German Bundesliga
2011-04-16 - 1899 Hoffenheim vs Eintracht Frankfurt
A Sports Betting Pick by Niko
Football ; Germany : Bundesliga
Rhein Neckar Arena
Saturday, 16th April 2011 – kickoff 15:30
1899 Hoffenheim
1899 Hoffenheim are (almost) safe being placed around the mid table with decent amount of points(37), so they can calmly wait for the Bundesliga finish and prepare for bigger achievements next season.
Coach Marco Pezzaiuoli is the second Bundesliga coach that had announced that he will leave his team 1899 Hoffenheim right after this season ends, and it comes as not big of a surprise as since he was appointed in January, he was considered to be just a temporary solution until there is an adequate replacement at the coaching market.
The squad will face several changes in the starting line up and for the first time this season, the team captain Andreas Beck is not able to play for his team as he is suspended for this match due five yellow cards he had collected.
Also the experienced veteran defender Josip Simunic, strikers Boris Vukcevic and Sejad Salihovic, as well as Chinedu Obasi are all out through injuries.
Vedad Ibisevic (eight goals scored) will be the only striker in the formation, with some help of the Dutchman Ryan Babel behind him.
Probable 1899 Hoffenheim line-up :
Ibertsberger, Vorsah, Compper, Braafheid ,
Weis, Rudy,
Mlapa, Babel, Alaba,
Ibisevic
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt were on the verge to get defeated again, but yet had managed a late 1-1 draw against rivals from the bottom Werder Bremen last week and desperately need points so they can escape the red zone as soon as possible.
This team is not that bad as it seems, at one point they were in the top five Bundesliga teams for several weeks in the first part of the season, they had the top Bundesliga striker at that moment Theofanis Gekas (16 goals scored), but in the recent months they were really unfortunate and lost so many matches they should not have. Eintracht Frankfurt are attacking and creating many chances, but they simply can not make the final touch and deliver goals as they are expected.
Speaking of team`s leading striker Gekas he is a bit doubtful as he has a muscle hardening and it is still not clear whether he could play or not. He will probably make it on time, but if not, Martin Fenin will be his replacement and Fenin had scored a great goal against Werder Bremen last weekend.
For this match, coach Christoph Daum can not count on Georgios Tzavellas who has a ligament tear and is definitely out.
Probable Eintracht Frankfurt line-up :
S. Jung, Franz, Russ, Kohler,
Schwegler, Rode,
Ochs, Meier, Halil Altintop,
Gekas
The Betting Verdict
The first match between these two teams in Frankfurt had ended in high 4-0 away win for 1899 Hoffenheim.
Interestingly, 1899 Hoffenheim and Eintracht Frankfurt had met total of five times in the Bundesliga and Eintracht Frankfurt had never won a single match against their opponents. There were three wins for 1899 Hoffenheim and two draws.
Usually the tradition is a good pointer and can be helpful while deciding on who to bet, but this time i would go against it. Eintracht Frankfurt need to break that tradition as they are under big pressure to win and 1899 Hoffenheim have only the prestige to play for, and i am sure they will give their best, but probably its about time for Eintracht Frankfurt to win and escape from the bottom. The odds are tasty and i think that Eintracht Frankfurt will manage an away win here.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
1899 Hoffenheim - Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1
