Two very exciting German Bundesliga duels that are on the schedule for Saturday will be staged at Red Bull Arena between home team whose four-game winning streak ended last weekend in Munich with a 2:0 loss by Bayern and Hannover 96 squad that emerged victorious in the matchup against Borussia Dortmund (4:2) handing the title contenders second defeat of the season.
The second duel will take place at Schwarzwald Stadium in Freiburg between struggling hosts that recorded another road loss seven days ago, this time at Mercedes Benz Arena in Stuttgart (0:3) and in-form Miners from Gelsenkirchen who recorded a 1:1 home draw last week against the Wolves.
RB Leipzig vs. Hannover 96
Three-Way: 1: RB Leipzig -161; X: +376 Draw; 2: Hannover 96 +625 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread -1: RB Leipzig -116; Hannover 96 -120
Total +3: Over +102; Under -108
RB LEIPZIG
The RB Leipzig team is actually coming off from a three losses in last eight days as they were defeated at home against Bayern Munich in DFB Pokal last week after penalty kicks (1:1 result after 90 minutes), then defeated on the road in Bundesliga by same opponent last weekend (0:2) and defeated on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League by Portuguese side Porto, 3:1 on the road. Perfect opportunity for redemption will come this Saturday against lately high-flying Hannover 96 squad.
The Bulls are currently ranked at No. 3 spot with 19 points and a 6-1-3 record (3-1-0 at home). They score 1.60 and concede 1.20 goals per match (16-12 goal difference) and 75% of their home games had over 2.5 goals in total while 30% of their overall duels had over 3.5 goals in total. The team managed to score at least one goal in both halves in every third overall matchup while both teams scored in 75% of their home games. Timo Werner is the team’s leading scorer with five goals while Marcel Sabitzer collected team-high three assists. Goalkeepers Peter Gulacsi and Yvon Mvogo have 122 shots against, 29 saves and two clean-sheet games combined.
Willi Orban is out for the Saturday’s matchup due to suspension while Stefan Ilsanker (broken toe) and Fabio Coltorti (muscle) are both listed as day to day and questionable for the upcoming match.
HANNOVER 96
The short period of poor performances that lasted four rounds quickly came to an end after two swift and very important wins over FC Augsburg on the road (2:1) and over Borussia Dortmund at home (4:2) last week. The players’ morale and motivation are on the high level at the moment and that’s where it needs to be if they want to snatch a positive result in Leipzig this weekend.
The newcomer in the Bundesliga is performing very well so far as they currently rank at No. 4 spot in the table with 18 points and a 5-3-2 record. They have only one point less than their high-ranked next opponent and their goal difference is 14-9 (6-5 on the road). 40% of their overall matches had over 2.5 goals in total while no away game yet had over 3.5 goals in total. They’ve managed to concede at least one goal in both halves in 20% of their overall duels while both teams scored in 80% of their visiting games. Martin Harnik tops the team in scoring with five goals while Ihlas Bebou has three in his account. Jonathas and Pirmin Schwegler are the top assisters with two each while goalie Philipp Tschauner has 138 shots against, 32 saves and four games with a clean sheet so far.
Felipe’s (thigh) and Edgar Prin’s (cruciate ligament) timetable for return is set for the beginning of the next year while Noah-Joel Sarenren-Bazee (thigh) should be back in few days. Uffe Bech (knee) is listed as day to day while Pirmin Schwegler (tooth) and Ihlas Bebou (thigh) are back in training.
RB Leipzig vs. Hannover 96 – Match Prediction
This is another game that has a big potential to be a high-scoring one. Still, my first bet that carries less risk will be both teams score. Additional pick stays over 3 goals in total.
My pick: Both teams score YES (-130)
Additional pick: Over 3 goals (+102)
SC Freiburg vs. Schalke 04
Three-Way: 1: SC Freiburg +285; X: +256 Draw; 2: Schalke 04 +120 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread +0.5: SC Freiburg -118; Schalke 04 +112
Total +2.5: Over +110; Under -115
SC FREIBURG
The Freiburg team is winless in last three duels but bigger concern presents a very leaky defense that managed to concede eight goals during that span. The team is nowhere near the last season performances when they qualified for the UEFA Europa League competition which ended way to fast at the beginning of this season. Head coach Christian Streich will have to find the way to wake up his players and motivate them to perform better if they want to avoid the battle for survival this year.
They currently rank at No. 15 spot in the Bundesliga table with eight points, just above the relegation line but that won’t be the case if they continue to underperform. The team is 1-5-4 at the moment (1-4-0 at home) and their goal difference is 6-20 (5-4 at home soil). 80% of their home games had under 2.5 goals in total but 40% of their overall duels had over 3.5 goals in total. 20% of showdowns at Schwarzwald Stadium had over 2.5 goals at half-time and in 60% of those duels both teams scored. Florian Niederlechner tops the team in scoring with two goals while Nicolas Hofler collected team-high two assists so far. Goalie Alexander Schowlow has 191 shots against (most in the league), 40 saves and three clean-sheet games.
Caglar Soyuncu is suspended for the next match (card suspension) while Philipp Lienhart (knee) and Vincent Sierro (thigh) should be ready later this month. Manuel Gulde (back) should be available in a few weeks while Karim Guede’s (back) and Jonas Meffert’s (foot) status is unknown. Onur Bulut (thigh) and Amir Abrashi (ankle) are listed as day to day while Marc-Oliver Kempf (hamstring) and Georg Niedermeier (back) are both back in training.
SCHALKE 04
The Miners are in a relatively good form at the beginning of the new Bundesliga season and they are currently undefeated in last four games. Minor slip came last week at home against Wolfsburg team when they couldn’t take the full prey but a positive result on Saturday against drowning Freiburg squad would definitely remedy the issue. Last season’s unpredictable and fold-prone squad is no longer here and we are all very thankful for that.
They are currently ranked at No. 5 spot in the Bundesliga table with 17 points and a 5-2-3 record (2-0-2 on the road). Team’s goal difference is 13-10 (4-4 away) while only 30% of their duels had over 2.5 goals in total and no road match has yet had over 3.5 goals in total. Schalke is experiencing some efficiency problems on the road as they failed to score in 50% of their visits and both teams scored in only 30% of their overall duels. Midfielders Leon Goretzka and Nabil Bentaleb top the team in scoring with four and three goals so far while Amine Harit has two assists recorded so far. Passing segment belongs to defender Thilo Kehrer with 455 total passes while goalkeeper Ralph Fahrmann has 99 shots against, 24 saves and three clean-sheet games in his account.
Pablo Insua (rib) is expected to be ready in a few weeks while Leon Goretzka (muscle) and Luke Hemmerich (foot) are both listed as day to day. Donis Avdijaj’s (ankle) status is unknown while Matija Nastasic (ankle) is back in training.
SC Freiburg vs. Schalke 04 – Match Prediction
This is the only Bundesliga matchup in round 11 where under 2.5 goals in total presents a no-brainer. The Schalke team has a very organized defense that doesn’t allow many opportunities to the opponent’s strikers (they’ve allowed least numbers of shots towards their own goal in the league – 99) and when we put Freiburg’s chronic inefficiency in the mix we get a potential goalless matchup at our hands. Additional pick will be draw.
My pick: Under 2.5 goals (-115)
Additional pick: Draw (+256)
