After a difficult week with Champions and Europa League games, the German clubs are back in action with a full weekend round. Matchday 7 is underway with two big games on Sunday. Leverkusen are hosting Werder, while Bayern travel to Dortmund.

Saturday 2nd October 2010

15:30 CET

Gladbach vs Wolfsburg
The hosts managed to grab a point against Schalke last week, after they had lost 3 matches in a row. They are a little disappointed with that result as they were leading 0-2, but they could have lost it as well. They are currently in 16th place, tied with Koln, so they are in desperate need for points. To make things worse, the teams occupying 17th and 18th place are Schalke and Stuttgart, so it is more than obvious that Gladbach are in fact dead last at the moment. Having collected just 1 point out of 3 home games, they probably deserve their current position. Wolfsburg started the season with 3 straight losses, however they quickly bounced back and won the next 3 matches. With a total of 9 points, they are currently in 6th place, above Bayern Munich and Hamburger. Attackers Dzeko and Grafite are in form and Diego seems to be contributing as well. Brouwers is suspended for the hosts, as he was sent-off against Schalke.
We are likely to see goals from both sides here.

• Over 2.5 goals, 1.50 at bet365.com

Freiburg vs Koln
The hosts started the season unusually well, however they lost their latest 2 matches. They have collected 9 points so far, but this match is extremely important for their primary target, avoiding relegation. Koln have collected 5 points, but in case they win here they will close that gap to just 1 point, and we are expecting both teams to take part in the battle against relegation. I believe Freiburg will try to improve their defences, while Koln have demonstrated that they are doing fine in that section. In matches such as these, the home factor is usually important, but the hosts  need to be very careful as they are facing a team that are always dangerous in counter attack.
Cisse has scored 6 out of Freiburg’s 8 goals so far. Koln’s defenders will have a very difficult task.

• Home win, 2.30 at bwin.com

Hamburger vs Kaiserslautern
The hosts are aiming at a very high spot this season. They started quite well, but they haven’t won a match since matchday 2 and they lost both their latest games. The strikers have been doing their jobs so far, but it’s a problematic defence that prevents the team from winning lately. They still haven’t kept a single clean sheet. The visitors were tied with Mainz after matchday 2, but since they lost that match four weeks ago they have collected just 1 point. At just 7 points, they are barely above Koln, Nurnberg and Frankfurt, so it has become obvious that they will not escape the relegation battle as easily or as quickly as some may have thought after their brilliant start. They will certainly approach this match in a way that will allow them to leave Hamburg with some points in their pockets, but the fact remains that both teams are out of form and we can’t rely on either of them for a win here. My suggestion would be to avoid betting on this match.

• No bet.

Mainz vs Hoffenheim
Mainz continue to impress the whole continent, after they beat Bayern, the running champions, away from home last week. That win once again confirmed that Mainz are capable of taking on any opponent, but there was more to it than that. They had to play the entire second half without the services of their most valuable player, Holtby, who was fortunate enough not to get seriously injured and he will probably have Schurrle next to him in this match, so we are looking at a very offensive Mainz side against a Hoffenheim side that’s struck with injuries. Sebastian Rudy, Matthias Jaissle and Obasi are all expected to miss this match. On the bright side, Ibisevic, Ba and Salihovic are fully fit and they will certainly pose a serious thread in counter attack.
Mainz are looking to become only the third team ever to start the season with 7 straight wins, but Hoffenheim are undefeated in all 3 away matches so far. Surprising as it may seem, I have faith in the hosts so I tend towards them on this occasion.

• Home win, 2.25 at bet365.com

Nurnberg vs Schalke
There is little room for error for both teams here. I have repeatedly stated that the hosts are on a terribly difficult schedule, but they seemed to be handling themselves quite well, until last week. Having earned points against Hamburger and Leverkusen away from home, as well as beated Stuttgart at home, one would think they would have had less trouble against Frankfurt, but they lost 2-0 and they will have to search for points against a much stronger Schalke side. The visitors were very unlucky last week, as they conceded 2 goals nearly out of nowhere and lost numerous chances in front of goal. Huntelaar was usually the last player to touch the ball and he did eventually manage to score early into the second half. Raul equalized with still a few minutes to play, but they couldn’t produce a third goal. On the contrary, a few days later they beat Benfica at home by 2-0 for the Champions League group stage so they players haven’t lost their confidence and they seem to be improving game after game.
Nurnberg are strong when playing at home, but Schalke have too much quality for them, plus the odds on the away win are more than fair.

