Will BVB stay ahead of Bayern?
After 20 match days, the picture in the Bundesliga is quite familiar. Bayern lead the table ahead of Dortmund and Leverkusen. Only then come the surprise teams Union Berlin and Freiburg in fourth and fifth place. However, there are still 42 points to be awarded in the next 14 match days before the final reckoning is made.
Four teams from the current top six of the German football league are among themselves on matchday 21. In the top match on Saturday evening, FC Bayern München will welcome reigning runners-up RB Leipzig, who are only sixth in the table but have won all four of their competitive matches in 2022, scoring 10 goals to 1. On Sunday, Borussia Dortmund will also host Bayer Leverkusen at Signal Iduna Park in the next big match.
Meanwhile, things are also heating up in the bottom of the table. On Friday evening, Hertha BSC and Bochum will face each other, both of whom have a small buffer to the relegation zone, before VfB Stuttgart have the chance to leave the relegation zone at home against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. Bottom side Fürth, meanwhile, will be looking to continue their run as they close out Matchday 21 at struggling VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday.
Hertha vs. Bochum – 04 February, 20:30
Hertha BSC’s slump continues in the calendar year 2022. The capital city team remained winless in all four competitive matches in the new year (one draw, three defeats) and are only three points clear of the relegation zone. Things did not go much better for Bochum, who won only one of their last six league games (two draws, three defeats). But at least VfL have three more points on their account than the old lady.
Nevertheless, two aspects speak in favour of the Berliners. On the one hand, Bochum is a kind of favourite opponent at the Olympiastadion, against whom only two of the 21 Bundesliga home games have been lost. And secondly, VfL, who have lost eight of their ten away games in the 2021/22 season, are weak away from home and have scored only six goals away from home – a negative figure in the Bundesliga. We see the greatest value in the Bundesliga on matchday 21 in betting tips on a low-scoring basement duel with a maximum of two goals.
VfB Stuttgart vs. Frankfurt – 05 February, 15:30
VfB Stuttgart have picked up just one point out of a possible 15 from their last five league games, in which the Swabians failed to score a single goal. As a result, the team in second-last place in the table is taking giant steps towards relegation. Things haven’t been going so well for the SGE either lately. After the Hessians said goodbye to the 2021 calendar year with three wins in a row, the Eagles recently picked up just one point out of a possible nine.
For the first time since the 2014/15 season, Eintracht remained winless in the first three games of a Bundesliga second leg and suffered twice as many defeats (2) as in the previous eight Bundesliga games in total. This makes betting on the outcome of this match on matchday 21 in the Bundesliga correspondingly difficult. Also, because it cannot be ruled out that Stuttgart’s weakness in finishing will continue, betting on a maximum of one team scoring in this duel offers the greatest value.
Mainz vs. Hoffenheim – 05 February, 15:30
First of all, 1. FSV Mainz 05 started the 2021/22 season really strong. After the fourth matchday, the Rheinhessen side even stood on a Champions League starting spot and were also ennobled as a candidate for Europe by opposing coach Christian Streich during the subsequent 0-0 draw against Freiburg. Recently, however, the form curve showed a clear downward trend. The Nullfünfer have lost five of their last seven competitive matches.
Meanwhile, things went the other way for the visitors from Hoffenheim. After a poor start to the season, TSG remained unbeaten between the twelfth and eighteenth matchdays, picked up 17 of a possible 21 points and were knocking on the door of the European starting places again. However, the team from Kraichgau also lost three games in a row, which makes it difficult to make accurate predictions on the outcome of the Bundesliga matchday 21. In this game, too, we are therefore switching to goal betting and, also in view of Mainz’s good scoring rate against the Sinsheim side, are betting on over 2.5 goals.
Augsburg vs. Union Berlin – 05 February, 15:30
Fc Augsburg slipped to the relegation places before the international break as the Fuggerstädter remained winless in their fifth consecutive league match. Meanwhile, 1. FC Union Berlin climbed to a Champions League starting place and entered the quarter-finals of the DFB Pokal. The Eisernen have remained unbeaten in six consecutive competitive matches (four wins, two draws) since a surprising 0:1 defeat at bottom club Fürth.
