German Bundesliga
2011-04-16 - Vfl Wolfsburg vs St.Pauli
A Sports Betting Pick by Niko
Football ; Germany : Bundesliga
Volkswagen Arena
Saturday, 16th April 2011 – kickoff 15:30
Vfl Wolfsburg
Vfl Wolfsburg are without a win in five straight matches, so now its the perfect time for a victory against their direct rivals at the bottom St.Pauli, who are probably the most ideal opponent that the club could face at this moment.
There are five matches until the end of the Bundesliga season and the theory and mathematics say that Vfl Wolfsburg need at least four wins in the remaining matches so they can be safe and avoid relegation. Very tough thing to do, having on mind Vfl Wolfsburg`s poor form, but achievable if the winning series starts against St.Pauli this weekend.
For this match, the defender Arne Friedrich is back in the starting line up in the central defense, after serving his one match suspension. The other central defender, Simon Kjaer had missed couple of training sessions due to a back pain and was a bit doubtful at the start of the week that he can play in this match, but the latest reports are that he will be fit just on time to play.
Only the midfielder Cicero is definitely out of combination as he has to sit out this match due to a five yellow cards suspension.
In the attack Grafite is the certain option, probably partnering with Mario Mandzukic, but Patrick Helmes will also get a playing time, it is only a matter whether will he start or he will get in from the bench. As usual, Diego is the playmaker behind the strikers.
Probable Vfl Wolfsburg line-up :
Pekarik, Kjaer, A. Friedrich, M. Schafer,
Josue,
Riether, Koo ,
Diego,
Grafite, Mandzukic
St.Pauli
St.Pauli are sinking like a rock towards the 2.Bundesliga, and the last week`s loss against Bayer Leverkusen was their seventh straight loss.
As i have mentioned in the previous weeks, this team lacks more quality players and coach Holger Stanislawski has a very short squad at his disposal, as he is playing without as many as seven regular players, six of them defenders, who are out for the rest of the season with injuries.
Speaking of the coach, Stanislawski announced at a press conference during midweek that he will leave this club at the end of this season after being in charge for 18 years, which was taken very emotionally by most of the players and the team staff. It will be interesting to see what kind of reaction on the pitch that decision will make.
The team formation will be the same that played in the match against Bayer Leverkusen last week, and in the weeks before with the veteran Gerald Asamoah (six goals,six assists) as the leading striker with Max Kruse and Naki at the wings and Charles Takyi (four goals scored) in the middle.
Probable St.Pauli line-up :
Lechner, Thorandt, Eger, Gunesch ,
Boll, M. Lehmann,
M. Kruse, Takyi, Naki,
Asamoah
The Betting Verdict
The first match between Vfl Wolfsburg and St.Pauli this season had ended in 1-1 draw, but now i expect a more attacking match as both teams regard this match as a must win.
Vfl Wolfsburg are the team with bigger experience and are much more quality squad than St.Pauli, so i expect them to prove that at the pitch. Vfl Wolfsburg usually are giving good performances at their home ground, while St.Pauli main and only weapon are the counter attacks, and they can be dangerous with that tactics, which was obvious in the last game against Bayer Leverkusen where they took the lead, but Bayer Leverkusen finished the job and got the win.
I am sure that Vfl Wolfsbug`s coach Felix Magath had studied St.Pauli`s game and he will know to use a good strategy to expose their weaknesses and lead his team to a much needed victory. A home win for Vfl Wolfsburg is the most likely outcome of this match.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Vfl Wolfsburg-St.Pauli 2-0
