German Bundesliga
2009-03-21 - Bayer Leverkusen vs Eintracht Frankfurt
A Sports Betting Pick by Niko
LTU Arena Dusseldorf
Saturday, 21st of March 2009 Kickoff 15:30
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen had a terrible start since the winter break and are currently struggling to keep pace with the leading teams in the league.
They are currently 7th and if they do not win this game, and the Euro dreams for next season will be definitely over. With ten league games left and six points adrift from a UEFA Cup position it is clear that win in this match could be crucial for saving Bayer Leverkusen season.
Bayer have gone four games without a win for the first time this season and have only won once in the last eight games (four defeats). Leverkusen has 2 losses in a row and still has not adapted at the temporary “home” pitch in Dusseldorf.
Leverkusen have not kept a clean sheet for 13 straight games – the longest current run of any Bundesliga club.
Leverkusen Team News :
The Bayer 04 captain Simon Rolfes has a problem with his knee (twisted) and is doubtful for this match. Right back Gonzalo Castro will miss this match (groin injury).
Other absentees from the squad due to injuries or suspensions are Fernandez, Schneider, Vidal, Friedrich, Domaschke. In the starting line up is expected young midfielder Kroos who played in Bayern last season so this will be a chance for him to shine.
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht moved up to 12th place and are now 3 points above relegation zone.
Last week they played great against Hoffenheim and almost have won. In the second half were much more superior and they did not have luck to win that game.
Eintracht will play it safe with only one attacker for this game, patiently waiting their chances. Main goal for this match would be to take a point and make a further move on the table.
Last week the contract of the Coach Friedhelm Funkel was extended so we will see if that helps somehow.
Eintracht have only scored three goals on the last five matches and have only conceded three goals in the last 15 minutes of games this season – less than any other team in the Bundesliga.
Frankfurt Team News :
There are a lots of injured players in Coach Funkel`s squad – Nikos Liberopoulos, Preus, Bajramović, Korkmaz, Spycher, Aleksandar Vasoski, and Ioannis Amanatidis are all out.
The goalkeeper Oka Nikolov is out for this match due to injury and his replacement will be Marcus Proll.
Head to Head
Bayer have won only one of their last five league games against Eintracht – this season’s fixture (2-0 in Frankfurt) and Frankfurt have picked up four points from their last two games away to Bayer 04, last year they won 2-0.
Interesting fact surrounding this game is that none of the 51 competitive games between Leverkusen and Frankfurt have ended 0-0 !!
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
BEST BETTING TIP :
I`ll take over 2.5 goals as main betas well as Leverkusen home win.