Accordingly, the betting odds in the Bundesliga on matchday 21 are clearly in favour of the Köpenickers, who can also look forward to the return of Africa Cup winner Taiwo Awoniyi, although they will have to compensate for the departure of top scorer Max Kruse. The bet that the East Berliners will succeed in doing so against Augsburg, who are in poor form, is in principle well placed. Nevertheless, a “Draw No Bet” is a good way to hedge your bets.
Bielefeld vs. Gladbach – 05 February, 15:30
Borussia Mönchengladbach are undoubtedly in a deep crisis. Since a 4-0 home win over Greuther Fürth, the Foals have won just one of their last eight league games (one draw, six defeats). Only VfL Wolfsburg, who are also in crisis, have suffered more defeats than Borussia in this period, and their sporting slump has recently been overshadowed by the resignation of Max Eberl.
In this condition, Hütter’s team, which is also weak away from home and has only won two of its ten matches in the league, travels to Ostwestfalen. Arminia are unbeaten in five league games, have picked up eleven of a possible 15 points and have always scored two goals in all five games. Accordingly, the supposed outsider bet is playable in this duel.
Cologne vs. Freiburg – 05 February, 15:30
Both the “Effzeh” and the Sport-Club are currently playing a very successful season. The Geißböcke are in eighth place with 29 points, while the Schwarzwälder are in fifth place with 33 points and can dream of Europe. Recently, however, the cathedral city got a little off track. Following a crushing 4-0 home defeat to Bayern, Cologne first lost at home to second-division Hamburg in the cup before failing to record another win away to Bochum (2-2).
Meanwhile, SC Freiburg have regained their consistency from the beginning of the season. The Black Forest side are tough to beat overall and have only lost five of their 20 league games. Only Bayern and Union Berlin have fewer defeats to their name. Most recently, the men from Breisgau celebrated two victories in the Baden-Württemberg duels with Hoffenheim (4:1) and Stuttgart (2:0).
Nevertheless, bets on an away win for Freiburg are not a foregone conclusion in the Bundesliga on matchday 21. After all, the “Effzeh” has great comeback qualities and has already picked up 13 points after falling behind. We are therefore switching to the likely bet that both teams will score.
Bayern vs. RB Leipzig – 05 February, 18:30
As the new year begins, RB Leipzig’s form curve is clearly pointing upwards again. Also because the coaching change to Domenico Tedesco is now sustainably bearing fruit, the Saxons won all four competitive games in 2022 for a total of 10:1 goals.
A big factor for the Saxons, however, is their poor away record. Only one of the nine Bundesliga away games this season has been won with just seven away goals. At the undisputed league leader and a designated fearful opponent, where Julian Nagelsmann, the coach who knows RBL like the back of his hand, is at the helm, there is little to be gained despite the high level of form. We therefore recommend using the betting odds for a Munich victory with at least a two-goal difference in the Bundesliga on matchday 21.
Dortmund vs. Leverkusen – 06 February, 15:30
With a six-point gap to FC Bayern, Borussia Dortmund still have slight hopes of winning the league title. However, the black-and-yellow team can at least plan for the Champions League. After all, they are currently eight points ahead of their rivals Leverkusen. If Borussia’s strong home series against the Werkself continues – BVB has won all of its last six Bundesliga home games against Leverkusen – the gap would increase even further.
Nevertheless, Leverkusen should not be written off, also because of their enormous scoring threat. The 49 goals they have already scored in their first 20 league games equals their new club record in the Bundesliga. The odds for a goal festival at Signal Iduna Park (over 3.5 goals) are correspondingly interesting in the Bundesliga on matchday 21. After all, high-scoring league games have been the rule rather than the exception for both teams recently.
Wolfsburg vs. Fürth – 06 February, 17:30 hrs
Unabated, the slide of VfL Wolfsburg continued in the calendar year 2022. There are now nine league games in a row without another win on record (two draws, seven defeats), with the Lower Saxons still waiting for their first goal in the new year. Accordingly, there was a big shake-up in the winter transfer window, when three players – Wind, Paredes and Kruse – were signed to bolster the attack.
VfL are now looking to turn things around against a resurgent Kleeblätter. For the first time in their Bundesliga history, the Central Franconians have remained unbeaten in four league games in a row. They are still nine points behind the relegation places. Nevertheless, the Fürth side has been particularly convincing defensively of late. In conjunction with the Wolves’ lack of offensive penetration, there is a lot to be said for a low-scoring game. We therefore recommend betting on less than 2.5 goals in the Sunday evening match of the Bundesliga on Matchday 21.
