The German Bundesliga Round 26 is on schedule during the weekend ahead of us and as usually there are some very interesting matchups that could bring us some money. The top ranked FC Bayern Munchen will host FC Augsburg while Borussia Dortmund will travel to Gelsenkirchen in order to square it off with FC Schalke 04 on Saturday. However, we will first turn our focus to the opening game of the Round that will be played on Friday afternoon at the OlympiaStadion in Berlin where Hertha BSC will host the TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
HERTHA BSC vs. TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM
3-Way: 1: Hertha BSC +183 Home; X: Draw +240; TSG 1899 Hoffenheim +181 Away
Spread: Hertha 0 +100; Hoffenheim 0 -102
Total 2.5: Over +110; Under -116
OPTIONAL PICK: Both teams to score: YES -115; NO +112
The Hertha BSC coach Pal Dardai had only nine players available on Monday during the training session. The reason for that is the long injury list and the fact that many players were representing their National teams during the World Cup qualifying rounds or Friendly games which were scheduled during the week. However, according to the Coaches expectations, on Thursday most of their players should be available and back in the preparations for the Friday night contest.
Analyzing the Team from the German Capital City, it is noticeable that it has two faces this season, one in front of their home crowd and one when playing on the road. In Berlin they play their best football and they rank first in the league at home games with 31 of 36 possible points, one more than Bayern and Dortmund. They’ve scored in 92% of their home matches and only 20% of the overall goals conceded happened at home. On the other side, when we look at their road performances, we can see that the picture is completely opposite, as they rank 16th with only 9 of possible 36 points. They are 3-1-4 in their last eight games with the latest win coming against Dortmund at home in Round 24.
In the last round Hertha BSC was defeated by FC Koln on the road, 4-2. At home, they are 3-1-0 in their last four games with victories over aforementioned Dortmund, Frankfurt and Ingolstadt and a draw against the defending champions Bayern Munich. The team’s leading scorer in the Bundesliga this season is Vedad Ibisevic with 11 goals. He also leads the passing aspect with Mitchell Weiser as they collected four assists each.
The injury list is something that should raise some concerns for Coach Dardai. Arne Maier (Knee), Fabian Lustenberger (Groin), Ondrej Duda (Thigh) and Mitchell Weiser (Thigh) are all expected to be back during the next month while Julian Schieber (Knee) is out for the season. Sinan Kurt (Ankle), Marvin Plattenhardt (Illness), Sebastian Langkamp (Muscle) and Jordan Tournarigha are listed as players with light injuries but it is unknown when they’ll be available to play. John Anthony Brooks (Illness) and Salomon Kalou (Thigh) should be ready in couple of days, possibly even for the team’s Friday clash.
On the other side, the TSG 1899 Hoffenheim is playing surprisingly well this year as they rank fourth in the league table with 45 points, trailing Bayern Munich (62 pts), RB Leipzig (49 pts) and Borussia Dortmund (46 pts). They also rank fourth both on home and away table meaning that they don’t get much affected by the opposing teams’ crowd when they play on the road. They have scored in each of their last 11 matches. They’ve also scored in 92% of their away matches including at least one goal in the last five away games. Hoffenheim is 4-2-2 in the last eight games and are undefeated in their last five matches. Even though they are a solid team on the road, they are 0-2-2 in the last four away games with losses against RB Leipzig and Wolfsburg, and draws against Schalke 04 and Freiburg. Staying undefeated against Hertha on Friday would be a big step towards Europe play next year as they would at least keep their five points advantage over their closest opponent on the league table. Sandro Wagner leads the team in scoring this season with 11 goals in 22 matches while Andrej Kramaric scored eight goals in 25 games. Kramaric and Demirbay are team’s leading passers with seven assists each.
When it comes to the injury report, Hoffenheim is in a better position than Hertha with only four players on the list. Pavel Kaderabek (Calf) and Kerem Demirbay (Broken nose) are back in training and will probably be available on Friday, especially Demirbay. Lukas Rupp (Calf, Knee) and Mark Uth are both expected to be back in a few days.
This is a very important game for both teams with great implications for the remainder of the season. First matchup in Hoffenheim played back in October 2016 went to the home team, 1-0. Last year, they split the series with victories going to the home teams and it might end up the same this year.
Both teams play offensively with intentions to score rather to defend, which means that we could see at least one goal on each side. With that being said, I believe that we are ought to pick the Over 2.5 goals offered at +110. Furthermore, I am putting up the -115 offered on both teams to score as the Optional pick.
MY PICK: Over 2.5 goals (+110);
OPTIONAL PICK: Both teams to score YES (-115)
