Bundesliga Betting Tips: Saturday 10th December

FC Köln v Borussia Dortmund 

Köln play host to Borussia Dortmund at RheinEnergieStadion on Saturday afternoon in an intriguing looking match.

Dortmund come into this match fresh from their continental exploits in the Spanish capital on Wednesday night and many will be expecting Thomas Tuchel’s men to kick-on having secured top spot in their Champions League group; however, the hosts have been a tough side to get the better of on their own patch this season and so Dortmund aren’t likely to have it all their own way.

In fact, such has been their home form this season, Köln are the team to be with here. At odds of 7/5, ‘Köln Win/Draw Double Chance’ is the way to play this fixture.

Dortmund are fancied against any opposition and as usual they’re heavy favourites here. However, this time it appears to be unjust. Tuchel’s team have proven that they aren’t invincible on a number of occasions this season, especially when playing away from the comforts of home. BVB have already lost three matches (against Leverkusen, Leipzig and Frankfurt) on the road and were also only able to pick up a point when they visited struggling Ingolstadt. Having conceded 11 goals in their six games away from Westfalenstadion, the visitors have struggled defensively – the fact that they’ve kept no clean sheets on their travels in the league this season is more than ample proof of this.

Of course, at the other end Dortmund rarely struggle, in fact, they often score goals for fun. Having said this, Peter Stöger’s Köln side have prided themselves on their defensive solidity at home this season, conceding just two goals. In addition, the hosts are yet to taste defeat in front of their own fans and it certainly isn’t unreasonable to expect this to still be the case after Saturday’s match.

The problem for Dortmund is that they often falter against teams who’re willing to sit back and play on the counter. BVB aren’t the sort of team to be patient, they want to go forward and play at a quick tempo from start to finish. While such as style makes them very entertaining to watch, it leaves them exposed at the back and, as we seen in four of their six away matches so far, ultimately costs them results.

Köln will have no problem in keeping things tight and making life hard for the visitors and they are more than adept at playing on the counter. Such tactics have already secured them a number of pleasing results this season and it would be a bit foolish to think they will suddenly crash and burn simply because they face the attacking might of Dortmund.

Bayern Munich v Wolfsburg 

2nd place Bayern Munich take on 15th place Wolfsburg at The Allianz Arena on Saturday afternoon. Both teams are in need of a result, albeit for very different reasons. Munich are looking to keep pace with league leaders Leipzig, while Wolfsburg will be desperate to avoid dropping into the relegation zone – something that is becoming more and more possible as each week goes by.

Bayern are a side who don’t like to lose one game, let alone two on the spin, so when the Munich boys lost in the league and in the Champions League in the space of four days not too long ago, manager Carlo Ancelotti will have been very displeased. Since then, though, the champions have responded well by winning three on the spin (all-competitions) and they’re presented with a good opportunity to continue their winning run here.

From a betting angle, there are two worthwhile bets ahead of this one. These are, ‘Over 1.5 First Half Goals’ and ‘Bayern to Win & Over 3.5 Goals’.

As we expect them to be, Bayern have been in decent form at home this season and are currently unbeaten. They’ve scored 18 goals and have conceded just four. Against a Wolfsburg side who’ve really been struggling – just two wins all season – they should be putting in a convincing display. However, for all their attacking efforts, Bayern haven’t been quite as assured at the back as in years gone by and they look susceptible to the counter. Whether or not a Wolfsburg side who’ve struggled for goals will be able to use this to their advantage remains to be seen, but it’s not hard to see their being more than just a few goals in this fixture.

It’s pretty obvious that Bayern are capable of notching several goals against any opposition so Wolfsburg’s less than secure back-line isn’t likely to offer too much resistance, but, at the same time, if the visitors get their act together, they should get plenty of chances of their own – needless to say goals are expected.

Aside from this looking like being a high-scoring game in general, goals could well be on the cards early-doors. The hosts have often looked to make a fast start this season and two or more goals have been scored in four of their last five league matches, as well as in four of their last five league games at home. As mentioned above, the hosts will do most of the attacking in this match and it would be no surprise if they open Wolfsburg up from the off.

All in all, the goals are expected to arrive fairly early in this one and a high-scoring match in general is fancied.

Hertha Berlin v Werder Bremen

It would be hard to pick a single team as the most impressive from the first 13 Bundesliga matches this season, several deserve honourable mention and Hertha are certainly one of them. The hosts have performed with real credit during the early weeks of the season and currently sit 3rd in the table.

On the other hand, Werder Bremen haven’t exactly hit the heights as of yet, far from it. Alexander Nouri’s team started the season poorly and things haven’t got much better as they currently find themselves sat in 14th place, just three points above the drop-zone.

It’s hard to look past Hertha here, the hosts have an exceptional record at home so far this season and the bet to go for is ‘Hertha to Win & Over 1.5 Goals’.

At the Olympiastadion this season, Hertha Berlin have the perfect record. They’ve played six and won six, each of which has seen at least two goals go in, in fact, they’ve scored at least twice in all six. It’s fair to say they’ve provided a very tough test for anyone who’s taken them on. Given the form of the visitors, it’s certainly not hard to envisage the Hertha faithful celebrating a seventh win come Saturday evening.

Playing on the road has been a particular problem for Bremen this season. Die Grün-Weißen are yet to win away from Weser-Stadion, losing four, drawing two, scoring seven and conceding a staggering 20. Unsurprisingly, they’ve kept no clean sheets and each of their six away games have all seen at least two goals go in.

Bremen aren’t the worst side going forward, they’ve just failed to defend with any credibility. Against a strong defensive unit such as Hertha – conceded just three at home – the visitors could struggle to make any headway, while it’s hard to see them holding out at the back.

The hosts will be boosted by the return of their talismanic captain Vedad Ibišević and it really is hard to see them faltering against a Werder Bremen side who’ve conceded at least twice in all six of their away matches this season.

See more tips here.