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Matchday 16 - Only Three Points Will Do
By Joe, BettingExpert.com | Edited
Google+: Joe Bexpert
The dynamo duo is back, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben joins the ranks at Bayern to continue the winning ways this weekend as they travel to Stuttgart. Second place, Dortmund is to host Kaiserslautern and winning is the only option if they want to keep close to Bayern and Werder Bremen will take on Wolfsburg on Saturday.
Werder Bremen vs. Wolfsburg
Frustrations must be lingering in the air for Werder Bremen for not being able to match up with the top teams in the Bundesliga. Their latest setback came against Bayern Munich away from home and surely deflated their title ambitions after receiving a 4-1 bashing from the league leaders. This leaves the team just hovering on 5th place and five points behind Bayern. However, things can quickly change and a strong performance before the winter break creeps in could leave them in a good position for the new year. Therefore the home game against Wolfsburg would be imperative in their quest to bounce back from their latest defeat and rightly so without Aaron Hunt, who will serve out his three match suspension.
Wolfsburg has more asking to do and a mountain to climb if they want to make a difference in their season. Their recent form suggest that they are struggling and quiet right so with a defeat to FC Augsburg 2-0 and more recently a 2-2 draw against Mainz. Manager Felix Magath must be the man to answer all these questions and maybe he will turn to striker Mario Mandzukic for answers. The Wolfsburg top scorer has done well with 8 goals but he does need the support from both Hasan Salihamidzic and Ashkan Dejagah. Concentration is what Wolfsburg is lacking and that needs to be address against Werder Bremen.
Verdict: A tidy home win for Werder Bremen if everything goes their way with Aaron Hunt.
Obscure Stat - Over the last 6 Bundesliga seasons, when a home club is playing on a 2 game home winning streak as Bremen are, up against an away club like Wolfsburg on a 2 game away losing streak, the away club has won 7 of 21 matches for a win profitability of 33%.
Dortmund vs. Kaiserslautern
Whatever happens in Europe stays in Europe and domestically Dortmund is another beast. If you look at the score in the midweek 3-2 defeat at home to Marseille in the Champions League then don’t be tricked. Manager Jurgen Klopp sent out a few fringe players and gave certain players rest in the midweek. Most notably is that the Mario Gotze and Luca Barrios started, also Dortmund scoring two goals. So in truthful, Dortmund is a team that can score goals no matter what players are sent on the field but winning is a whole different thing. The draw 1-1 last weekend against Borussia Monchengladbach surrendered the top spot to rivals Bayern Munchen and this weekend, they can make amends by winning at home to please the fans.
Bottom club Kaiserslautern is living thinly by the day and sacredly by the weekend and they must be wondering when they will win a game. Their last win was back in October 22 when they faced Freiburg at home with 1-0 and a week before that, beating Schalke 04 away 2-1 was the last away win. It’s been a while since they experience the winning feeling and the past five games have saw 3 draws and two defeats, most recently a 1-1 home draw against Hertha Berlin. Their away record have seen four defeats and three draws so traveling to Dortmund will seem like a tough task to handle.
Verdict: No more European football, Dortmund can concentrate once again on their title ambitions, home win.
Obscure Stat - Over the last 6 Bundesliga seasons, when a home club is playing on a 4 game home winning streak like Dortmund, the away club has won 13 of 48 matches, for a win profitability of 24%.
Stuttgart vs. Bayern Munchen
Sunday will see one of the top matches this weekend which will see Stuttgart take on the league leader, Bayern Munchen. There is 8 points between the home team and the away team but that shouldn’t deter Stuttgart to find their best on Sunday. Even if we take Stuttgart last home game performance then certainly that wasn’t anything to brag about since they conceded a goal in a late stage of the game. A learning curve for sure and with Bayern around the corner, a mistake like that could end up a bit more tragic than it went against FC Cologne. The Stuttgart midfield seems to making all the headlines and with William Kvist doing the defensive midfield work, this leaves Christian Gentner able to push forward and get the goals he’s looking for. This is definitely a man to keep on a look out.
Bayern returns back to Germany with a 2-0 defeat in the Champions League against Manchester City but that shouldn’t hamper their form as they already qualified for the last 16. Finishing top of their group in Europe, they also have the top spot to defend this weekend and Bayern are very much on top of that. They rested Arjen Robben, Toni Kroos and Bastian Schweinsteiger while Daniel van Buyten, Philipp Lahm, Gomez, Muller and Franck Ribery started on the bench. This is a clear signal that Bayern is ready to maintain a strong squad for Sunday and a winning one must be the only option for Bayern. If you take a look at how they played against Werder Bremen, then the free flowing attacking football are back, both Robben and Ribery are making it look easy, if Schweinsteiger returns then the midfield would be more solid, if not then there are others who can do the job but just not better.
Verdict: The same side that beat Werder Bremen 4-1 should get the nod and an away win will keep them firmly on top of things.
Obscure Stat - Over the last 6 Bundesliga seasons, the team on top of the table as Bayern are, from this point in the season onwards, playing away has won just 16 of 45 matches, for a win profitability of -25%.
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