German Bundesliga
2010-03-20 - Borussia Dortmund vs Bayer Leverkusen
A Sports Betting Pick by Niko
Signal Iduna Park
Saturday, 20th March 2010 – kickoff 18:30
Borussia Dortmund
BVB won 4-1 against Vfl Bochum last week and continued their recent good form. Now they will face a real challenge when they will face one of the biggest championship contenders this season.
Borussia Dortmund are currently fourth at the table with 45 points and eight points behind their opponents. Borussia Dortmund probably have lost their chances for the title as they are big 11 points behind the leaders but their goal this season is to finish in the top five teams and to play in Europe next season. Hamburger SV and Werder Bremen are breathing at their necks so they are under lots of pressure.
Coach Jurgen Klopp once again has many worries regarding injured or suspended players. The striker Nelson Valdez has suffered a hamstring injury in the last match against Bochum, and is not able to play.
Nuri Sahin picked up his fifth yellow card at VfL Bochum and has to serve one match suspension so he will sit out this match. Sven Bender returned to trainings but he is very much doubtful for selection and the chances that he will play are very slim. The central defenders Matt Hummels and Le Tallec are still rehabilitating and are not available for selection.
Markus Feulner will play as an offensive midfielder behind Lucas Barrios who will be alone striker up front. Mohamed Zidan and Kevin Grosskreutz will take their places at the wings. Mohamed Zidan has been in good form lately as he had scored seven goals in the last six matches for Borussia Dortmund.
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen responded in a style after their first loss of the season two weeks ago against Nurnberg, and they have won 4-2 against their rivals Hamburger SV in the last round. The team seems to be right back on the track but they will face a tough opponent in Borussia Dortmund against who Bayer Leverkusen have bad record in the last five matches where they have three draws and two defeats.
Good news for the team is that they do not have many worries with injured or suspended players. Coach Haynckes can count again on the inspiring midfielder Toni Kroos who has served his one match suspension and will be back in the starting line up again. Renato Augusto is also back in the squad, same as Stefan Reinartz who will take his place in the defense.
Coach Haynckes uses a standard formation with two strikers- Stefan Kiessling, who has in the meantime extended his contract with the club until 2015, and Edin Derdiyok alongside him.
The Betting Verdict
The first match between these teams this season ended in 1-1 draw. Borussia Dortmund have a good run at home and have lost only once in their last nine matches at their home ground (7 wins, 1 draw).
Borussia Dortmund are a team that have gone 13 matches without a draw which is the longest run in the Bundesliga and on the other side Bayer Leverkusen are a team that have the most draws so far in the Bundesliga-11 drawn matches.
Bayer Leverkusen usually have problems when playing against Borussia Dortmund, but having on mind BVB`s problems with absent players and the current form i consider Bayer Leverkusen better team at the moment. Both sides will get into this match cautiously not wanting to lose so probably we will not see many chances in the first half.
I think that Bayer Leverkusen are closer to victory here, but if Borussia Dortmund score first then there is a chance for Bayer Leverkusen to struggle and to get a late draw, so i think that is a possible scenario for this match.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Borussia Dortmund-Bayer Leverkusen 1-1
