The International break is over and it’s once again time for the national championships to take over the European soccer scene. We’ve entered the second month of the 2017/18 season in German Bundesliga and there are already four teams with 100% efficiency that managed to snatch all six points in first two rounds. One of those teams is Hamburger SV and they’ll get the chance to extend their winning streak to three games in the round opener on Friday when they’ll lock horns with last season’s runner-up RB Leipzig at Imtech Arena.
The business of predicting final outcomes and quality betting picks is our thing and as always there’s the icing on the cake for those willing to extend their credit line and determined to earn some good bucks. Let’s take a closer look.
Hamburger SV vs. RB Leipzig
Three-Way: 1: Hamburger SV +350; X: +280; RB Leipzig +100
Spread +0.5: Hamburger SV +110; RB Leipzig -112
Total +2.5: Over +100; Under -103
HAMBURGER SV
The Red Shorts started this season in an extraordinary fashion with two wins in first two matchups. It looks like the team from the north of Germany won’t allow last year scenario when they fought for the survival in the last round of the season to repeat itself. The HSV team currently ranks third in the league table with the same number of points as Dortmund and Bayern Munich but with worse goal difference (4-1). The matchup with their next opponent will probably be the biggest test of the season so far because RB Leipzig team is a bit stronger than FC Koln and FC Augsburg who HSV managed to defeat in first two rounds.
The team is coming off from a road win against FC Koln at RheinEnergieStadion. Against Billy Goats C. Mathenia started as a goalie while K. Papadopoulos and M. Mavraj played at the central defender positions. D. Diekmeier and R. Van Drongelen started as right and left backs while Walace and A. Ekdal received defensive midfield assignments. A. Hahn, A. Hunt and F. Kostic played in front of them while the lone striker was B. Wood who scored the second goal for the team after Hahn’s opener in the 28th minute to give HSV a 2:0 halftime lead. The home team had the initiative entire match, keeping the ball 66% of the time in their possession and having 25 attempts towards the goal oppose to HSV’s 16 but guests defense managed to stay steady even after Mergim Mavraj got ejected after second yellow card in 59th minute. FC Koln scored the reconciliation goal in the seventh minute of injury time but a quick counter-attack by L. Holtby set the 3:1 final score. Individually, B. Wood held the passing segment under his control with 89.5% of completed passes while Serbian national F. Kostic who was substituted in the fourth minute of injury time had most attempts towards the opponents’ goal (4).
Mergim Mavraj (one match suspension) will not be available for the Friday’s showdown along with Aaron Hunt (thigh) who got injured in week 2 and will be out for a couple of weeks. Nicolai Muller (cruciate ligament) is expected to be out until at least late February next year while Pierre-Michael Lasogga (thigh) is day to day. Mats Kohlert’s (muscle) status is unknown while Christian Mathenia (knee) and Albin Ekdal (back) are back in training.
RB LEIPZIG
The biggest surprise of the German Bundesliga last season in a positive sense, the RB Leipzig team started the season with a road loss at Gelsenkirchen (2:0) but then quickly got back on track with a superior performance against Freiburg in front of their own crowd in week 2 (4:1 win). The pressure of repeating the last season success probably mounted in the week 1 against Schalke and team imploded a bit in that game but that’s certainly not the indicator of how the team will perform generally this year. It will be very hard to accomplish what they did a year before but nevertheless, they have laid the foundation for future successes and are gradually but certainly building the brand of a team that is determined to be on the top of German soccer in years to come.
After the first 45 minutes of play against Freiburg the fans and the players were shocked as the guests had the 1:0 advantage and it look like the whites can’t hold a game within their grasp but as soon as the second half started, the team began with the execution of the attacking play style that was their trademark last year. P. Gulasci started between the bars and M. Halstenberg, D. Upmecano, W. Orban and L. Klostermann started in the team’s defensive line. E. Forsberg, D. Demme, N. Keita and M. Sabitzer held the midfield in control while T. Werner who scored two goals and J. Augustin started as centre-forwards. The newcomer and Portuguese international Bruma entered the game as a substitute in the 78th minute of the game along with K. Laimer and D. Kaiser who went in play instead of D. Demme and Timo Werner in 82nd and 85th minute of the duel.
Besides Werner, team captain Wiktor Orban and Bruma scored one goal each in 55th and 80th minute. The only scorer for the visitors was Florian Niederlechner in the 23rd minute of the first half. Individually, M. Sabitzer and T. Werner led the team in passing segment with 88.1% and 88.2% of completed passes along with Emil Forsberg who had 87.2% of completed passes in 39 attempts. Werner and Sabltzer also presented the biggest threat for Freiburg’s goalie A. Schowlow with seven and five shots towards the goal while Marcel Halstenberg recorded two. Timo Werner was named as player of the match after the final whistle.
Head coach Ralph Hasenhuttl has most of the players at his disposal as only Marcel Sabitzer (calf) who got injured on the international duty with Austrian national team is unavailable for Friday. Yussuf Poulsen who had some troubles with his thigh is reportedly back in training and will be in available.
Hamburger SV vs. RB Leipzig – Match Prediction
Last season’s matchups between these two teams were as odd as they can be because the guests managed to emerge victorious in both duels, outplaying and outscoring the opponent in the process. First game in Hamburg went RB Leipzig’s way (0:4) with two goals by Timo Werner while the second duel in Leipzig went Hamburg’s way (0:3) with one goal each by Papadopoulos, Walace and Hunt. I don’t think that one of these one-sided showdowns will repeat this time and my first thought here is a draw but both teams to score is a much safer option and that’s where my money would go. We also must have in mind that RB Leipzig starts the UEFA Champions League group stage play next midweek meaning that they could be a bit distracted in the expectation of the team’s debut on the European scene so think twice if you prefer them to win here.
My pick: Both teams score YES (-115)
Additional Pick: Draw X (+280)
