutive wins at home against RB Leipzig, Wolfsburg, Leverkusen and Ingolstadt. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tops the team in scoring with 24 goals so far while Ousmane Dembele and Lukasz Pisczek have six and five goals in their accounts. Dembele is the team’s leading passer with nine assists while Christian Pulisic and Gonzalo Castro collected five and four assists.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos is suspended for the next match due to the number of accumulated yellow cards. Mario Goetze (Thigh injury, Illness) and Jacob Larsen (Brooken foot) are out for the season while Marcel Schmelzer (Back injury), Eric Durm (Muscle injury), Andre Schurrle (Ankle injury) and Julian Weigl (Thigh injury) all have minor injuries with unspecified date of return. Marco Reus (Thigh injury) and Sebastian Rode (Groin injury) are both back in training and should be available to coach Tuchel.
The Hamburger SV, on the other side, is also in the period of positive results as they are 5-2-1 in their last eight games. They did suffer that humiliating defeat in Munich against Bayern, 8-0, couple of weeks ago but it looks like it didn’t leave much effect on the team as they have recorded three wins and one draw since. Currently, they are ranked 14thon the league table with 30 points in 26 games. They are coming off from a 2-1 home win over Koln on Saturday.
HSV is also much better at home as 70% of their total points this season is earned at home. On the road they recorded a 2-3-8 record with only 9 of possible 39 points earned. They are also 1-1-2 in the last four away games (latest one was a goalless draw against Frankfurt). Most common result for HSV on the road is a 3-1 loss (Occurred three times this season).
Nicolai Muller and Bobby Wood top the team in scoring this year with five goals each while Michael Gregoritsch scored four goals so far. Muller is also the team’s leading passer with six assists while Lewis Holtby has four assists so far.
Nicolai Muller (Knee injury), is expected to be out until at least mid-May while Aaron Hunt (Knee injury), Mats Kohlert (Muscle injury) are expected to be back in early April. Gideon Jung (Muscle injury), Bakery Jatta (Illness) and Andreas Hirzel (Shoulder injury, Muscle injury) all have minor injuries with unexpected dates of return. Nabil Bahoui (Shoulder injury) is back in training.
Borussia Dortmund will be under the pressure to secure the three points in order stay in the battle for the top three spots, while the HSV will look to win at least 1 points as their German Bundesliga status is seriously endangered. With the total set at 3.5 goals, which I believe is too high, I am going with the Under offered at -139.
MY PICK: Under 3.5 goals (-139)
TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM vs. FC BAYERN MUNICH
3-Way: 1: Hoffenheim +519; X: +359 Draw; 2: Bayern Munich -159
Spread +1: Hoffenheim -102; Bayern Munich +100
Total +3: Over +106; Under -109
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim continues to play great this year in the German Bundesliga with yet another very good result on the road last weekend. They have defeated Hertha BSC in Berlin, a direct opponent for one of the first three spots in the league. Hertha scored an opener but after that, everything went Hoffenheim’s way. Andrej Kramaric tied the game from the penalty kick, and Hertha’s Maximilian Mittelstaedt got ejected in the 58th minute.
With a player more on the field, Hoffenheim finished the game with two more goals. Currently, Hoffenheim ranks third in the German Bundesliga with 48 points in 26 games. In the home league table they rank fifth with 29 of 39 possible points earned, 8-5-0 record and 28-11 goal difference (49-26 overall). They are undefeated in the last six matches and they are 5-2-1 in the last eight matches including 4-0-0 in last four home matches.
The Blues have also scored in each of their last 12 matches including 92% of all home games this season (11 home matches). Nevertheless, the most common result at home is a 2-2 draw (occurred three times this year). Sandro Wagner is the leading scorer this season with 11 goals while Andrej Kramaric has 10 on his account. Kramaric also tops the passing segment along with KeremDemirbay as they both collected seven assists.
Fabian Schar is the only player unavailable for Tuesday game because of the Yellow card suspension.
Month of April started very well for the defending champions Bayer Munich with a 6-0 win over FC Augsburg on the weekend. Bayern currently tops the German Bundesliga with 65 points (13 points advantage over the second ranked RB Leipzig) in 26 games with another League title in the making. They top the league in all other important segments like home table, away table, goals scored and conceded and the form table (last eight games).
They are 6-2-0 in the last eight games and 3-1-0 in last four away games. They are 10-2-1 on the road this season with 32 of 39 possible points earned. Their goal difference is 23-8 on the road (67-13 overall). Bayern has five consecutive victories with no goals conceded and they have won 77% of their total matches.
They are undefeated in the last 15 matches of the German Bundesliga. Another interesting fact is that 69% of Bayern’s conceded goals occur in the first half. Robert Lewandowski tops the team in goals this year with 24 in the league while Arjen Robben ranks second with eight goals. Thomas Muller collected team-high 10 assists so far while Franck Ribery has eight assists in his account.
Manuel Neuer (Foot injury, calf injury) is expected to be out until at least mid-April while Douglas Costa (Knee injury) should be back in a few days.
Some believe that Hoffenheim is the only team in the German Bundesliga currently that can stop the mighty Bayern Munich. Both teams like to play offensively as they rank 1st and 3rd in goals scored in the league. However, these two teams are very strong defensively, with Bayern having allowed only 13 goals while Hoffenheim has conceded only 26 goals. The visitors hold the advantage, but I am tipping on the total and going with the Under, which was recorded three times in their last four meetings.
MY PICK: Under 3 goals (-109)