• Away win, 2.40 at Betsson.com

Sunday 3rd October 2010

15:30 CET

Stuttgart vs Frankfurt
These teams are divided by only 3 points, but to everyone’s surprise Frankfurt are on top and Stuttgart are currently the only team with just 3 points, so naturally they are last. The hosts were playing in Denmark, on Thursday night, against Odense, for the Europa League group stage. They won by 1-2 thanks to Harnik’s goal with just 4 minutes left on the clock. Last week, they lost 4-1 to Leverkusen at home, so this week’s match is extremely important for them. Next week they will face Schalke away from home so they would rather not be at the bottom of the table by then.
Frankfurt got a vital win against Nurnberg last week, as they were also stuck at 3 points until then. They are aware that this is not the most appropriate match to seek points from, but they don’t have the luxury of selecting their opponents so they will try to take advantage of Stuttgart’s fatigue due to their mid-week match. I can hardly imagine Stuttgart still stuck at 3 points after 7 or 8 matches, so they are in a must-win situation here and I believe they will take all 3 points. Any other result will probably lead to coach Christian Gross being relieved of his duties.
Camoranesi was sent-off against Leverkusen so he is suspended.

• Home win, 2.00 at bet365.com

17:30 CET

Leverkusen vs Werder Bremen
One of the Bundesliga classics. The hosts have collected 11 points so far and they are they only team that beat Dortmund. After a horrible defeat at home against Gladbach, they have remained undefeated and they have won both their latest matches. Moreover, they managed to take the draw away from home against Atletico Madrid a few days ago, which gave them the upper hand in the battle for the first place of Europa League group B.
Werder have been struggling since the start of the season. They’ve lost 2 out of 3 away games so far and they conceded 4 goals in each of those matches. With only 7 points from 6 matches, they are currently in 12th place. They are facing many difficulties in defence, as they have conceded a total of 14 goals in 6 matches so far and only Gladbach have managed to concede more than that. Last week they thought they had the victory in hand, after leading 2-0 against Hamburger but they were quickly equalized and it was Almeida who won it for Werder with just 5 minutes left to be played. However, a few days later, Werder lost hands down to Inter in Milan by 4-0. They are now last in Group A of the Champions League and it is becoming obvious that they will have to even battle for 3rd place.
Both teams had to travel around Europe, so fatigue could play its part here, leaving us with no option other than over 2.5 goals.

• Over 2.5 goals, 1.55 at bet365.com

Dortmund vs Bayern Munich
This could be the most anticipated match of the weekend. The hosts have won 5 out of 6 matches so far and they are in 2nd place, just 3 points away from Mainz. On the other hand, Bayern have managed to fall 10 points behind the leaders after just 6 matches. They had a great chance to narrow that gap to just 4 points last week, but Mainz proved to be just too good for them, or Bayern just played too badly to beat them. The fans didn’t like the team’s performance, or van Gaal’s choices, but Bayern did manage to beat Basel away from home on Tuesday and they are leading group E of the Champions League so their confidence could be back.
Dortmund will probably be more tired here as they were playing 2 days later than Bayern for the Europa League group J. They lost at home to Sevilla by 0-1 and qualification has become a difficult task now for them. Their fans will definitely flood the Westfallenstadion and the atmosphere will be tremendous. However, if there’s one club that simply does not care if they’re playing in front of 50.000 of their own fans or against 80.000 of the opposition fans, it’s certainly Bayern Munich.
I simply can’t see Bayern losing another match so soon, but it is a bit risky to bet solely on the away win.

• Away win Draw-no-Bet, 2.00 at Betsson.com